Home School your dogs during COVID lockdown
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Don’t let one hour of exercise stop your dog from getting their enrichment and exercise needs met. It’s time the dogs did some home schooling.
With the limit of 1 hour to exercise and an 8mth old kelpie cross I will admit that I feared for my furniture and my sanity. And then I remembered that as a vet who does post op physical rehabilitation on dogs. I design enrichment programs for dogs that can not leave their crate for hours on end. And during their recovery even if they can spend time out we need to keep excitement low which often means getting fit in the house before we can go on outside walks. With this in mind I have brought my work home with me and the whole pack is having a blast.
Scatter feeding- I will walk around the backyard and sometimes the house scattering pieces of kibble (or peas for those who need less calories) that Toby has to search high and low for. Rather than feeding from a bowl twice a day Toby is getting the same amount of food but having to use his nose and brain to get it. A dogs nose is the equivalent of our sight. So you could say that this is me setting him multiple reading tasks during the day. He usually needs a nap! Time to set up- 5min. Time spent searching- start off easy and hide lots of food in 2-3 locations which will take them 5 minutes. Slowly make it harder until you can hide individual kibble Pieces and have your dog spend an hr finding them all! Variation- not a foodie? hide your dogs favourite toys instead.
Arts and crafts in the sand pit- let your dog dig it out ins a clam shell sand pit rather than your grass.
Free play- give your dog the empty pizza or take away containers (after making sure that any fatty foods or onion are removed). Let them rip it up and lick it outside. This is great for younger dogs who want to chew on things to guide them away from your couch.
Group play- after warming up (this is just as important for your per as it was when you were playing sports) with some sniffing play some tug of war or fetch. When playing fetch use a big soft toy that your pet can not swallow and is easy to pick up without having to break suddenly. Intersperse fetch with some chases with the human to give them a chance to catch their breath.
Formal training- work on a new trick like nodding and shaking their head. Spinning in a circle or paw shake. This is the perfect time to reach out to a trainer for some online loose lead walking lessons so your pet is ready physically and mentally to walk out of lockdown on their best behaviour when we are free again.
Skin Rolls – all pups love a good massage – skin rolls keeps the blood flowing
These activities take only a few minutes a day and are great for the humans mental health as well
Want to know about more activities you can do to help your dog thrive during lockdown? Head over to Primalpaws.com for toys, advice and chews to help your family come out of this stronger and ready to play.