This Rover is a pest listening game always goes down a treat! It’s a great way to make everyone really listen and very good for building confidence too.
Everyone gets so caught up with the doggie impressions that they don’t realise that listening games like this are also memorising music note names and values too.
I have a dog and his name is Rover,
He is the one that I love the best!
When he is good he is good all over,
When he is bad he is just a pest!

If you’re looking for more musical activities with a doggy theme, check out the How Much is That Doggy? lesson plan
- Using the sheet below, make the 5 doggy sound cards, and first make sure that the children are familiar with the different doggy sounds and which note each sound corresponds to.
- Everyone sits in a circle, and one child is chosen to sit in the middle blindfolded with eyes closed.
- Start the listening game by singing the little song before each child has a go at making their doggy impressions.
- After the song, the teacher hands a card to one of the children in the circle, and without saying anything, the child must then make the sound indicated on the card.
- The blindfolded child must first identify the doggy sound and which note it goes with, but also can they guess which child is making the noise? This is not so easy with the doggy disguise!
- If they guess correctly, then they swap places, but if they get it wrong, they’ll have to try again.
- Younger kids might need a few clues to help them, but this just adds to the fun!
- Repeat this listening game until everyone has had a go.
- Rover Is A Pest Song Sheet
If you are new to music theory, read my Introducing the Note Family post, which explains basic note values in a child friendly way and check out my How To Read Music Made Easy ebook which is accompanied by lots of handy printables and worksheets.
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