Mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness for your dog. Learn how to burn your dog's energy while stuck at home.
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I can't even count the amount of times someone has reached out clueless as to what their dogs can be doing during the quarantine. So today, I'm hopefully going to give you the confidence to tackle on each day with your dog with excitement.
Before we dive in, I want to remind people that dogs around the world have been cooped up in the house for extensive times before. Whether that be for bad weather, injuries, or just shitty dog parents, either way the dog has adjusted. So I want to start by saying your dog is going to adjust. They always do and as you can see you just need an adjustment time, too!
Also there are two thing I want you to keep in mind throughout reading or listening to this. As you know, I'm really passionate about dog nutrition. So just a reminder, if you're giving more treats throughout the day because you're stuck at home or doing more training, then make sure to adjust how much food they're getting during mealtimes.
Also, if you have a high energy dog and they're stuck at home for a period of time, avoid high energy dog foods so try for lower carb foods for the meantime.
And last but certainly not least, please encourage independence throughout the day to avoid separation anxiety once you return to work after the quarantine or leave the house. Just make sure you're setting your dog up for success each and every day!
Alright, let's dive in!
11 WAYS TO BURN OFF YOUR DOG'S ENERGY WHEN STUCK AT HOME:
Set up an agility course in your house with the supplies that you already have on hand. Agility teaches dogs to use their mental energy to figure out how to do things and whether or not they even want to in the first place.
Examples of things you can use around the house:
Not only is this a great way to burn their physical and mental energy by making them run and sniff around, you can also use this as a way to train them recall.
Have you day practice "place" by staying in one spot while you hide treats, toys, or humans somewhere throughout the house. There are so many variations of this game that can make for a great laugh! Get the kids involved and have some fun. Make sure to always reward them if someone is hiding that way they know they won.
Another great example of this is to hide several treats throughout the house with or without them knowing, and then teach them a command like "find it" when you want them to start searching. I sometimes whisper "find it" right as I'm leaving the house, which makes that moment exciting for my dogs instead of them getting disappointed. They always have no idea it's coming!
Last tip, use sound cues like excited voices when they're getting closer, and calm voices when they move further away. This really helps burn that mental energy!
This one is one of my favorites! In Rally, a dog and their parent move together through a course made up of 10-20 signs. Each sign, made by you or store bought, has an activity or a skill to perform once you get to that station.
Examples of activities for signs:
Get creative! All you need to do is mark out a path using tape, cones, books, etc. and then make the signs, set it up and it's go time!
It's no secret that training your dog requires brain power from you and your dog. This is a great way to burn mental energy while stuck at home and it's also a great way to ensure your dog comes out better than ever after this quarantine.
Don't just stop at basic obedience, each day level up your training and make it fun
Really examine your dog's habits and see where you challenge their usual behavior by fitting in a training session.
Any way that you can encourage your dog to use their nose is gold. At of all their senses, this is the one that needs to be used the most.
When puppies come out of the womb, they have access to their nose, eyes and then ears. So you want to feed that natural instinct to use the nose over anything else.
A fun way to do that is to make games where your dog is really putting their nose to work.
We all want purpose, amirite? Here are some creative examples of giving your dog a job. You can go basic or you can get fancy. You do you!
Puzzles and toys made for interactive fun are a great way to keep your dog's mind busy. There are tons of options that you can explore below, but one thing I would suggest is buying ones that you can set up in advance and then give when you need to buy yourself some time. Freezing some toys that dispense treats in advance are great ways to extend the game. We need all the tricks we can!
Interactive games also lengthen meal time and provide mental stimulation as your dog works through the puzzle to get their reward (or their meal).
Most people only do this when they first get a dog, mostly puppies, because they're in the honeymoon phase and spend time on these fun things, but then tricks kind of die down until we see a really impressive dog and we want to start teaching our dog a thing or two. Now is the perfect time!
If you live in a small place, this is one of the best ways to burn mental energy. Buy a book on dog tricks and leave it on your coffee table for easy reminders to try a new one regularly.
9. Take an Online Class or Virtual Training
Running out of ideas for training? There are now classes you can take online like the ones we offer. The Dog Parent Experience and The Dog Parent Society are great online experiences that give you tons of inspiration for burning your dog's energy.
Want to join our 30 Day Challenge? Get a new activity a day so you always have something to look forward to with your dog!
If you're out of work, injured, not able to access new toys or games, stuck in a small home or whatever the situation.. just take full advantage of everything you do have. It's really all about perspective!
If your stuck at home include your dog as much as you can.
This is a great time to figure out how to include your dog in anything you do around the house. Your dog will never feel more apart of the pack with this kind of inclusion. Just make sure you also have moments throughout the day when they are encouraged to be independent so separation anxiety doesn't kick in.
As you can see, many of the items on this list burn both mental and physical energy. yay!
These are the best types of activities for any type of dog because you're not only wearing them out, but you're strengthening their mental abilities. This makes quarantine not so bad, eh!?
Last note.. I highly encourage you to hire a pack walker that gets your dog out for an hour or so a day to exercise and socialize them with other dogs. It’s the best way to burn mental and physical energy, and most places have year around pack hikers. I know this because I am one and I have several colleagues that do the same. Your dog will be exposed to new sights, smells, sounds, dogs, people and experiences. All while having to act in a higher standard since they being handled by a professional and not mom or dad. The combination of all of those elements makes for the best mental and physical workout.
Alright pupper people! I hope this helps and also I really hope it inspires you to get crafty and have fun.
If you want to join our 30 Day Challenge inside of our Dog Parent Society, I would love to see you in there! Community is what we all need when we're stuck at home and luckily we live in a world where virtual communities are at our fingertips! Sign up now and get a new activity to do with your dog for the next 30 days!
Resources Mentioned:
See links throughout post ↑
Courtney's Links:
30 Days of Activities With Your Dog
Courtney's online program The Dog Parent Experience (First 30 days of Dog Parenting)
More episodes of the Thank Dog It's Friday Podcast
Thank Dog It's Friday's Instagram
Dog Squad LA's Instagram & Facebook
Dog Squad LA's Website
Courtney's Personal Instagram
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