Keeping your dog busy while we’re on lockdown can seem like a daunting task if you have a particularly mad hound, but even the pups who’re content to sleep most of the day away need some stimulation to keep them healthy and active.
Here are 5 ideas for lockdown fun (which if you play your cards right may even buy you a couple of hours to focus if you’re working from home!)
Puzzles. You can buy puzzle toys for dogs from most pet stores or Amazon, but a cheap and easy alternative is using an empty milk carton! Just pop a few small treats in there to rattle around - and if your pup finds that too easy, then screw the cap on and poke a couple of holes in the carton so they can still smell the treats. They’ll be chasing that around for a while!
Kongs. The world and his wife have a kong toy (and if you don’t you can purchase them inexpensively HERE) and they’re great. Either fill them with the Kong paste/treats or pate/peanut butter (make sure it’s dog friendly though) and leave them to lick away… freeze it first if you want to change it up!
Treasure hunts. Shut your dog out of the room while you place some treats around for them to find, then encourage them to find them. ”Find it!” Is a command in our household and the dogs love it - the family spaniel is sensible and uses his nose and my mini schnauzer just repeatedly checks anywhere he’s previously found a treat (they don’t have to be good at it to enjoy it!).
Scheduled playtime. Lockdown is a strange time for everyone, and there’s no pressure to stick to a daily routine if it doesn’t work for you - but if it does, then having scheduled playtime each day will give your dog a structure for when he/she should play and rest. It only takes a few days to create a habit with dogs and there’s no harm in giving them a chew in their bed when you need them to be calm and let you get on! We really like these dried venison bones from Veni-Dog - we’ve yet to meet a dog who doesn’t love them and they last a while too! Click HERE to order :)
Make the most of your government mandated walking time! Use the time to take your dog on a walk with lots of different smells, sounds and textures so that they’re whacked out by the time you get home. If that’s easier said than done then maybe take them for a jog! Even 30 seconds of running to each minute of walking will liven up their walk…
We hope you find these useful - for any further advice or queries feel free to contact us on riverdogstudioltd@gmail.com. Take care and keep wagging!