Dogs always need mental and physical stimulation. You can easily activate your dog both indoors and outdoors. We give you six good tips for simple and fun activities that, in addition to strengthening the core muscles, also stimulate the sense of smell and vision.
This is one of the easiest ways to stimulate the dog without having to do a lot of preparation. Take a handful of goodies and place them both high and low in your house. Feel free to place them in window frames, on a cupboard, under the bed or the carpet. Ask the dog to lie down or sit still while you hide the treats, then use a trigger word like “search”! If your dog is a beginner at this game, you should start by hiding treats in simple places and then gradually increase the difficulty.
A fun family activity that really gets everyone moving. While someone takes care of the dog, you hide somewhere in the house. Preferably behind a couch or a somewhat simple place in the beginning. Then call your dog once and give it time to find you. If the dog can't find you, you can call again, but we don't recommend repeating the same command too often. The finder's reward is delicious treats that you give to your dog once it has completed the task.
This is a fun exercise that provides good brain stimulation. Get out some cups or bowls that can't be crushed. If you have cups/bowls, turn them upside down and hide some treats underneath. When you're done, your dog should sniff where the treats are. Once he/she understands the intent of the game, you can increase the difficulty and move the cups of treats underneath before your dog can start searching. There are many variations on this game – depending on what you have at home. Other variations include unmolding a muffin tray, hiding treats in some holes, and covering them with tennis balls. You can also take an empty cardboard box, fill it with smaller balls and hide treats on top.
Today it is great to teach the dog a new trick such as pawing, high fives or rolling around. If you're not sure how to get started, you can get inspiration from a number of dog trainers on various blogs, as well as Instagram and YouTube accounts.
This is an effective form of training to strengthen the core muscles of dogs. If you have forest or land near where you live, you can train balance on both stumps and rocks. Balance can also be practiced indoors on both chairs and larger cushions.
Now that we have to keep a certain distance from the people around us and not shake hands, this is a great opportunity for dog owners to train or refine the passage to the dog. Don't forget to take treats with you when traveling and reward the dog when he does something right.
