5 Tips to keep your dog active on a rainy day!!!
5 Tips to keep your dog active on a rainy day!!!
1. Go for a wet walk
This walk may be shorter than usual because of the rain, but its still great exercise for you and your dog. We recommend being prepared with an umbrella, raincoat and boots for yourself, as well as a waterproof coat for your dog to make it a more enjoyable experience.
2. Play "find the treats" or "52 pick up"
The purpose of this game is to have your dog sniff out treats around your house. We recommend that you start with 52 pick up (scattering treats across the floor in one room) to introduce nose work to your dog before making it more challenging by adding more rooms or ground to cover in their search. This game is sure to keep your pup active indoors.
3. Puzzle toys or snuffle mats
Dog puzzle and snuffle mats are fantastic games to use with your pup on a rainy day to increase enrichment. In fact, fifteen minutes using their nose with a puzzle or snuffle mat is equivalent to the energy expenditure of a 3km walk.
4. Trick Training
Every dog loves learning a new trick (even the old ones). If they are a little rusty with the basics, this is also a great opportunity to brush up on those basic obedience skills (sit, stay, lay down, etc.). Trick Teaching is also a great way to bond with our dogs, build/develop confidence, and give our dogs the sense of accomplishment.
5. Free Shaping
Shaping is the act of building up a particular behavior by using a series of small steps to achieve it. The basic principle of shaping games is encouraging your dog to make their own decisions and try something new. Shape training is a great strategy to use to show our dogs what we expect from them indoors. For example, it is commonly used to introduce "place" skill. Teaching your dog to hold place with shape training can be used for many different situations like keeping your dog out of the kitchen when you're preparing food or away from the table at meal time and not beg. This is an excellent way to mentally stimulate and keep your dog active on a rainy day!