10 Ways to Engage Your Dog Indoors

With winter - or at least colder weather coming, it is necessary for us as pet owners to keep our dog physically healthy and active through the cooler months.  It can be hard to continue to get creative with different activities for your pup as well as keeping up with doing these activities.  Well, keeping your pup active and interested in what they are doing can help remedy some of the challenges.

So, here are 10 ways to engage your dog indoors.

Hidden Treats

Hiding treats can be synonymous with hide and seek.  Treats can be concealed in different places around your home such as under pillows, in baskets, and in multiple rooms in your home.  This game can also help keep your pooch’s nose abilities sharp as they hunt for food.  This can especially be a fun activity for hunting dogs such as Spaniels, Terriers or Beagles.  Along with hiding your pup’s regular treats or kibble, add a high value treat in the mix to ensure your pup remains interested in searching for the hidden treats.  It can be a good idea to have a variety of treats of different flavors that your pet will be excited for.  The best part about this game is being able to control the hiding spots and even difficulty of the challenge for your pet.  Always make sure to switch up hiding spots or your pup will outsmart you and know exactly where the treats will be each time thus eliminating the benefits it has for nose work.  You can also increase the difficulty by hiding treats in places your pet may have to work for.  For a harder challenge, teach your pet to alert when they have found the treats.  Teach them to sit and bark once when they have found the treat.  After they do, always reward with head rubs, lots of ‘good dog’ and of course the treats.  This can be made more difficult by hiding treats in a closet or behind a closed door and teaching your pup to alert at the door.

Hide and Seek

We touched a bit of this with hidden treats, but joining in on the fun with your dog can help to facilitate a stronger bond between you and your pup.  Plus if you have children, this can not only be great bonding for them, but also it can keep your children occupied for some time too!  Get your dog to sit and stay, get help from a human if they do not know how to stay yet, then go and hide.  After finding your hiding spot, call your dog to come and find you.  Always remember when your pup finds you, be very enthusiastic and reward them with praise and lots of head rubs. Also, make sure to change your hiding spots.  One of my favorite places is behind a door.  My pup smells me, but it increases the difficulty when they have to actually look behind the door and not just in a particular room.  If you are excited, your pup will match your excitement.  This will also help keep your dog engaged in the play.

Practice Obedience Training

While this should be done daily, getting a few sessions of obedience training or even one in a week is great to keep your pup in tip top shape with their skills as well as added mental stimulation to your dog’s day.  Always use positive reinforcement and go over the commands and skills your pet already knows to start.  Always switch up the order of the skills you are practicing or you will end up like me and my dog. I always start with  ‘sit’ and she then automatically goes into her ‘lay down’ then ‘sit’ again before going into her extended stay stance.  It’s cute, but I did not know what I know now, and it is hard to get her to break this routine after 14 years.  When working on your pup’s skills, do not spend too much time with it.  You do not want your pet to become bored of being asked to do the same thing over and over since this may cause your pet to become disinterested. Once your pet has their basic commands down, try introducing new ones such as ‘high five’ or teach your pet to do nose touches with your hands.  Most activities can be adjusted based on your pup’s skill level.

Teach Your Dog A New Trick

Whoever says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks may be wrong.  You can definitely teach your dog tricks at any age as long as you keep the dog excited and interested in what you are teaching them.  Try teaching your pet to shake, learn the name of their favorite toy or even to army crawl under a chair.  The possibilities are endless! One of my favorite tricks is to clean up. You can do this by teaching them what ‘clean up’ or ‘put it away’ means, by getting them to pick up a toy and carry it over to the toy box and drop it.  The easiest way is to break it down step by step, slowly adding another step as they master the previous one.  You can progress to scattering toys all over and pointing to them, or take it a step further and teach your pup the name of each of their toys.  Another fun trick or more of a game is the shell game, or as I learned it growing up, follow the ball.  Place a treat under an upside down cup next to a few other cups and move them around, pseudo having your pup follow the cup the treats are under.  It is a fun parlor trick when your pup picks the right cup!

