Whether the weather is rubbish or your pets are too young, old or injured and can’t leave the house, there are many exciting things you can do to keep your dogs entertained inside the house.
Let’s dive straight in!
Sniff games
Sniff games are a great way to keep your dog occupied and really tire them out. Sniffing raises your dog's heart rate just as if they were out running about so not only is it mentally tiring it’s also physically tiring.
You can start small by scatter feeding letting your dog sniff out their food/treats on the floor and then progress to more complex treat searches by hiding treats around the room and letting your dog search them out.
If your dog’s already a pro with treats why not try a toy or really challenge them to try a novel item/scent and work on searching for that?
2. Enrichment toys and treats
Enrichment toys and treats can be perfect for those dogs who have reduced mobility and would struggle to walk about your home unaided.
Enrichment treats and toys come in many forms from long-lasting chews such as hooves, horns and other natural treats or they can be in the form of slow feeders, puzzle toys or chew toys.
Dogs can find licking and chewing relaxing so anything that is safe and your dog likes to lick/chew can be a great distraction when you can’t get out and about.
3. Training
If you’re looking for something you and your dogs can do together why not try some training? There are so many areas you can branch into here giving you so many choices.
A few of my favourite areas to start are basic obedience, body awareness and scent work.
For more info on how to get started speak with a local posirive dog trainer.
4. Tricks
Tricks are a great way to grow a bond with your dog whilst also keeping them entertained.
Some can be quick and easy such as sit or paw or you can be a bit more adventurous and go for something more challenging such as teaching your dog the names of all their toys or how to speak.
Once your dog has mastered a few tricks you can link them together. You can have a string of tricks or you can mich sniff games and tricks and have your dog search for a specific treat or toy.
5. Fitness
Fitness training can be a huge help to your dogs not only does it improve their health and quality of life it also keeps them entertained and tires them out mentally and physically.
If your pet is young, old or injured you need to consult your vet physio before starting a fitness plan but if your dogs are in good health we have a few resources available here to get you started.
And you can book your physio session here: https://www.fitpetphysio.com/book-online-1