Luvk9s Dog Training

Indoor winter activities

 Work off that excess energy

      

    

Exercising your dog when it’s cold, wet and miserable outside can be a challenging proposition. But there are fun and easy indoor activities you can do with your dog to work off excess energy.
  
Bring out your dog’s “inner wolf”

Since the early 1980’s, trainers in zoos and aquariums have been using feeding time to provide stimulation and enrichment. Instead of making the food easily available, it’s hidden and the animal must hunt and forage for food, just like they would in the wild.

Many behavior issues in the domestic dog are a result of boredom and excess energy. The domestic dog’s ancestor, the wolf, spent most of his waking hours hunting and foraging for food. In contrast, most domestic dogs no longer perform the tasks they were bred to do - let alone forage for food - and often spend a large amount of their day alone and bored.

 Will work for food
Bring out the “inner wolf” in your dog by making him work for his meal. Not only does this provide mental stimulation, it will also work off excess energy.

  • If your dog inhales his food, consider getting a slow feeder bowl. These bowls are designed with grooves and pegs that encourage slower eating because the dog must use his tongue to access the food. Recommended products include the Kyjen Slo-Bowl Feeder, Outward Hound’s Slo Bowls and QT Dog’s Brake-Fast Stainless Steel Dog Bowl.
      
  • There are several products that require your dog to paw, nose or push the toy around to dispense the food. Playful dogs will enjoy the Kong Wobbler, the Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble, the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball or the Buster Food Cube.
      
  • Dog trainers love the traditional Kong toy, which is shaped like a pyramid and has a cavity at the bottom that can be stuffed with food. The black Kong is designed for heavy chewers. Go to kongcompany.com for more tips on how to customize the usage of this toy to address your dog’s needs. 
      
  • I’m a big fan of interactive toys, particularly the Nina Ottosson line of toys; I call them board games for dogs. The dog is required to think and try to figure out how to lift blocks, push buttons and move discs with his nose or paw to get to the food. Go to amazon.com and search for “Nina Ottoson dog puzzles.” My favorite puzzles include the tornado, the puzzle brick and the round puzzle toy. 


Snuffle Mat
Dog owners with high energy dogs would often have their dog scavenge for food by scattering it in grass. An ingenious do-it-yourselfer came up with the concept of an indoor “snuffle” mat. The base is a rubber mat with drainage holes; short pieces of fleece are looped through the holes to create a tufted surface. While a snuffle mat is very easy to make (google “dyi snuggle mat”), you can also purchase them ready made.

Snuffle mats are also great for dogs who eat too quickly.

Other activities
How about doing some obedience training to tire out your dog?

  • Sit in the middle of a large room or hallway with a bowl of your dog’s kibble. Toss one piece to the left and encourage your dog to run and get it. As soon as he has eaten the kibble and turns to look at you, ask him to “come.” When he returns to you, immediately reward the “come” by tossing a piece of kibble in the opposite direction. Repeat. Essentially, you are tossing pieces of kibble back and forth, from the left to the right, but using the “come” cue to reinforce the recall in addition to tiring out your dog.

  

  • To teach your dog to walk nicely next to you, grab a handful of treats and lure him, off leash, into a heel position on your left. Briskly walk through your house, rewarding your dog randomly with a treat for walking and staying next to you. The objective of this exercise is to teach your dog that walking next to you is a rewarding place to be.

  

  • Spend just five minutes two or three times a day reviewing other basic obedience cues such as sit, down, stay, watch me, leave it, drop it and touch. Keep the sessions fun, upbeat and fast moving; reward randomly with high value treats. Dogs not only enjoy the mental stimulation but also love the food rewards and attention from you.

  

  • Set up an indoor agility course for your dog using things you have in your home. Go to thebark.com/content/agility-training-exercises-your-dog-can-do-indoors for tips.

  

  • Play “hide and go seek” with your dog. (You hide, he seeks.)

  

  • Teach your dog some simple tricks such as shake, roll over, crawl or spin. My favorite tricks book is “101 Dog Tricks” by Kyra Sundance. You can also find online tutorials by going to YouTube and keying in “Kyra Sundance” followed by the trick you would like to teach.

  

  • Dogs love noseworks. Search google for “scent games for dogs” for ideas on how to get started.

     

Happy New Year and happy training!