What Do You Do When You Don’t Feel Like A Dog Walk?
What Do You Do When You Don’t Feel Like A Dog Walk?
Whether it's the delightful winter weather we’re having just now bringing a mixture of cold and slippery conditions, storms with high winds and torrential rain or its the lovely summer(haha we know we live in Scotland! What summer!) weather where it’s just too hot to walk your dog at their normal times or as frequently as you normally would.
There’s going to be times where a walk just isn’t the best idea for you or your dog.
We get it, the feeling of dread that they’re going to be feral!
Bouncing about the house like a lunatic, getting up to mischief and generally being unsettled because those physical needs have not been met!
FEAR NOT!
There is so much we can do for our dogs to make sure they feel fulfilled when walking just isn’t an option for whatever reason.
This is one topic we could go on and on and on about so get comfy!
You see there's times in the week where we aren’t able to walk our dogs, so we've become masters at making sure they feel happy even if it’s not through physical activity that particular day!
Believe it or not some days we CHOOSE not to walk them and have a house day(something we will talk about in a blog in the future).
You see physical activity is only one part of the puzzle of things our dogs NEED, Yes a VERY important part of that puzzle BUT only ONE part!
So in this blog we are going to talk you through some fun things to try with your dog on those days exercise options are limited or not possible so you’re left with a tired dog NOT a roaster!
The FIRST piece of the puzzle is BEING PREPARED!
Yes you might not know exactly when you’ll not be able to get out and about with your dog but if you know there’s a possibility like a weather warning or a heatwave then getting things ready in advance is going to help you in the moment.
So here's some tips..
Get your dogs favourite foods in and cut them up into ready to use pieces. We usually cut snacks up to about the size of our thumbnail.
Pop them in tupperware tubs ready to grab when you need them.
Have a designated box for your dog enrichment items. This way it's easy to find what you need.
So you don’t know what your dog's favourite foods are or don’t have many enrichment items, that's OK! Read on to find out what we do…
FINDING YOUR DOGS FAVOURITES!
We are very good at deciding what our dogs like for them, YES, MANY dogs like pretty much everything and that’s great BUT they will still likely have a favourite snack.
So it’s our job to ask them and find out.
One of our favourite games to do this is to set out a TASTING PLATE
Ready to find out what that is?
Pick out a bunch of DOG SAFE foods and prepare a small handful of each.
You can try different textures of food...
SOFT
CRUNCHY
SMOOTH
Once you’ve done that, set them out on a plastic plate.
They don’t need to be in any particular order.
When you’re ready, sit the plate down and offer it to your dog.
Watch which order they consume them in.
Next take the plate and refill it again exactly as you did before.
Offer it to your dog again.
Is there anything they’ve gravitated towards?
Is there anything they’ve avoided?
By asking our dogs what they LOVE we can find out information that can help them enjoy their enrichment and training activities more enjoyable.
A tasting plate is something we revisit often with our dogs to make sure they still enjoy their high value rewards and that they haven't gotten a bit boring!
FEELING A BIT STUCK ON NEW SNACKS?
Have you ever tried Liver Cake for your dog?
It’s been a firm favourite in Lou’s dog's lives for a long, long time!
We like to use treats that we know EXACTLY what’s in them, no confusing labels or hidden nasties!
So we’ve decided to give you her recipe.
As with introducing ANY new foods please be mindful of making sure your dog has no known allergies and keep an eye on their tummy.
Liver cake can be a bit rich for puppy tummies so be careful with the amount you use.
However by trying things and bringing novelty into their life we can help make things fun and exciting!
Give it a try and see if it makes it to a favourite of the tasting plate!
SO now you’ve found your dogs favourite foods what are you gonna do with them?
This is where the fun begins and you can really help your dog feel fulfilled by not just offering them a snack but making the eating of it an EXPERIENCE!
An experience that will help them feel fulfilled as a species by engaging their natural abilities and likes!
You see dogs love to…
SNIFF THINGS
LICK THINGS
CHEW THINGS
SHRED THINGS
Especially on those days we can’t meet some of those needs on our walk. We can provide them at home and so much MORE!
So let’s start with what enrichment even is?
You’ve probably heard the word before or maybe not?
We’re not going to go into the history of it here but for dogs it’s a relatively new thing and the concept continues to develop and evolve.
In short, enrichment is providing activities and environments that look after your dog's physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing by finding ways to enrich your dog's life!
As the saying goes, 'variety is the spice of life', and the same applies to your dog.
