Paw Quarterly • Winter 2023

from Paw Quarterly • Winter 2023

Paw Quarterly • Winter 2023

Beat the Boredom

Things to do indoors this winter.

Let’s face it, the isolation of winter can drive anyone crazy, human or animal. No one wants to go walking outside in dangerously cold weather. It’s not so great for our short haired dogs either. All we want to do is curl up on the couch and watch a movie.

Maybe you’ve noticed your dog being a little more naughty than usual. This could be because they don’t have anywhere to direct their energy. When you can’t physically exhaust your dog through their usual activities, it‘s time to try mentally exhausting them. The amount of mental exercise your dog needs per day can depend on your dog’s personality, age, and breed.

Pick a game that will compliment your dog’s strengths.

If you have a working breed, try search, scenting, or retrieving games. If you have a dog that has more flexibility like a border collie, you can do some agility skill building or advanced tricks. If you have a smaller dog, they may enjoy more puzzle and dexterity games.

Anything that makes your dog happy is a good game to play. Using their brain will tire them out differently than physical exercise. Interactive play will

strengthen your bond with each other, and will help them be more settled and calm. Mental stimulation will help reduce stress, and build confidence.

Instead of feeding your dog from their bowl, try a search game by scattering their meal on the floor and let them use their nose to find their food. It will mentally tire them out while keeping them busy for a while.

If getting out of the house is more appealing to you, practice some of your skills out at a pet friendly business. Is there something you always wanted to try but never made time for? Get out of the house, sign up for a class with one of your local training centres.

Find out what sort of dog sports are offered in your area. If you’re already involved with a dog sport, take it to the next level, or try something new. If you just want to stay at home, try playing hide and seek, search, impulse control, or tug games.

These types of activities that you can do indoors, at home or with a club, are all skill building for sports like flyball, nose work, tracking, agility, and rally-obedience to name a few. Start training some novice or advanced tricks.

Work on some disc skills so when spring comes around you are ready to hit the fields for some Toss ‘n Fetch.

Whatever you choose to do, do it with Fun!

INDEPENDENT GAMES:

Snuffle Mats - Food Scatter and Search - Food Dispensing Toys - Scenting Search Games

Paw Quarterly • Winter 2023

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