When the weather outside is frightful and you (or your dog) don't want to venture outdoors but they're still looking at you expectantly, what do you do? It's going to be a long winter if you leave them to their own devices. And shorter days mean fewer good walking hours. Luckily, there's plenty of ways to stimulate their brains and bodies indoors.
- Nosework games. You can scatter food around the house for your dog to find or work on finding various odors. There are nosework kits for sale online or you could work with scents you have at home like essential oils (preferably ones you don't use often as to not confuse the dog).
- Impulse control. Work on a good leave it around food. Train your dog to run to a mat or their crate when guests come over. Have them do a sit stay and wait for a release before throwing a toy.
- Tricks. Tricks are a great way to exercise your dog's brain. If you want to get fancy, you could work on behavior chains where your dog learns how to string together a series of cues into one big trick (cleaning up toys for example).
- Refine old tricks. Work on duration, distance or distractions. Can your dog perform roll over while bacon is frying?
- Indoor fetch. This works best if you have small or gentle dogs who won't go running into furniture and knocking things over. I recommend using soft toys or balls for this purpose.
- Help with the chores. They can turn on/off light switches, close doors, put laundry in the machine or throw trash away in the trash can. And if your dog is brave in the face of temptation, you can have them fetch you a beer after your house is sparkling clean.
- Work on a behavioral issue. Practice loose leash walking in the house or staying out of the kitchen or staying calm while you leave (for dogs with separation anxiety).
- Puzzle Games. There are now a score of different puzzle games on the market. Or you can make simple puzzles at home using a plastic bottle and putting food in it or using a muffin tin and tennis balls.
- Compete for a title. These days, you can earn a virtual title in almost every dog sport (rally, obedience, parkour, agility, freestyle, disc etc).
- Relax and Settle. Games are all good and fun but at the end of the day, your dog has to know how to settle. You can't play with them 24/7! Dr. Karen Overall has a good protocol for teaching relaxation to dogs.
Which indoor games and activities do you enjoy with your dog?
I am relieved storm season has just about passed us. Our Lyla hates the storms but does not mind the snow much. I do want to work on nose games with her this winter and some puzzle games sound about her speed. :) Great ideas! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteNosework games are great for the winter!
DeleteThese are great ideas for activities and games. Even though we live in a very nice climate, these are still great things for us to do indoors with our dog!
ReplyDeleteWell you still have shorter days right?
DeleteAll great ideas! My FiveSibes love puzzle games!
ReplyDeletePuzzle games are great!
DeleteGreat indoor activities ~ otherwise boredom leads to mischief!
ReplyDeleteYes much better than them inventing their own!
DeleteI'm most excited about teaching nosework to my dogs, though I'm not sure if I want to get a kit or find some interesting scents for them to detect. I was thinking it'd be fun to practice in the winter, then try it outdoors when it gets warm again.
ReplyDeleteOh I do both. We have a traditional kit with birch and we've also worked on essential oils, a wisdom tooth and other things.
DeleteI am this year going to try out a puzzle game with Layla and see how it goes as she normally just goes to sleep and want to stimulate her more, thanks for reminder and list
ReplyDeleteThey're great for mental stimulation.
DeleteI'm gonna work on learning some tricks dis winter!
ReplyDeleteCool! Which ones?
DeletePerfect timing! It's absolutely pouring outside this morning, and although Red doesn't mind, Jack won't come out of his crate - he knows!! I like to do a bit of training with him, and perhaps an interactive toy. He's still recovering from spinal surgery and although he can run around a bit, no jumping, climbing or getting too boisterous so we'll need to find low key boredom busters. Great tips BTW!
ReplyDeleteThanks! There's a couple of Youtube videos that feature low-impact tricks.
DeleteLOL. How about the indoor activity of just sitting here smiling looking at this super duper adorable picture of Mr. N!!!
ReplyDeleteI guess that counts as mental stimulation? Haha.
