Fun Winter Activities for Your Dog
Winter can be a drag when it comes to exercising our pets! Here’s some things you can do to make sure your dog stays healthy and active during cold, snowy days:
- Play hide and go seek. Start out with easy hiding places and call your pet to you so they can learn the game. Once they understand that you want them to find you, make the game a little bit harder. This is mentally stimulating and makes them use their noses! Plus it’s super fun when they get so excited that they found you! You can also play this game by hiding treats or their favorite toy, indoors or outdoors.
- If you have one available, a treadmill is an excellent way to burn off your pets excess energy. Like anything else, you want to train them right so that they enjoy walking on the treadmill and it doesn’t become a scary thing. Start off with just turning the treadmill on and giving your dog a treat. Once they become comfortable with the noise and movement of the treadmill, place them on it while it is turned off and again treat them. Start off slowly when when you begin to teach them to walk on it and always reward them. It may take a few days before you can start increasing the speed. Every dog is different with treadmill training.
- Teach your pet more challenging commands such as stay, roll over, wait, watch me, sit pretty ect.. There are so many youtube videos that explain how to teach your dogs tricks, or do call in a trainer to show you how. Maybe even enroll yourselves into a class or doggie day care.
- Depending on how cold it is, most dogs do like playing in the snow! Get out there with your dog and watch them prance around! Playing fetch becomes harder when the toy gets buried in the snow and your pet has to dig for it.
- Walks are still an option! We know it’s cold, but just like us, if you dress your dog up for the weather, most days they will be more than happy and willing to go on a walk. Get them a winter coat and some doggie boots to protect their paws from salt and ice. You probably won’t like it as much as your warm walks, but your dog will be grateful!
