It takes a bit of prep to make an iPad dog safe and vice versa; but after a heavy duty screen protector and a rugged case our dog has his own iPad.
He loves the app, Games for Dogs.
I’m hoping to find some more iPad games for dogs. Any suggestions?
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3My advice is that iPads are not for dogs. Dogs need physical exercise. The dog will not be interested on it anyway. Take the dog to the park. Throw him the ball and he will love you for that. As simple as that.– papakiasCommented Apr 30, 2018 at 15:00
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1He loves the dog park, and playing with balls. That said, he goes wild over his iPad game. He treats it as a serious contact sport, jumping up and down on the iPad to get the little animated dog to squeak. I’ve done a little testing and the iPad game wins over playing ball. Even more shocking the iPad game almost beats out treats. I’ve never seen anything beat out treats, except a better treat. =)– Christopher KlausCommented May 1, 2018 at 0:03
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1May I use your question as a perfect example for "first world problems"?– Marcello di SimoneCommented Jun 25, 2018 at 13:39
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@MarcellodiSimone Definitely a first world puppy problem! =)– Christopher KlausCommented Jun 25, 2018 at 13:57
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2 Answers
I could be wrong, but I don't think you're going to have success with anything but the most basic games for a dog. If there isn't something about the game that the dog immediately finds fun, it's probably not going to be interested in it. A video game is not like one of those toys you can hide treats in, where it'll be obvious to the dog there's a reward to be had. Dogs have to be trained in types of play that don't come naturally to them and the reward isn't immediately obvious, like they have to be trained to use an automatic ball thrower.
When young children play video games, they'll often become obsessed with some silly small aspect, like trying on different hats, and ignore the entire rest of the game, because the trying on hats part is fun for them, and they don't really care about other potential fun they could be having. I imagine a dog would behave similarly. I think it'd be very hard to design a game for a dog that has some obvious thing that will immediately attract its attention, and not have the dog end up obsessed with that part, ignoring the whole other part that's there to make the game more challenging.
If the goal is to keep the dog exercised and entertained, you've already achieved that. Animals like repetitive games. It's less likely they'll get bored of it like an adult human would.
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Excellent point. I’ll revise the question to be more iPad games for dogs, rather than more challenging iPad games for a smart dog. =) Commented May 2, 2018 at 23:39
When a dog shows such a fixation for a technical device, it's either a sign of mental underload or he's being (un)consciously trained to do so by you. However, I would even call it an abnormal behavior for a dog. Normally dogs don't need artificial distraction other then doing regular dog stuff nor do they have any natural interest in electronic devices. I would assume the fixation you're dog is showing is the result of the positive reinforcement you've given him, consciously or unconsciously, watching his interaction with the iPad.
So instead of searching for more Apps to further drive your dogs unnatural behavior, you'd be better advised to channel it onto dog typical activities. I don't think it is harmful, but I don't think it's a healthy behavior either.
answered Jun 25, 2018 at 13:58