DeleteThese are all great tips for indoor activites! Penny plays fetch inside daily...and we're working in our nose work practice too
ReplyDeleteWe play fetch indoors too as Mr. N doesn't knock anything over!
DeleteI think I'd like to get Shiner to help with the chores BOL! We may have to work on that for a while before it happens though hehe.
ReplyDeleteI want to train Mr. N at some point to fetch beer although it may have to be a mini-fridge!
DeleteAll great indoor activities! It gets SO hot here in AZ during the summer that all we can do is sit inside. For about 3 months straight haha The dogs get restless! And so do I.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds terrible. We struggled with the heat while we were there this summer.
DeleteWell, Luke will pick up his toys and close the cabinet doors, so he is a help around the house! :) Great tips and ideas!
ReplyDeleteJan, Wag 'n Woof Pets
Luke is so helpful!
DeleteWhat a fantastic post one of our favorites is doing puzzle toys
ReplyDeleteThanks! I need to pull out Mr. N's puzzles.
DeleteWe love indoor games, puzzles and activities. I am going to try more "help with the chores". I have not had much luck with picking up toys or holds or drops yet. Kilo will close doors and a few other things.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for non-mouthy dogs to learn. It took a bit of finagling before Mr. N got it.
DeleteGreat ideas. I didn't know there were Nosework kits, I'm going to look for that! I wanted to try Nosework for awhile now. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLove & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Yup! They come pre-made with the scents for competition. I'll add some links.
DeleteI also didn't know that you could buy nosework kits. I think it is something my dogs could do pretty well. I'll have to check into that. Winter is usually pretty harsh around here, so we stay inside a lot.
ReplyDeleteI'll add some links to the kits.
DeleteWe love the 'work with chores!' Holy smokes - we often get our pups to help us by learning new tricks. We try to teach them their toy's names, and the come or 'put away' verbiage. So far they are able to clean up the living room pretty darned great - thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteSuch industrious pups. Mr. N helps me clean up sometimes too. It takes twice as long but it's amusing watching him.
DeleteHere are such brilliant tips
ReplyDeleteWhat a great selection of indoor dog games. Thanks for the reminder about some fun dog activities.
ReplyDeleteThey're great for the long winter!
DeleteIn addition to Nosework - we love indoor fetch, we used this today and played fetch with Walter by tossing the ball down the stairs and they 5th time he had to bring it up he was exhausted!
ReplyDeleteIndoor fetch is great especially for small dogs. Mr. N runs around like a maniac but doesn't knock anything over.
DeleteMr. N is so cute with his little Lambchop! My sister loved Lampchop's show when she was a kid. I remember watching it all the time. These are great ideas for keeping a dog busy indoors! I love the idea of taking the time to learn new tricks and spend time bonding. :)
ReplyDelete-Purrs from your friends at www.PlayfulKitty.net
I've seen a few episodes... especially that song.
DeleteI know my mom's dog is happy the season of storm has passed (although we do have a lot of winter thunder storms in the South). Great ideas.
ReplyDeleteYeah, we try not to walk during thunderstorms either although they're rare here.
DeleteYou need to make this a cute printable for people it will be so popular!!!
ReplyDeleteWorking on it! Thanks!
DeleteI play indoor fetch with my massive oaf of a dog ;) You just put away the breakables and hope for the best, haha
ReplyDeleteHaha. Well it depends on which risks you want to take!
DeleteWhat a wonderful list! I just don't want to show my mom, she would try to get me to help with the house chores! Little River is always saying she is bored, no I can show her everything she could do!!! :)
ReplyDeleteYou could help her do the laundry!
DeleteWe can imagine how difficult it could be in the winter with a doggie. We like the part about teaching them to help with chores!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! What an awesome lineup of ideas for when we're all huddled up indoors. I plan on doing more nosework with the pups this winter.
ReplyDeleteI like to play hide and seek. My Doberman loves to shut drawers with her snout. #GoodTimes
ReplyDelete