Your dog is your best, they will love you back as long you give them love. They are not toys that you can just whenever you’re bored. They are living being who needs love and fun in their lives and in return will give you love and fun. It isn’t difficult to keep a dog entertained, you can’t use excuses like you’re tired or you don’t have time or you haven’t bought dog toys yet. Here are 9 popular tips to keep your dog happy playing indoors
1. Train your dog
By training your dog new tricks. You train and challenge your dog’s mind. Dogs can easily bored, so they need to be constantly amused. Wild dogs can get a lot of stimulation in the outside world. That’s why you should give them mental stimulation. You can give them stimulation by giving them training, this way you can be productive at the same time. Your dog will really appreciate you because you give them so much attention.
Train your dog by giving them a task. Your dog will be entertained by doing daily tasks every day, such as retrieving newspaper or bringing you sandal to where you’re at. Dogs love doing this kind of task and these tasks actually make them learn something. Good for you and your dog.
You can try give your dog’s toy names. Dogs can be trained to remember names, just like how they associate words with commands. Whenever you are playing with certain items or toys, try calling the same toy with the same name over and over again. Over time your dog will remember the name of the toy and can bring you the toy if you call its name.
You can also train your dog to beg. Dogs can learn a few body language and then you can try to convey the meaning of each sign. For example. Your dog may have learned how to touch you with their paws or head or nose when they are hungry, you know this and you can give them food when they want it. If you want to change how they show their body language, you can try give them treats or food whey they have successfully waited and sit patiently before they get their food. With a regular training they can sit patiently to get what they want whether its food or items.
2. Play with water hose
In hot weather you can play around with water hose to entertain your dog. You can spray your dog with water but remember that only do this if your dog isn’t afraid of water or getting wet. If you have sprinklers you can use that too or you can buy a dog toy specifically made for this type of play.
3. Play hide and seek
Start the game with hiding their food in different places and let your dog look for it. Every time they found their food you can praise them and praise their head. You can also try to hide yourself and let your dog search for you. Though you have to make sure your dog doesn’t wander outside while you’re hiding.
You can also do this when you’re not at home, by hiding treats all over the house and let your dog look for them. By doing this you already made a fun hunting quest game for your dog. Let you entertain themselves when you’re not at home. You can hide treats under the pillow or table or even a shoebox. Just make sure that your dog didn’t see you preparing their treats, let’s not spoil the game. Keep in mind that dogs can get very absorbed into the game and making a lot of mess in the house. To avoid this, try to hide the treats in safe places, away from expensive or easy to break furniture.
4. Take a swim together
If you have pool or an inflatable pool you can go for a swim together with your dog. Some hotels or pet sitting centres have pools that allow you to bring your pet to go for a swim together.
5. Play fetch with your dog
You can play this game anywhere even indoor or even better if you have a backyard to play at. You can also use anything as the ‘ball’, such as branch or just any items that are safe for your dog. This kind of play is very fun for your dog and lets them to get some exercise and if you feel a bit lazy you don’t have to move around too much. Toys like Frisbee are the best for this kind of game, just don’t throw it too hard.
6. Give your dog a massage
Like humans, your dog can get fatigued or muscle cramp. That’s why giving them a massage as a reward means a lot for your dog and also can be fun. Calm dogs are easier to be given a massage, you can just tell them to be calm and relaxed and then you can massage them. But if you have an energetic dog, it would be better if you wait until they are out of energy before giving them a massage. You can also pay someone to do the job for you, if you want an easy way to do it.
7. Give your dog a friend
If you have only one dog, your dog probably is bored by themselves at home. Try bringing your dog to a dog playground or some sort and see how they react. Dogs are very social animal, they really need friends. It doesn’t have to be a dog you know? Other animals can be a good friend for dogs.
8. Turn on the television
Don’t be surprised that there many shows on television, YouTube or dvd that are made specifically for dogs. These shows are made with really high video quality and high resolution. Your dog can be entertained for hours this way, even when you’re not at home. First you have to make sure that their attention is aimed at the monitor when the video is being played so they know that they are supposed to watch. Besides TV you can try radio, there are noises that can calm dogs down. Turning the TV on can make your dog feels like there are activities in your home and won’t feel lonely.
9. Remote controlled toys
Some dog toys are designed to be controlled from far away via electronic device, so you can play with your dog while you’re far away from your dog. These toys can be connected to a device in your office or your smartphone. Toys like Petzilla for example can help you give your dog treats whenever and wherever you are. Toys like iFetch allows you to play fetch with your dog, wherever you are, very handy to have.
So these are 9 popular tips to keep your dog happy playing indoors hopefully your dog will always be happy and so full of energy at all time and you won’t have to worry about them.