With the Coronavirus picking up steam in the US, many dog owners are faced with more time than usual stuck indoors. Which is a big problem considering all dogs need daily exercise in order to stay happy and healthy. If you’re stumped on what to do and have a high energy pup, here are some activities you can do to exercise your dog indoors.
Play Brain Games
- ~ The first game you can play involves a muffin tin and some tennis balls. Place treats or kibble in the tin and put the tennis balls on top. Your dog needs to figure out how to get the treat. If they’ve never played this game before, it might take them awhile to figure it out.
- ~ Similar to the muffin tin game, you can use plastic cups to hide the treats. Your dog will have to figure out how to uncover the treats. You can start with three plastic cups and then work up to using a bunch of cups to make the game harder.
- ~ For the next brainy game, all you’re going to need is a towel or blanket you don’t mind your dog getting into. Use the towel to cover a treat or your dog’s favorite toy. This is a great way to activate your pup’s sense of smell which stimulates your dog’s brain and tires them out.
Play Go Find
A great activity for your dog is playing “Go Find”. What you can do is tell your dog to sit and stay in one room where your dog won’t be able to see you. Then you can go around the house and leave food rewards in different places. Your dog will love running around the place trying to find treats and wear themselves out with the game.
Use A Slow Feeder
These bowls are great for making your dog think as they try to get at their food. If your pup is really clever, they might be able to dump the food out by knocking the bowl over. However, a fun trick you can pull is putting a little water in the feeder with the food and then freezing it. This way your dog will have to puzzle out and work to get their meal.
Play Hide and Seek
Similar to go find, have your dog sit and stay in a separate room. Then you hide yourself in a location and call your pup over to you. See how long it takes for them to find you or if they even try to find you at all. Having a treat in your hand or shaking the treat bag at first could motivate an unwilling participant.
Doggie Treadmill
Teach your dog how to use a treadmill! A treadmill is an excellent tool to help your pup get some exercise inside. It can be pretty intimidating for your dog to learn to use so take it slow. A few things you will need are a treadmill, collar or harness, dog treats, and lots of patience and love.
- Start by running the treadmill so your dog can get used to the sound of it. Reward them for calm behavior around the machine. Have them sit, stand, and walk around the machine until they are completely used to being around it.
- Then turn the machine off and coax your pup onto it. Once they are up, reward them with a treat. Use cues like “On” or “Off” to control when your dog gets on and off. Do this a few times having them come up and off and getting used to the feel of the machine. Continue to reward good and calm behavior.
- Next, with your dog on the treadmill, try turning on the machine to the lowest setting and have your dog walk a few steps, then immediately turn it off and reward your dog. Do this a few times, turning it on and off until your dog gets used to walking on it. If your dog ever panics, go back a step and continue to enforce them with getting used to the machine.
- Slowly ramp up the length of time and speed of the machine and continue to reward your pup for calm behavior. Don’t give them a treat while they’re walking, wait until you turn the machine off, because it’s very difficult for a dog to chew while they’re walking and they could choke.
How fast and how long you exercise your dog depends entirely upon the breed and character of your pet. Some dogs are more comfortable at a walk while others enjoy going at a fast trot. For a pup that’s overweight, twenty minutes can last forever. If they have lots of energy to burn go for longer periods of time. The speed should be a comfortable pace for your dog to have a natural walking or trotting pace.
Here’s another important note: never tie your dog to the treadmill. This could lead to injuries if your dog ever tries to jump off, accidentally trips, or gets too tired to continue.
Pro Tip: Have your dog go to the bathroom right before using the treadmill. Trotting on the machine will get their bowels moving and you won’t like having to clean up the mess afterwards.
Build An Obstacle Course
This is a great way to get creative and help your dog work off some steam. You can use all sorts of things to build this obstacle course including boxes, chairs, pillows, toys, PVC pipes etc. Make sure to move breakable furniture out of harm’s way as you’re gearing up.
Like with all training, start slow and work your way up. Every time your pup does an action that brings them closer to the desired goal, reward them. Also, remember to have fun! Your dog can tell how you’re feeling and will love bonding with you through the experience.
In Conclusion
There are a number of things that you can do to continue to exercise your pup indoors. You and your dog can still have a wonderful time inside while the world figures out how to handle this pandemic. We hope that you continue to stay safe out there and remember that we’re all in this together.
What are some ways that you’ve exercised your dog inside?