Rainy days make walking and exercising your dog a messy chore. Incorporate these activities into a play session that keeps your apartment clean and your dog happy.
Rainy days can really put a damper on the fun of walking your dog. For you city dwellers and apartment residents, regular daily walks are usually your dog’s main form of exercise. What is usually a fun frolic through the park on a sunny day may turn into a tromp through the mud, and a dirty dog to bring back to the apartment. If you aren’t up for that, or if the weather is just too bad to go outside, you need not despair. Here are a few suggestions for safe, apartment-friendly indoor workouts to stimulate and tire out your dog.
Reminder: Dogs love to play, but don’t get sucked into the idea that they need to play every day. Even Olympic athletes take days off to sit on the couch. If the day is dreary and cold and you are simply too busy or tired to follow these tips, it is ok. Your dog can handle a day off!
Hide and Sniff
Dogs come with incredible smelling machines attached right on the front of their face. Using their noses to sniff out treats and toys ties back to their evolutionary makeup. For that reason, scent activities are highly stimulating for dogs. Rooting out a tasty treat or favorite toy can be an all-consuming task.
A little training around toys and patience is all you need to get these games going in the house. To begin, simply take your dog’s favorite toy and hide it under a couch cushion, behind a bookshelf or under a carpet. You can do this right in front of them because dog’s don’t have quite the sense for object permanence that people have. In fact, you can actually hide a toy right in front of most dogs. Once the toy is hidden, give your dog the “Go find it!” command and let her sniff around. If she finds it, reward her a little party with a light game of tug or short toss.
Eventually, she may figure out your game, so you’ll need to vary your hiding locations a bit. For a little extra challenge, have your pup wait patiently in another room while you hide a toy and then release her to find it. This of course requires a well-trained “stay” command.
Most dogs are scent wizards. However, some dogs are actually bred for scent work. Dog’s like hounds and beagles will astound you at their ability to find items based on even the faintest scent. Other dogs may get bored rather quickly. If your dog is one of the scent gifted, you might consider getting them involved in scent-based sports like barn hunt. If your dog is more like the latter – like our border collies – then you’ll need to just do short scent sessions mixed in with some of the other activities listed in this article.
Chew Puzzles
Chew puzzles are probably the most passive option for rainy day activities. But, that doesn’t mean they aren’t a blast for your dog. Chew puzzles can range from basic chew bones like Kong or Nylar on up to fairly elaborate toys that hide treats behind a maze of moving parts.
Chewing is southing and satisfying for a dog. But like all activities, some dogs take to it more than others. That’s perfectly fine! A ten minute chew session can be really rewarding, and quite tiring for a dog, especially toward the end of the day.
One of the easiest chew puzzles involves putting a small amount of peanut butter or Kong Stuff’n Easy Paste into a Kong Classic Chew Toy and letting your pup spend the next hour trying to lick all of it out. This is about the easiest stimulation you can give your dog. Just make sure you don’t overdo how much peanut butter you put in there. You don’t want to turn a rainy day activity into an upset stomach.
Tip: these chew sessions should be just one component of your rainy day activity. This is often a great way to cap off an indoor workout and let your dog chew her way into a nice long nap.
Tricks
There really is no better option for indoor workout than tricks. Trick training works your pup’s mind and body, builds your bond and helps train them into well-behaved dogs. Trick training can start as early as 8-10 weeks and go throughout the dog’s life. Whether you are teaching your pup to sit for the first time, or working on an elaborate obedience sequence, there’s no denying the benefit of trick training.
The number of tricks you can teach a dog are virtually endless. If you have a new pup, try working on the mainstays like “sit” or “lay down.” Older dogs can work on more physical tricks like heeling or walking through your legs. If your pup loves tricks, you have no reason to stop until you’ve choreographed your audition routine for America’s Got Talent.
Reminder: The younger the dog, the shorter the trick training session. 8-12 week old dogs only need about 5 minutes at the time. Dogs can sour to work if you overdo it, so make the sessions quick and concise and move on to the next exciting activity.
Tug
Tug is one of the best games you can play with your pup. However, this game goes so far beyond simple play. Tug is a way to build obedience, use up physical energy, help avoid possession guarding and strengthen your bond with your dog. But, there is a right way and a wrong way to play tug.
The old-fashioned “tug-of-war” is outdated and inadequately describes the essence of this activity. The goal of tug isn’t to win possession of the toy as the word “war” implies. The purpose of the game is to engage in play together. However, your pup might see the game differently at first. Dogs, especially puppies love a game of keep away, and winning possession of a toy through tug is just the first step in that game. Don’t fear, this is easy to correct.
When you play tug with our dogs, the game should look more like a game of catch than a game of keep-away. Try swishing the toy along the ground to entice the pup to go after it. Once they have a good hold of it (more on this later!) the game has begun! The pup pulls and gains ground, then we pull back. Tug tug tug, give give give. Mix a little light shaking and suddenly the game becomes wildly exciting for a dog.
Drop-Take-Drop
A game of tug is a great way to build obedience. Try using the command “drop” periodically throughout the game. If your pup is reluctant to give up the toy, don’t repeat the command, just sit perfectly still until she drops it. As soon as she does, exclaim “Yes!” and immediately offer back the toy with the command “Take!” and resume the game. What did you just teach her? Two things. One, when she gives you the toy, it doesn’t mean she loses it forever. Second, giving up the toy actually means the game resumes!
Approaching tug in this way teaches a dog to listen to you and to associate you with fun. More importantly, your dog learns that they can give up their toys and not lose them forever. In fact, if they give up the toy, the game gets even more fun!
Now, there are a few things to avoid when playing tug. First, a dog’s teeth look strong, but there are limits. Avoid tugging hard, or using sharp jerking tugs as you could possibly break a tooth. Puppy teeth are especially vulnerable to this.
Tip: Make sure your dog has a solid hold on the toy before tugging. If she only has a little bit of it in her front teeth, there is a lot of force being put on those teeth. Give her time to get a good hold on the toy before tugging to avoid damaging her teeth.
Second, avoid pulling upward such that your dog’s neck cranes backward. This puts unnecessary stress on their neck. Get down on your knees to avoid pulling upward. Pull the toy horizontally or toward the ground. Notice that your dog’s head is in line with the rest of its body? That’s a good thing.
Lastly, when the game is done, always end on a positive note. We prefer not to leave the pup with the toy after the game, but rather to take the toy and end with a “Ok, all done!” At that point, the toy goes away and the pup gets lots of pets and praise. Soon dogs learn that the game is over and it’s time to grab a drink of water and rest.
Reminder: the saying “play makes potty” is real. Once you are done with your play session, take your pup out for a potty break because they probably have to go.
All of these exercises can be done in the confines of your living room. They offer a great option for exercising your pup on a rainy day. Even better, they are an opportunity to build your training and strengthen the bond between you two.
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