Create an Indoor Obstacle Course

If you have enough space, or even if you are able to move a coffee table out of the way in a living room, you can set up an obstacle course for your four legged friend.  This can get as elaborate or as simple as you have the space for.  Agility can be a great way to exercise your pup physically and mentally and offer enrichment.  You can teach your pet the basics of agility by jumping over small boxes, weaving through tables or stacks of books and laying down on a blanket or their bed as the grand finale.  This is another activity that is great if you have children. They will have fun building, moving and creating new obstacles for your pup.  Kids play tunnels and tents can make for great obstacles as well.  Obstacle courses can be tailored to the size of your pup as well. Anything your pup can weave through, jump up on to or over will make this activity fun for everyone.  

Tug-of-War

Tug of war can be a great activity, especially if you have a small space.  This activity will not make your dog hostile, but it will bring smiles to your face seeing your pet having so much fun with their human family members.  This game is simple, but it can really tire your pup out.  This is a great way for your dog to get out some extra energy.  Always be cautious of things around your home that may be breakable since this game can sometimes get a bit rowdy.

Food Toys

One of the biggest struggles for pet parents who work from home is keeping your dog occupied while you are working.  Food toys can be a great way to keep your pet entertained while you work or even while you are binging your favorite TV show.  Toys that dispense food are fun and motivating for pups who are food motivated.  It is as easy as putting some treats in a toy and walking away.  There are toy dispensers that demand the dog push, pull, rotate or dig for their reward.  Some toys such as Kongs can keep your pet occupied for a long time.  Try freezing a Kong or hollowed out bone with tasty treats; you can even add broth, peanut butter, canned pumpkin or mashed bananas.  That will surely make your pup a happy dog and it will last longer when frozen.

Fetching

Fetch does not just have to be an outdoor activity.  There are other toys you can use other than balls that your pup can chase after and bring back to you. My dog, Sassy, loves toys that have no stuffing.  She will chase and bring them back all day long! Considering a softer toy can also be a good idea when playing fetch indoors; it may save a lamp or two! Hallways are ideal for this game.  They tend to be long and can be a place away from breakable objects in your home.  Bouncing a ball off the walls of the hallway can also give your pet the excitement of more of a chase too!

Rotate Your Dogs Toys

Dogs love ‘new things’.  Just as we get excited about something new, they do too!  However, to them something new can be something they have not seen in a while.  Rotating toys helps so your pup does not get bored with the toys they have available to them and make the toys that are available seem much more interesting.  Stash some of your dog's toys in a cupboard or closet and swap them out with other toys every few weeks.  This helps to keep the wow factor and your pet will be so excited for a new toy.  They won;’t miss the ones that you now are about to put away.  If your pet has a toy they use as a security blanket, do not add that toy into rotation.  You do not want to stress your dog out by hiding their favorite soothing toy from them for weeks on end.

Use Pet Training Equipment

Just like humans, pets have their set of training aids.  Scientists are starting to learn that training equipment may play a crucial role in a dog’s well-being.  Agility tunnels and even treadmills are the most popular dog training pieces of equipment.  You need to work with your pup before they are able to use a treadmill for exercise and you must listen to your pet if they don’t progress.  If this happens, it may be time to switch gears and find something that your dog will enjoy.  Once your pet gets used to training equipment, it can be a great time for your pet!  Know that some of these items can be pricey and can take up a lot of space in your home.

If you have a dog, you know when boredom sets in is when your pup is more likely to find themselves getting in trouble. Dogs need a good balance of physical and mental play and stimulation.  Playing with your pup may ward off destructive behaviors like excessive barking or finding non-toy items to chew on.  Staying indoors does not have to be boring; as we talked about there are many ways to have fun with your pup and keep them engaged.  I hope these ideas will give you some inspiration for new ways to play with your pet while indoors!