Play a pet care scavenger hunt

You’ll need

Copy of the riddles on this page

Images of pet care items

PDF – 448.9KB

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Before you begin

Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples can be found here. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Setting up this activity

You could book in a visit at your local Pets at Home store, and see if you can do this activity during your visit. Find out more on our Pets at Home supporter page. Make sure you've got enough adult helpers to accompany the pairs or small groups, as they search the store.
If you’re running the activity in your meeting place, you’ll need to hide pictures around your meeting place before the session. You could use pictures we’ve attached to this activity, which include some other items too. You can decide if you want to just print one picture of each item, or have enough for each team to find one.

Run the activity at your meeting place

Gather everyone together and explain that you’re going to be playing a treasure hunt style game. You’ll all be finding out about different items pets need to be safe, well-looked after and happy.
Everyone should get into small teams. Make sure the teams are of mixed ages and abilities.
Tell everyone that you’ll read out riddle about a pet care item for a particular animal. Each team will then need to work out what the answer is. Once the team know the answer, one person from each team can then go to look for a picture of that item hidden somewhere in the space.
Decide on the order that people in each team will search in before you start playing. Players should take it in turns to go looking for the item, as you can only send one person from each team to search for the item in each round.
Decide how you want to score points and explain it to everyone. You may want to play it that anyone who finds the correct item in under a minute will get a point. You could also stop when the first team has collected the correct item or continue playing until all groups have completed the task.
Set any ground rules, such as no climbing or setting out boundaries for the space. You should explain if there are any no-entry areas and explain that the pictures will be at eye level or below, so they shouldn’t need to climb or reach up.
When you’re all ready to begin, read the first riddle.
When people have found the item, or when time is up, groups can share which animal they thought the riddle was about. People could share anything they know about what the item is used for, and how it is used.
Continue going through the riddles. You can do as many or as few as you like. You could make up your own, too.

Run the activity in a pet store

If you've contacted a store to arrange a visit and to do this activity in-store.

Gather everyone together and explain that you’re going to be playing a treasure hunt style game. You’ll all be finding out about different items pets need to be safe, well-looked after and happy.
Everyone should get into small teams.
Tell everyone that you’ll read out riddle about a pet care item for a particular animal. Each team will then need to work out what the answer is. Once they team know the answer, two people from each team can then go to look for that item hidden somewhere in the shop.
Players will need to look for the physical item then bring it back, before returning it to the shelf. Adult helpers should accompany the players whilst they're exploring the store.
Decide how you want to score points and explain it to everyone. You may want to play it that anyone who finds the correct item in under a minute will get a point. You could also stop when the first team has collected the correct item or continue playing until all groups have completed the task.
Remember to set any ground rules or boundaries, such as to not crowd round till areas, to not disturb other customers and to not leave the shop. You might want to tell people to walk rather than run, and that they need to leave the shelves as they found them.
Before you start, tell people of any areas they shouldn’t look or anything they can’t touch. For example, tell everyone that nothing will be hidden somewhere unsafe – like in the tarantula terrarium!
When you’re ready, read the first riddle.
When everyone is back together, groups can share which animal they thought the riddle was about. People could talk about anything they know about what the item’s used for and how it’s used. Groups could also talk about what specific item they chose and check it's suitable for the animal in the riddle.
Continue going through the riddles. You can do as many or as few as you like and you could make up your own, too.
To prevent people following each other or crowding in the space, one at a time each team could be given their own riddle then search as a team to find that item. They may get a point if they bring the correct item back in under a minute.
Before you finish, make sure all the items have been returned to where they were found.

Other ways to play

You can use these riddles in the way that works best for your group and the setting. Here are some ideas for other ways to play:

When a team solves the riddle, they buzz in and shout out the answer. The team that solves the riddle first then works together to find the item as quickly as possible or within a set time. If you’re getting teams to buzz in with their answer, you could get them to choose an animal and use the noise that animal makes to buzz in.
All the riddles are read out one by one for teams to solve. When all the riddles have been solved, teams work together to remember as many items as they can. They could write these down or draw them. They then have a set amount of time to find as many of the items as they can.
Create a trail of riddles around the store or meeting place. Each riddle leads to an item, where you’ll find the next riddle. This riddle will then take you on to the next item. Teams take it in turns to see how many items they can get through in a set time and each team could have a different set of items.

