Activity plays an important role in your dog’s overall health and wellbeing. In addition to being born to be active, many breeds have extra energy they need to exert and when they don’t they resort to activities we frown upon, like chewing, licking, and even overeating.
The winter months in Connecticut can make it hard to get the same walk time every day and it’s certainly not the kind of weather where you can head to a park or your backyard to play fetch.
Instead of letting your dog experience the winter blues or set unhealthy standards in the routines, they’ve already come to know, there are ways you can help keep them active indoors.
Here are 3 ideas to try with our pup.
Play Hide & Seek
Dog’s love a challenge and a good old game of hide and seek is good for all. Give the kids time to get their energy out with the dog, chasing around and hiding from one another – or spend time yourself reliving a childhood favorite game. Find an object or yourself, show it to your dog, and quickly hide it. Ask them to go look for it and they will start running around looking everywhere and exerting energy in excitement as they do.
Indoor Fetch
Your dog may be telling you he missing tossing the ball if he’s constantly bringing it over to you and dropping it in your lap. Instead of saying, it’s too cold to outside and brush them off, pick up something you can toss indoors and have some safe fun when you can. Pick a soft item that won’t cause damage and make a clear running path in a long hallway where you can toss the ball for them to go around. It may not be the equivalent of throwing a football for yards, but it will be enough for them to feel like they’ve accomplished something for the day.
Go for a Walk Indoors
If running around and throwing things isn’t the best option for you or your dog, then you can still get your activity in by choosing an indoor walk. Many pet stores and other stores allow dogs in their facilities. Take a stroll around your local pet shop or hardware store so they can stretch their legs and still get some steps in.
Need to set up some indoor boundaries for your dog? Our versatile Indoor Boundaries product is effective for entire rooms, very small areas, entryways, furniture, stairs… or wherever you need them. You can choose the areas that are “off-limits” because sometimes pets need boundaries indoors, too.
SHOP NOW!
