Exercising Your Dog At Home
10th April 2020 | Written by the team at Coquet Vets
In these challenging times with Government lockdowns across the UK, many people around the country are struggling with boredom from all the extra time stuck at home. Whilst dogs are loving spending time with their ‘hoomans’ receiving cuddles and attention and potentially more titbits, restrictions on exercise can mean that dogs aren’t getting the same amount of walks a day. This can lead to boredom and, sometimes, naughty behaviour. It can also result in weight gain, which isn’t good for your pet’s health.
Here are some ideas to help stimulate you’re dog mentally as well as physically, whilst staying safe at home:
Make a snuffle mat - Using an old outside rubber doormat with holes in you can thread strips of old blankets or material through the gaps and tie them into place. Alternatively, you can sew strips of material onto an old towel and hide tasty, low fat treats inside.
Play hide and seek - Get a family member to hide somewhere in the house, this is a good way to get your dog to go up and down the stairs. Rewarding with a treat when they find the person hiding, it also keeps your children entertained as they can be the one hiding!
Play hide a treat - Hide tasty, high quality, good smelling treats such as sausage, chicken or fish around the house or garden and let your pet sniff them out. Or hide something tasty under yoghurt pots and see if your dog can find the right pot.
Use Kongs - These are great for keeping your dog entertained and can be filled with low fat yoghurt or peanut butter (make sure it doesn’t contain xylitol as this can be deadly to dogs). If you freeze the filled Kong it will last longer and is good for cooling dogs in the summer months.
Teach your dog a new trick - Take a muffin tray and fill some of the wells with a treat then place tennis balls into each well - now let your pet sniff out the treat.
Play tug-of-war with your dog - don’t worry if you don’t have a suitable toy you can always improvise by putting a ball into an old sock.
Use Puzzle balls - These are great for keeping your dog engaged mentally as they have to work out how to get their food out.
Create an obstacle course - These are easy to set up using cushions, blankets or a hula hoop if you have one. You can make a tunnel by placing a blanket over a couple of chairs then encourage your dog to go through with treats or by throwing a ball through.
Freeze carrots - a frozen carrot will keep your dog occupied longer and it is good for cleaning their teeth at the same time.
Now that we have more time on our hands it is a good opportunity to bond with our pets, so try teaching them something new depending on your dog’s ability – younger dogs can practise sit, stay, down and learn roll over and other tricks!
With older pets it is important not to over exert their joints, just because you’re bored don’t forget your pet isn’t used to you being at home all day every day and may well appreciate some time to just relax and sleep.
Lastly, remember a tired dog is a good dog!
