If you’re like me, I don’t relish going out on cold, windy, snowy days. Coupled with the shorter days, I find myself becoming a couch potato – and easily bored. Well, our dogs feel the same way ! Our dogs still need exercise and mental stimulation to prevent boredom and the resultant overexcitement.
Here are a few games you can play to cure both human and puppy boredom:
Hide N Seek
The easiest way to play hide and seek as an indoor dog game is to have two people at home. One person stays with the dog. The other leaves and hides. When they are in position, they call the dog by name. The person holding the dog lets them go, and the game is on! Make a huge deal when the missing person is found, give them lots of praise and treats - You need to convey excitement in your voice.
How To Play Dog Hide and Seek With One Person
If you are riding in isolation at home solo, you can still play Hide and Seek. Get the dog to STAY, then once out of eyesight quickly hide. Call COME (or their name) and wait for the dog to find you.
Muffin Tin Game
This uses items you probably already have around your house. You can treat it as a DIY puzzle feeder and put treats in the muffin pan with tennis balls on top. Your dog has to move the balls out of the way to get to the treats.
Another way to use this is as a find the treat game. Put a treat under one of the tennis balls and have your puppy try to guess which one has the food.
Trick: Unroll the mat
A simple game to play with your dog involves just two items, treats, and your yoga mat! You can also use a towel if you don’t have a mat.
Place the mat or towel on the floor in front of you. Place a single treat right at the end. Next, roll the mat over itself once (like you are rolling up a yoga mat).
Place treats along the way as you roll up the yoga mat, only inches apart
There should be lots of treats by the time you have rolled the entire towel or mat up.
Leave the last treat visible on the mat right where the roll of the yoga mat starts. The dog will go to eat the treat, and accidentally push the roll forward with their nose, revealing the next treat.
Dogs usually pick up on the treats and start to unroll it by themselves! The great thing is, they are teaching themselves the trick!
If the dog doesn’t get the hang of it, you can help the first few times by unrolling the mat slightly to demonstrate the surprise to the pup.
You can repeat but cut down on the total number of treats until there are very few and they have to unroll the whole thing to get to the final surprise! You can also alternate normal treats with low calorie treat options like carrots or bell peppers!
Scavenger Hunt
A great way to pass the time includes your dog’s nose! Dogs have a remarkable sense of smell, which can be used as a game to hide treats and have your dog find them.
Place those yummy snacks around the house, behind or in places dogs normally wouldn’t think to look and see how well they’re able to track them down for an awesome reward.
Increase the challenge once they understand the concept by hiding their snacks while they’re in another room. This not only keeps them entertained, but we’re sure owner’s will get a great kick out of watching their furry friend search for an awesome prize.
Push-ups
A push-up is simply a sit, then a lie down, and then back up to a sit. That's one. Repeated, it can become two, three, four, and so on.
Other ideas:
· Train your dog
· Teach a Trick
· Give them something appropriate to chew
· Physical activities like cavelettis
· Groom your dog (or brush their teeth or do their nails)
· Give them a massage
· Play Fetch or Tug
Tell us what you like to do to keep your dog engaged and happy ! Post pictures or videos in the comments on the post in my FB page PlayNTrain K9
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