The ‘101 Things To Do With A Box’ game is a really fun clicker training game to just encourage a love of learning in your dog or other pet. It also is great practice for you in watching for those teachable, reinforceable behaviors from your pet.
No expensive props needed for this. You can use a cardboard box or anything really. I will use a dog as my example for this but if you have a parrot or rabbit you can play this with them.
Simply put the object down on the ground (or a table possibly if you have a bird), have your dog on a leash (or off if he will stay with you) in a room without many distractions and sit or stand a few feet back – then wait.
Watch for any kind of behavior – no matter how small – that relates to the box or object. It can be as simple as a look, sniff, step toward it, pushing it, etc. When you see it, click (or use a verbal marker like YES) and treat or give another behavior strengthener. At this stage you will be clicking for any purposeful behavior directed toward the box.
What’s wonderful about this is that because you aren’t starting with a specific goal in mind, there really is no wrong answer.
As his confidence builds, you will notice that he will start offering more behaviors. At some point, you may want to come up with a goal behavior based upon what your dog has offered and shape it into something specific. (Please click here for my post on shaping to learn more.) A goal could be to have two feet inside the box, flip the box, etc.
Below is a video of the game from another trainer: