5 Simple Ways to “Puppy Proof” Your Home
September 10, 2025
With their playful personalities and active natures, Golden Retrievers love all outdoor adventures. Every golden can’t wait to go for a walk, jump in the lake, or fetch a ball. While walking, swimming, and retrieving are familiar favorites, goldens enjoy new and different experiences. Here are three unique and fun activities to try with your golden retriever.
Set up a backyard agility course for your dog. Your golden will love the challenge of maneuvering over, under, and around obstacles. Common garage/basement items, like hula hoops, pool noodles, cardboard boxes, garden stakes, pvc pipe lengths, and old tires work well. These can be used to build jumps, tunnels, teeter totters, and weave zones.
Plan a sniffing game. Dogs are designed to sniff-over 40% of a dog’s brain is dedicated to detecting odors. Scientists have even calculated that dogs can smell 100,000 times better than we can. Challenge this exceptional sense of smell by playing nose games with your golden. Make a cheese tree. Cut up some medium size cubes of cheese and squish them into the bark of a larger tree. Vary the height so that your dog has to reach and stretch to find them. If a tree is not available, a wall or hedge will work as well. Create a scent “trail” by using a super tasty or super smelly food item. Drag it across outdoor surfaces to a suitable hiding place.
Teach your dog to dock dive. Does your golden love the water? Does your golden have a beloved toy or ball? Combine the two for some grand fun. A safe waterfront location with a solid dock and deeper water is needed. Toss the toy or ball off the dock. Gradually, increase the distance so your dog can jump higher and farther.
Do you have a fun game that your golden retriever enjoys? Share it with us. We love trying new games with all of our energetic canine companions here at Windy Knoll Goldens.
