Top 5 Indoor Games for Rainy Days
We are coming out the other side of winter so we will be able to take our dogs out more often for exercise! Yay! However, some wet days can still be expected so it is always a great idea to keep a stash of indoor activities for when the weather is not so great! Here are our top 5 indoor games for keeping Rover entertained while they are stuck inside!
- Muffin Tin Game
This one is an easy, inexpensive toy you can use with your dog to tire them out mentally! Grab a muffin tin, a few tennis balls and your dogs favourite treats. Place a few treats in a few of the cups of the muffin tin and then place the tennis balls on top so your pup can’t see the treats. You can pop some tennis balls over empty cups to make it a little harder too! Encourage your dog to find the treats by moving the tennis balls out of the cups – you may need to hold on to the tray as this process can be a rough one depending on how keen on treats your pooch is! Once they have found the treats, simply reset the tray and repeat as needed!
- Find it!
Organise a fun scavenger hunt for your pooch with their favourite treats! Pop them in another room and ask them to wait, or shut the door while you hide some treats around your room of choice. When your dog is learning concept of the game, start out easy by ‘hiding’ treats in quite obvious places so your dog understands that there are yummy things to find! As your dog learns the game, start increasing the difficulty of the game by finding harder hiding spots (like under the coffee table, or under a magazine on the floor)
However, one important thing to keep in mind: do not hide treats somewhere that your dog is not allowed. For example if your dog is not allowed on the couch but you hide a treat there for them, they could begin to associate the reward of the treat with getting on the couch which could reverse any training you have done around staying off the couch!
- Learn a new trick!
Pick a new trick to teach your pooch! A few popular ones are roll over, shake, high five, sit pretty/beg and leg weave but the possibilities are endless! There are lots of great videos on youtube that can help you train your pooch or feel free to ask our friendly staff for some pointers!
- Obstacle Course
This one can be a bit difficult in smaller spaces, but if you can clear out space in your lounge, it can be good fun to create an obstacle course for your pooch. Be creative too! A broomstick can double as a hurdle, and the legs of a chair can double as a tunnel for our smaller pooches. As your pooch gets used to clearing these obstacles, add more or change up the order of the obstacles to keep your pooch engaged in the activity! Remember to use lots of treats to encourage them around the course and to reward for completing commands.
- Treat boxes
Save up your old egg cartons or small cardboard food boxes for a rainy day! When you want to entertain your dog, pop a few treats in a box, fold it shut and give it to your pooch! If your pooch finds this too easy, try popping a treat box in another box so they really have to work for their treats! Disclaimer: dogs make a mess when they play this game! Be prepared to pick up some cardboard! If you aren’t too keen on the mess that comes with this game, purchasing a kong is a great way to keep your pooch entertained and it works on the same principle – smear some peanut butter on the inside of the kong and then let your pooch spend some time trying to lick it all out of the kong!
