Winter can be a tough time for those of us with high energy dogs! As most of you know I have a 1.5 year old lab (Poncho) that tests my ability to be creative each indoor day:) We have discovered that those rainy days can actually be fun for the whole family! Here are some ideas:
1. Use the indoor time to stimulate their mind with training! If they are good with basic manners...teach them a fun trick to entertain your guests at the next dinner party! Remember your dog loves to learn and use his mind. Here is a fun sight to give you some ideas...
http://www.loveyourdog.com/tricks.html. Remember training should always be fun for both you and your dog:)
2. Play soccer with your dog indoors with a tennis ball. This keeps the ball on the ground but makes your dog have to chase it around and gets them tired:) This is also a good way to continue working on a good sit stay. Keep in mind that the concept of stay must be installed prior to this being an effective exercise:) Get them on a sit/stay on the other side of the room. From here walk back to your starting point and then start the game once you have given your dog his release cue. These are all little exercises in patience for your dog:)
3. Cat feather toys...AMAZINGLY entertaining to the average high energy dog! Poncho goes nuts for the Go Cat Feather toys. After about 15 minutes of him chasing this around the house his tongue is hanging like we have just been to the park!
http://www.go-cat.com4. I cannot stress work to eat puzzles enough! The kong, buster cube, treat stick, etc . Measure out what you are going to feed your dog for the day. If you have a 1 dog household you can put the food in multiple toys and hide them around the house!! If you have a multiple dog household you can give them in separate areas while you are getting ready to leave for the day and keep one more for a lunch time stop and/or for when you get home for the day. This utilizes your dog's need to work for his food:) Rather than them gulping their food down in 2 seconds you have used this activity more efficiently:)
5. Bully Sticks !! Ahh dog's chewing on a bully stick is said to be the human equivalent to reading a good book or watching a good movie. It fully engages them, lowers anxiety, and can entertain them for quite some time during one session. This activity also gives you the opportunity to do some resource guarding prevention work. Please consult your pet dog trainer for ideas on how to safely and properly do this.
All resources mentioned above can be found at local retailers under Favorite Links on the Henry's Royal Canine Care website! Now you can start enjoying those wet Seattle days:)