Happy New Year Everyone! Now that winter is rolling in, we thought it was a good time to share five ways you can keep your dogs busy, happy, active, and healthy indoors. No matter how much time you spend snowshoeing or swimming with your pups, these five things will add quality to their lives!
Make them work for their meals: Whether you have an active dog or a couch potato, making your dog work for his meals is a great way to turn a five minute meal into an hour long challenge. Our favorite way to do this is to use a few Kongs and, instead of feeding your dog in a bowl, pack the kibble into the Kongs. Plug the hole with peanut butter or wet food and freeze overnight. Now your dog can spend a while slowly eating their meal from a toy. It’s physically and mentally more challenging and keeps them busy while you get ready for work or make your own dinner.
Create an indoor agility course: If it’s been raining all week or too cold to get out, try making a little home-made obstacle course inside. Take a broom and place it on two chairs. Teach your dog to jump over it. Now lower the broom so its on a few stacked books. Teach your dog to crawl under it. Viola! Instant agility course!
Teach them tricks: Training is good. It’s that simple. But you can make training fun by picking a few simple trick to teach your dog. What’s the easiest one we know? Puppy Pushups! Ask your dog to lie down, then sit back up, then lie down, then sit up. Simple and good for their brains and bodies!
Change up their toys: Instead of giving them all their toys at once, try rotating their collection, so that they’re always excited about seeing an old friend.
Massage them: It’s good for our soft tissue and it’s good for our dogs too. Use simple long strokes down their back and gentle circular motions on their ears to relax them. A few minutes a day of massage is a great gift to any pup!
We hope this helps you to keep your dogs happy in 2012!
