Ways to Enrich Your Dog’s Life During Lockdown
We all have been told that a “tired dog is a good dog” and many people think that their dog will only be tired if they go for a long off lead walk where they can have a good run. This may work but you may also find that your dog needs a longer and longer walk to achieve this as their fitness increases.
The best way to have a “tired dog” or as I prefer to call them a “calm dog” is to encourage them to use their brain and their senses through short brain games to mentally tire them.
Hide & Seek With Food
To start with hide food behind and object and encourage your dog to go find the food. This is made easier if your dog has a good wait or stay cue. You can build this up to hiding multiple pieces of food or treats for your dog to find while they wait for you to tell them to go find. For extra difficulty you can place your dog in a different room, hide some food and then take them to go find the food.
Puzzle Toys
Puzzle toys are great because they give your dog chance to use some of their natural problem solving abilities and give them plenty of problem mental stimulation.
Many are available in pet shops and on Amazon but you can also make ones at home.
An easy one to make at home is with a muffin tin and tennis balls.
Licki Mats
The act of licking is very calming to dogs and can keep them entertained for around 10-15 minutes sometimes longer depending on your dog and what you put on the mat. My favourite toppings for the mats are natural yoghurt, peanut butter or defrosted raw complete.
Licki Mats and K9-Calm Mats can be found easily on Amazon, eBay or at https://a-ok9.com/collections/accessories
Dogs should always be supervised with them to ensure that they do not decide to chew and ingest them.
Give Your Dog an Appropriate Chew
All dogs love to chew, it is a natural and calming behaviour for them. Giving your dog a size appropriate chew can keep them entertained for 5 minutes to 1 hour depending on the chew.
We love to use: Tripe sticks, rabbit ears (with or without fur), fish skin chews, goats ears, cow ears (with or without fur), buffalo ears, fallow antlers, split antlers and Yak chews to name a few.
Basically anything that is natural and safe and isn’t rawhide.
Enjoy!