Want to Make a Dog Happy and Enrich His Life? Start By Doing THIS!

An inactive dog is an unhappy dog. Keep them healthy and happy by taking a little time out to play or, if you just do not have the time, play some fun mind tricks with your pooch that will keep him mentally stimulated! Take a look:

 

Boredom and excess energy are two common reasons for behavior problems in dogs. This makes sense because they’re meant to lead active lives. Domestic dogs have been helping and working alongside us for thousands of years, and most are bred for a specific purpose, such as hunting, farming or protection.

Whether dogs were working for us or scavenging on their own, their survival once depended on lots of exercise and problem solving. But what about now?

Today’s Job Description: Couch Potato
Today that’s all changed. Now the most common job description for dogs is Couch Potato! While we’re away at work all day, they sleep.

What Does Your Dog Need?
However, we encourage you to find ways to exercise her brain and body. Read on for some fun, practical ways to enrich your dog’s life, both when you’re around and when you’re not.

Tips for Alone Time
Because we all lead busy lives, our dogs often end up spending a good portion of their day home alone. If you give your dog “jobs” to do when she’s by herself, she’ll be less likely to come up with her own ways to occupy her time, like unstuffing your couch, raiding the trash or chewing on your favorite pair of shoes.

K-9 to 5: Will Work for Food

Food puzzle toys
Food puzzle toys are sturdy containers, usually made of hard rubber or plastic, that hold food or treats inside but don’t give dogs easy access to the food. They usually have holes on each end or on the sides, and dogs must work by shaking, pawing, rolling, nibbling or licking the toy to get the food to come out.

Examples of food puzzle toys include KONG® Toy, the Buster® Cube, the Tricky Treat™ Ball, the Tug-a-Jug™, the Twist ‘n Treat™, the Atomic Treat Ball™ and the TreatStik®. You can also stuff these toys with your dog’s favorite treats or a little peanut butter, cottage cheese, cooked oatmeal or yogurt.

When you first introduce your dog to a food puzzle toy, make it really easy for her to empty it.

Hunting for Dinner

You can make your dog hunt for her meals by hiding stuffed food puzzle toys or small piles of her kibble around your house. To try a variation on this activity, scatter a couple handfuls of kibble around your yard so your dog can search for the pieces in the grass. Most dogs love this game!

Chew Time
Dogs of all ages need to chew. Both wild and domestic dogs spend hours chewing to keep their jaws strong and their teeth clean. They also chew for fun, for stimulation and to relieve anxiety.

Social Opportunities
Just like people, dogs are social animals, and many enjoy spending time with members of their own species. Off-leash play with other dogs serves multiple purposes. If your dog enjoys romping with dog buddies, give her regular opportunities to do so.

Things to Do Together
In addition to fun activities when you’re not around, your dog also benefits from spending plenty of quality time with you.

Get Moving
Don’t underestimate the value of a good walk or jog with your dog. Taking at least one outing per day will help keep your dog physically fit and give her opportunities to explore the world.

Games to Play
Learning how to play with your dog in ways that are enjoyable and safe for you both will greatly enhance your relationship.

Tug-of-war
Playing tug with your dog can provide a wonderful outlet for her natural canine urges to grab and pull on things with her mouth.

Fetch
Teaching your dog to play fetch is great for a number of reasonsShow your dog a toy and then toss it a short distance. (If she doesn’t follow the toy, try a different one.)

Find It
Giving your dog a chance to use her powerful nose can really wear her out! It’s easy to teach your dog to find hidden treats. Just put her in another room, out of sight, while you hide a few treats. When you introduce the Find It game, start out by choosing hiding spots that allow your dog to find the “hidden” treats easily. As your dog becomes better and better at finding the treats, you can hide them in more difficult places, like behind pillows or underneath objects.

You can also play Find It with your dog’s favorite toy. Follow the directions above, but hide the toy instead of treats. When your dog finds it, you can play a game of tug or fetch as a reward.

Hide-and-Seek
This game is similar to Find It—but instead of teaching your dog to hunt her favorite treats or toys, you’ll train her to search for you! Like Find It, Hide-and-Seek will exercise your dog’s mind and give her an opportunity to use her amazing sense of smell.

Chase
Dogs were born to chase! Try tying one of your dog’s favorite toys to the end of a sturdy rope. You can attach the other end of the rope to a stick or plastic PVC pipe. Then use the stick or pipe to drag the toy around on the ground or twirl it in the air around you so that your dog can chase it.

When playing outdoors with you, your dog may enjoy chasing a stream of water from a hose. Use a sprayer attachment for maximum enjoyment.

Sports and Other Activities
These days there are all kinds of organized sports and activities that you can do with your dog, including flyball, agility, musical freestyle (dancing with your dog), lure coursing, competition Frisbee (disc dog), tracking, herding, weight pulling and carting.

• For flyball information: North American Flyball Association: www.flyball.org
• For agility information: United States Dog Agility Association: www.usdaa.com
• For freestyle information: Canine Freestyle Federation: www.canine-freestyle.org or the World Canine Freestyle Organization: www.worldcaninefreestyle.org
• For lure coursing information: American Sighthound Field Association: www.asfa.org/coursing.htmor American Kennel Club: www.akc.org/events/lure_coursing
• For Frisbee/disc dog information: The International Disc Dog Handlers Association: www.iddha.com
• For tracking information: American Kennel Club: www.akc.org/events/tracking

Training
Enroll in a reward-based training class to increase your dog’s mental activity, enhance the bond between you and your dog, and help her understand your expectations of her. Contact a CPDT (Certified Pet Dog Trainer) for group or private classes that can give you and your dog lots of great skills to learn and games to play together.

Short on Time?
It’s often difficult to work time with your dog into your hectic daily routine. But if you’ve got a busy schedule, you can find help. Consider the following time-saving ways to add some excitement to your dog’s life:

• Look into the possibility of taking your dog to a dog daycare at least once or twice a week.
• If you live close enough to work, consider going home to spend your lunch break with your dog.
• If you can’t make it home during the day, hire a dog walker to take your dog out for a stroll instead.
• If you have friends or family members who don’t work during the day, ask if they’d be willing to let your dog visit them while you’re at work.

 

In other words, there are a lot of things you can do with your pup that doesn't keep you away from the office or your human family! Take some tips from the information above and/or use your imagination!

Personally, our pup loves his Kong and when we fill it with treats and roll it down the hall on our carpet Max knows he's in for a good time!

Check out ASPCA for even more interesting information to help you and your darling dog!