Start with a hidden-toy search if you want a quiet game, a short retrieve if your dog enjoys carrying things, or a cone game if they like following you. Give your dog a small job with a clear finish, then see whether they want another turn.
These five suggested games for herding dogs work without livestock or specialist equipment. You can play a quiet search in one room or use more space for a walking game. Pick the activity that suits today, rather than trying all five at once.
The AKC’s indoor-games guide includes searches, hide-and-seek and cue practice. The starting setups below are our editorial suggestions, adapted to keep the first attempts simple.
1. Find the toy
Choose this when: you have one quiet room and your dog enjoys looking for a favorite toy.
Use a toy your dog already seeks out, in a room with clear floor space. Let your dog watch you put it partly behind a chair leg. Say “find it,” then celebrate with a little play when they reach it. They don’t need to bring it back for the search to count. If they find the toy and settle down with it, you have still given them a complete, successful job.
For the next turn, show less of the toy. If your dog looks back at you rather than searching, reveal it and try the easier version again. Change the hiding place or how much is visible, not both at once. Keep the search at floor level so finding the toy never requires climbing.
2. Retrieve one toy, then swap
Choose this when: carrying a toy is already part of the fun. If your dog only wants to chase, start with a toy placed nearby rather than a throw.
Put a favorite toy a short distance away instead of launching it across the garden. Encourage your dog toward it and reward coming back. If carrying it is new, reward looking at the toy first, then touching or picking it up. Build the return separately rather than waiting for a complete retrieve.
Offer a second toy or an appropriate reward as a trade. Don’t turn a dropped toy into a race between your hand and your dog’s mouth. If the dog would rather keep the first toy, change games instead of chasing them for it. Stop if they stiffen, growl or guard the toy; do not test the reaction by reaching for it. Ask a qualified reward-based professional for help.
3. Walk around a cone
Set one stable marker on a surface where neither of you slips. Walk a broad curve around it together, then reward your dog beside you. Try the other direction. You are giving them a simple route to follow, not building a speed course.
Once the route is familiar, make your own movement a little smaller: take a shorter step while keeping the same broad route around the marker. Return to walking alongside if they stop or cut across. Leave tight turns, jumps and faster handling to activities suited to the individual dog’s condition and training.
4. Touch, mat, return: a three-stop job
Choose three things your dog already knows: touch your hand, go to a mat, and return to you, for example. Ask for one action and reward it before moving to the next. New cues and a new sequence at the same time are more confusing than interesting.
When each action is easy, change the order. A hand touch followed by a mat visit is a different little problem from a mat visit followed by a hand touch. If your dog begins guessing, go back to a single cue and reward that. For example, ask for the hand touch, reward it, and finish there; the mat can wait until the next turn.
5. Find the person
Have a helper stay with your dog while you move partly behind an open doorway. Call once. When your dog reaches you, give them a welcome and a reward they enjoy. At first, being easy to find is the point. Keep the reward at the hiding spot so finding you finishes the game immediately.
Choose another nearby hiding place only after the first one is comfortable. Keep the game inside or in a familiar enclosed area, away from stairs and exits. If waiting with the helper is upsetting, play the toy search together instead.
Start with one successful search
Pick the toy search. Show the hiding place, let your dog find the toy, then play together. Repeat with the toy a little more visible if they struggled, or slightly less visible if it was easy. Finish there. Save the other games for another day if this one is enough. A dog enjoying one easy search has not missed out by skipping the rest of the list.
How to finish a good game
Judge success by whether your dog understands the job and wants another turn, not by how tired they look. End after a few comfortable successes rather than waiting for frustration. Put the equipment away and offer a quiet break. If your dog starts grabbing clothes, chasing people or looking uncomfortable, stop the activity and give them space for a quiet break. Repeated problems deserve help from a qualified reward-based trainer; a more exhausting game isn’t automatically the answer.
Choose comfortable footing and adapt activities to the individual dog. For puppies, older dogs or dogs with mobility concerns, ask your veterinarian about suitable activity before adding physical difficulty. Other pets and children should never become a pretend flock. For indoor play on wood, check the route and surfaces using our wood-floor protection guide; a clear room is not necessarily a nonslip room.
Updated 20 September 2026. Edited with AI assistance.
