Strange games you play with your pets

[cwm]

My mutt-puppy will bring toys and drop them in people's laps while they're sitting in the living room. And if you toss it and it goes somewhere she can't reach (like under a short table or the couch) she'll sit there staring at you until you get it. If you keep ignoring her, she'll whuffle at you under her breath. Continue to ignore her, and she might think about barking then decide to come kiss your fingers instead and then go sit right beside the thing she can't get under.

She also has this thing where when an adult scratches her rump enough she'll turn around and nibble on their fingers. The funny part is when the baby does it, she doesn't even turn around, she just lets it happen. I'm constantly astounded how her behavior changes with my niece around, she turns into an actual calm dog.

[RebeccainGA]

Schroder and I play the 'do you REALLY need to go out and potty?' game, several times a night. He rings the string of bells hanging on the doorknob, and I ask him "Do you really need to go potty outside?" to which he starts dancing on his back feet. This continues with me making feints at catching him, until he decides that yes, he REALLY needs to go potty outside (and this can take five minutes). When he decides he's serious about it, he does what he's trained to do and comes to my feet and lays down to be picked up. He only plays this with me - DP just gets the laying down at the feet. I guess he thinks mommy likes to play more.

[whiskeytangofoxtrot]

That reminded me of a little dog we had for a while. He'd grab a ball and run to the top of the stairs then let it go. He'd give it a 3-4 second head start and then chase it. If it stopped partway down he'd give it a nudge. He'd do that for a good 5 minutes. Cracked me up!

Haha, I had a Chihuahua once that did the same thing! She'd also grab a soft toy and whirl around and around, let if fly, and chase after it, then return to the middle of the room and whirl around in the opposite direction, over and over again.

Our late Lab/GSD/? mix, Rowdy, loved to play "monster", where we'd raise our hands menacingly overhead until he woofed; then we'd drop our hands quickly and start again. He loved for us to hide toys in our shirt sleeves or pockets so he could shake us down for them, too. Our current two, a hound mix named Caleb and his "little" sister, Shadow (GSD/Lab? mix) love chasing our hands around under a blanket or rug and trying to second-guess where they'll pop up next, and Caleb seems to get quite a kick out of me getting on hands and knees and play-growling, snorting, and baring teeth with him.

We joke all the time that God does not give us "normal" dogs; we'd be bore each other to death!

[Spring Water on Sundays]

My favorite game to play with my dog is "Chase". It's exactly what it sounds like: we take turns chasing each other in the back yard, lunging at each other, with me squealing that he's gonna get me/I'm gonna get him. He LOVES it. Grinning, twirling, happy happy HAPPY dog!

What makes this so remarkable is that when we got him about 3 years ago, he was a cowering, flinching, untrusting mess of a canine. He was rescued from a puppy mill where he was physically and mentally abused for several years and was TERRIFIED of people, especially people making fast motions or loud noises. We have worked very hard to teach him how to be a dog and how to enjoy being a dog. So...yeah, that he has come so far that he likes it when I "chase" him? Makes me so extremely proud of him I could burst.

[Waterlight]

Here's one I've only ever seen my stepmom do, with one of her cats:

She would "dance" with her Bombay (basically a miniature black panther--black American Shorthair/Burmese cross) kitty, B.J.  While he was sitting in her lap, she would hold his front paws and sort of sway them back and forth.  He was a very sweet and friendly boy and seemed to like, or at the very least tolerate, it.

[Hillia]

My mom had a little schnauzer/poodle/shih tzu type mix who would do the Hokey Pokey to get a treat.  She's stand on her hind legs, put her front feet in the air, and turn in a circle.  She hated it.  She would do it, with much eye-rolling, if it was just me and my  mom; she absolutely refused and would do without her treat if anyone else was in the house.

We 'shoot' our dogs regularly, and a friend of ours taught his dog to 'dodge bullets' (roll back and forth) while he 'shoots' her  until he says 'Gotcha!', at which point she'll play dead.

[Lexophile]

I had a cockatiel that loved hide and seek. She was horrible at hiding, but she thought if she stood right up against the leg of my coffee table and didn't move, I wouldn't be able to see her.

I would walk around saying, "Where did Star go? Where is Star?" and she would rotate around the leg of the coffee table while keeping herself right up against it. It was the sweetest thing.