Our dog's days can be pretty repetitive especially if they have a day in the house so it’s our job to make it the best that we can!
We are going to share with you some of our most used enrichment activities.
Of course each dog is an individual so you will need to look at what your own dog enjoys!
Ours LOVE the challenge of getting treats out of things by pawing at them, bouncing them, licking things and we have a bunch of SHREDDERS!
First up we have the old faithful KONG!
A Kong is a firm favourite with our dogs!
Fill it with your dog's meals or with some of those treats from your Tasting Plate watch them bat it about, lick inside it or bounce it around to get the food out!
TOP TIP
If your dogs never used a Kong before DON’T pack it so hard they can’t get it out!
This is a sure fire way to build frustration and they may even not engage with it at all after a short time because it’s NO FUN! Start easy where the food just falls out and build the value in it and gradually make it harder as they get the idea.
Next favourite with our lot is a LickiMat!
When our dogs lick it releases endorphins which make them feel good and are also released during physical activity same as with humans.
So by getting one of those soft foods they picked on their tasting plate and popping it on their LickiMat they are getting a feel good response from the food and also the act of licking itself!
There’s may options for different types of mats with different textures and surfaces so have a look at them here on their website…
CHEWING is another natural dog feel good behaviour which releases endorphins too!
Dogs will often chew to self soothe if feeling stressed or bored!
Not all chews are created equal though! When choosing a chew you’re looking for ones that are natural!
Our dogs LOVE…
Antlers
Cow Hooves
Knuckle Bones
Beefy Tails
Rabbit Ears
We AVOID anything that is made with RAWHIDE. Do your research!
Next on our fulfill your dogs needs list is SNIFFING!
Your dog on a walk probably takes a significant time to smell the roses!
You see they don’t just do that for no reason.
Sniffing offers many a benefit for our dogs as a species!
It is their primary sense.
However even cooler than that…when our dogs sniff it lowers their heart rate and makes them feel good on the inside!
Every time your dog sniffs, it engages the “Seeking” system within their brain. When this system is activated, the brain makes and releases a powerful neurotransmitter called dopamine, also known as the happy hormone.
So to offer sniffing opportunities at home when you’re unable to go out can help your dog feel fulfilled from the inside out and there's so many easy ways we can do that!
First up is SCATTER FEEDING such a simple activity takes no time at all but the benefits your dog will get out of it are HUGE!
All you need to do is take a handful of your dogs regular food or their chosen treats and scatter them around an area either inside or outside while your dog is out the way.
Go get your dog and let them into the search area to find their snacks!
A 5 minute meal/snack time can instead take them a decent amount of time HOWEVER it’s not the time that it takes that has the benefits, it's the SNIFFING and SEARCHING that does!
If you want to be a bit more fancy with your scattering there are a WIDE range of Snuffle mats out there. A snuffle mat is usually made of fabric to hide your snacks or meals in so your dog has to snuffle to find them!
Our dogs and students dogs LOVE a snuffle mat and we use them often at home and at our classes to help the dogs relax.
Have a go at setting up a sniff session for your dog in place of that walk! It is said that 15 minutes of deliberate sniffing is the equivalent to an hours walk! BONUS!
So that brings us onto the final one for this blog post and this one is for our SHREDDERS out there!
Where are all our toy rippers?
SHREDDING is a natural dog behaviour! As annoying as it is at times!
MANY DOGS LOVE TO SHRED!!
So by giving them the opportunity to do it in a way that’s not going to get them into bother can actually help reduce it in other areas of their life.
Our dogs are the chief recyclers in our house!
We let them shred our…
Toilet roll tubes
Kitchen Roll tubes
Egg Boxes
Cardboard boxes
We hide treats in them and let them go to town!
Yes the clean up is a pain in the bum BUT they enjoy it so it’s worth it in our book!
If you have a shredder give it a try! Might save some of your dog toys' lives!
We genuinely hope that’s given you some food for thought on how to make a walkless day not a funless day!
Have a think about what your dog might enjoy and TRY things!
Remember though it is THEIR choice what makes them happy!
Just like it’s YOUR choice what makes YOU happy!
You can find a wide variety of enrichment toys online however if you’re local to Ayrshire we have the FABULOUS PetCayr based at 11 Wagon Road in Ayr.
Its a treasure trove of natural chews and dog trinkets!
We can’t promise you won’t spend money but we can promise you’ll likely find something your dog would like very much in there!
Good luck with the no walk day prep and have FUN with your dog!