Pet care riddles

Riddle	Answer
Looking after my fur keeps it healthy and lush, Hop to the small animal aisle to find a _____	BRUSH - A grooming brush for a rabbit Rabbits need to be brushed regularly to help look after their fur. Long-haired rabbits should be groomed every day, so their hair doesn’t get matted (tangled/knotted?) and uncomfortable.
On spinach, greens and hay I like to gobble, But it’s still very important I have a water_______	BOTTLE - A water bottle for a guinea pig Guinea pigs need plenty of fresh water. The best way is to use a bottle with a drinking spout that clips to the side of their hutch. It needs to be changed and cleaned out regularly, so bacteria doesn’t build up inside.
To help cats stay clean each day, you'll need to clean out their ______ ____	LITTER TRAY – Litter tray for a cat Cats like their privacy, so it’s best to put their litter tray in a quiet place. You should try to spot-clean the litter tray every day, and make sure you replace the litter at least once a week.
When I’m going on a walk with you, I’ll probably need a number two. You can’t pick it up using rags, so don’t forget to take ___ ____	POO BAGS - Poo/poop bags for a dog. Dog owners are responsible for cleaning up after their dog. As well as being the right thing to do, it’s also written into law, and dog owners can be fined if they don’t.
A water ____ keeps my tank clean, So all the fishes can still be seen	FILTER – A water filter for a fish tank Fish have a great sense of sight, touch and taste, so keep their tank clean by adding a filter so your fish stays healthy and happy.
I’ve got long ears, a fluffy tail, And I need something in a bale To make sure I stay healthy each day, 80% of my diet should be made of ___	HAY – A bale or bag of feeding hay for a rabbit 80% of a rabbits diet should be made of hay. They also need to eat some fresh vegetables and a small amount of rabbit pellets.
To look after my claws, there's an item I need most See if you can find my lovely scratching ____	POST – A scratching post for a cat Scratching is important for cats. They scratch to claim their space, and help take care of their claws. Giving them a scratching post to use, can make it less likely that they’ll scratch the furniture.
If you’re taking me for walks at night, it's a good idea for me to wear a collar _____	LIGHT - Collar light for a dog. Having a light to go on your dogs collar, for a light up or reflective collar, will help keep your dog safe. You'll be able to keep track of them better, and it’ll help other people be able to see them.
I’ll learn to come when you call, and love to play fetch with a tennis ___	BALL – Tennis ball for a dog It’s important that dogs get the right amount of exercise, and that they have plenty of opportunities to play. Make sure you supervise them when they’re playing with toys, and check them regularly to make sure they’re not damaged.

Note: Collar lights may not be available to buy all year round. They're most useful in the winter months, when the days are shorter and it gets dark earlier.

Reflection

This activity is a good chance to think about being a responsible citizen and to work together as a team.

Getting a pet can be a big responsibility. What do people need to think about before getting a pet? People need to make sure they can meet the animals five welfare needs, so they can be safe and happy their whole life. Can anyone guess what the welfare needs might be?

The five welfare needs are:

A safe place to live - Animals should have the right type of home, including shelter, space and opportunities to exercise, and somewhere comfortable to rest and hide.
Food and water - Animals need to have access to fresh, clean drinking water all the time and should be fed the right amount and type of food to keep them fit and healthy.
To behave normally - Animals should have enough space and the right sort of toys and housing so they can behave normally.
Having the right company - Some animals need to have friends of their own kind. Animals should have the right sort of company, and some should be kept on their own – find out what is best before you get your pet.
Good health - Animals should be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease and should be treated by a vet if they are sick or injured.

People need they need to think about if they have the time, energy, money and space to be able to meet these needs, too.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Active games: The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.
Animals and insects: Be aware of the risks before interacting with animals. Be aware of anyone with allergies, and make alternative arrangements for them.