5 Quick Tips for Enriching Your Dog's Environment
Boredom is the worst. When I’m bored, I find myself doing useless things or wasting time. It’s not just us humans who fall into bad habits though. Dogs do too.
One of the easiest ways to keep your dog blissfully busy is exercise. Could be going on your daily walk or even playing fetch with their favorite ball.
While physical exercise is important for dogs, they also need to keep their brains busy too! Here’s my quick tips to enrich your dog’s environment to help them stay mentally and physically active - and out of trouble.
Tip # 1: Squeakie Crawler - SlowPoke the Turtle
Lucy absolutely loves this toy. She will literally take it with her everywhere and it doesn't leave her mouth and then when she is ready to play she rolls on her back tossing it up in the air for a good 15 minutes having a blast by herself. Trust me—this will keep your pooch happy and busy for hours!
Tip #2: Dog Puzzle Toys
Making your dog work for their food can be fun. Dog puzzle toys lets you watch how excited they can get over treats. But the best part is seeing how quickly they figure it out. Don’t forget to leave them plenty of fresh water to wash their treats down with. Pro tip - If you use this, consider using it with some of their regular meals, so the calories don’t go crazy.
Tip #3: Try a game of Fetch
Families that play together, stay together! I make sure to spend 20-30 minutes a day playing with my dogs every day. We get to go to the park and play ball/fetch with one another, run together, walk together and bond while having fun. We always practice fun commands as well so that they remember and get better the more we practice which is important because if you don't continue with commands dogs can forget or get lazy so we have to remember to keep their mind stimulated.
Tip #4: Leave the TV on OR Play a YouTube video for the day
No, my dog doesn’t like watching crime shows but she is a big fan of animal type shows or something to do with nature. There’s always a lot of sounds and noises with these types of shows which she loves listening to and it keeps her entertained and focus on what she is hearing. I always enjoy the little head tilts too.
Every dog is different so play around and see what your dog actually finds entertaining or fun to watch.
Tip #5: Change up your flooring.
Changing the floor textures or temperature can add a new experience for your dog. I swapped out my area rug for a different type (a little more plush than my last one) My dog absolutely loved it and was rolling on it for hours and just having so much fun with the new smells and new feels she was getting from it. . It also made my room look a little better too.
You don’t need a full-blown remodel though! Adding a new throw rug could do the trick.
Do you have a trick up your sleeve for keeping your dog entertained? Let us know!
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