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Jim’s Dog Wash’s Top Tips On Keeping Your Dog Entertained During Winter

May 28, 2024

It can be very tempting to hibernate with your dog when the weather is too cold, but dogs need to by active mentally and physically to stay healthy. For this reason, we have provided our top tips to help you keep your pup fit and healthy through winter!

Hide and Seek:

Tell your dog to “stay”while you go and find a place to hide somewhere in the house. Keep calling your pup’s name until they find you. Alternatively, try hiding a box or empty container with some treats so your pup can search for hidden treasure in the house (if you want to make it a little easier, poke holes in the box).

Obstacle Course:

Create obstacles using chairs, furniture, balls or anything else that you can think of.

Shell Game

Use three cups and let your dog see you put a treat inside one of them. Shuffle them around and let your pup use their nose to sniff out where their treat is.

Training

Being indoors is a great time to work on basic command training without all the distractions. Practice the simple cues like “stay,” “leave it,” and “down.”

Brushing

Help your dog get used to the grooming process by brushing them every day. It will help with any shedding while they are stuck indoors with you and it’s great bonding for you and your dog

Food Puzzles

There are plenty of commercially available food puzzle toys that you can purchase, or alternatively you can make your own. Toilet roll holders make a great treat dispenser, you can fill it with peanut butter or cream cheese inside the cardboard. To make it last even longer, try freezing it. Make sure you do this under supervision as you don’t want your pup to eat all the cardboard.

You can also try making a snuffle mat by hiding treats inside a tea towel. Lay the towel flat and place some treats in the centre, fold the towel lengthwise across the teats and then tie a loose knot.

Stair Climb

Running up and down the stairs a few times is a great way to get the blood pumping. Try tossing a toy up the stairs for your pup to chase

When it’s cold and wet outside, it’s not always an option to take your dog out for a walk. Staying inside doesn’t mean that it has to be boring though! Dogs love interactive play, it keeps them happy and their brains stimulated.