Dogs have a way of working their way in to our hearts and becoming indispensable furry family members. Many kids love playing and cuddling with the family pet, or begging for one if your household doesn’t already include a canine. Dog games are fun for young dog obsessed kids, whether or not they have a pet.
Video games, board games, and card games offer children a way to enjoy and learn about dog breeds and dog care, or simply play an entertaining or educational game that features their favorite animal. Here are some fantastic dog games for the entire family.
Best Dog Games for Kids and Families
Educational Insights Diggity Dogs Game | Check price at | |
Educational Insights Shelby’s Snack Shack Game | Check price at | |
Dogit Mind Games 3-in-1 Interactive Smart Toy for Dogs | Check price at | |
Nintendogs Dachshund & Friends Lowest Price | Check price at | |
Dog Bingo Board Game | Check price at |
1. Educational Insights Diggity Dogs Game
Educational Insights Diggity Dogs Game is a fun game that is simple enough for even the younger members of the family to play. It’s similar to the well-known ‘Go Fish’ card game. Each player must ask other players for cards and they must either give over their card or tell that player to draw from the pile. The object of the game is to match your cards to the pictures of care items on a particular dog card, then that dog becomes yours. Win the most dogs and you win the game. Having played the game myself with a couple of youngsters, I can tell you that it’s simple enough for little ones and requires no reading. However, there’s actually enough memory and strategy to entertain adults. The dog pictures are adorable, and the game reminds kids that dogs need care like food, brushing, and toys.
2. Educational Insights Shelby’s Snack Shack Game
One of the excellent dog games designed for preschoolers, Educational Insights Shelby’s Snack Shack Game is a multiple award winner. The game encourages numbers and counting using the charmingly illustrated game board, spinner, dog bones, and bowls. Gameplay is simple. Help Shelby the adorable pooch find her lost bones by spinning and then putting the designated number of bones in your bowl. The player with the most bones wins!
3. Dogit Mind Games 3-in-1 Interactive Smart Toy for Dogs
Even though the Dogit Mind Games 3-in-1 Interactive Smart Toy for Dogs is obviously designed for dogs, not children, it’s a fun way for children and adults to bond with their furry best friend. There are three interactive games for your pet to enjoy including hide-and-seek, spin-a-whirl, and and sliding puzzle. In each game version, pups move a part of the game board to reveal treats. Not only is it stimulating for your pet, children especially will enjoy setting up the games, hiding the treats, and helping their best friend find their rewards. The entire process helps children learn to play with their pet in a constructive way. It’s designed for small and medium dogs and children and pets should play with supervision.
4. Dogz – Nintendo DS
In Dogz – Nintendo DS, players adopt a puppy from the pet store, name their new best friend, and take it to their virtual home. From there, players interact with their pet in a completely unique way from other video dog games. They must use the speaker on the Nintendo DS to teach puppy his or her new name. It takes a little patience, just like a real dog! Then, use the same method to teach the visual dog other commands like sit and shake. Players enjoy all sorts of activities with their new pet, like walks, trips to the park to play frisbee, and visits to the vet. Dogs even meet other dog friends and have parties. This fun, interactive video game teaches dog care basics and includes three mini games for extra fun.
5. The Game Of Life It’s A Dog’s Life Edition
The Game Of Life It’s A Dog’s Life Edition is fun spin on the popular board game, The Game of Life, but with dogs. Pet lovers will love playing this game where the typical life events have been replaced with doggie life events. Careers for the pups include service dog and police dog. Add puppies to your family instead of kids. Doggie players also bury bones, chase squirrels, buy a new collar, and get fined for sleeping in the bed. The Game of Life encourages reading skills and basic money management. Comes with everything needed to play the game and players can even customize your play token to represent your own dog.
6. Fur-Ever Home The Animal Rescue Game
Dog games will hopefully encourage children to show compassion towards animals. Fur-Ever Home The Animal Rescue Game does exactly that. Players run and manage their own animal rescue in ‘Straytown’ and must place animals in their forever homes. Difficult to adopt animals are worth more points than the easier to adopt animals. Rescue managers make decisions for their rescue organization and the animals under their care. Children learn money and resource management as they compete with other players and find animals loving, permanent homes. An amazing and socially conscious game for kids eight years old and up.
7. Nintendogs Dachshund & Friends
Nintendogs Dachshund & Friends is the most popular of the Nintendogs series of dog games for the Nintendo DS. Nintendogs and all other Nintendo DS games are also playable on the newest Nintendo handheld game consoles like the 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS. Players choose a dog from a variety of breeds like miniature dachshund, golden retriever, beagle, pug, Siberian husky and shih tzu. Owners train their new puppy by by walking it and purchasing toys, and then compete in obedience and agility trials to win money. Earn enough money to buy more puppies!
8. Sequence Dogs Game
A fun game for the entire family, Sequence Dogs Game features adorable, furry best friends. Just like the original, challenging Sequence strategy game, players must play cards from their hand, place their chips on the board, and block other players. Five chips in a row is a sequence that wins the game! The dog cards each have some information about the dog featured on the card.
9. Dog Bingo Board Game
The Dog Bingo Board Game is a fun, educational way to play bingo, featuring 42 different dog breeds. Each player gets a bingo card and then cards are drawn from the shuffled deck of dog cards. If that dog is on your card, you simply place a chip on that space until someone calls bingo. Encourage kids to practice reading the names of the dog breeds and take time to learn something about each one.
What are your family’s favorite dog game? Tell us about them in the comments below!
Feature image courtesy of Flickr, JD Hancock.