Things to do in the house with your furry friend!

Stuck inside for quarantine? Don’t worry!! At least you still have your furry friend with you! The good news is you don’t have to be outside to bring your dog joy. Here’s a guide we put together on how you can have creative and healthy fun with your dog from the safety of your own home!

1. Have A Treat Hunt!

Here’s a game that’ll let your dog do two of their favorite things: sniffing and eating! Sniffing exercises like “treat hunts” are one of the easiest ways to tire out your dog and hone their primal skills.

First, grab some treats you know your dog loves and start hiding them around the room (just like hide and seek, make sure your doggo is in another room!). When you let your dog out the room, they may smell those treats immediately! If not, feel free to guide them to the area of the treats. Your dog should quickly figure out what’s happening and have a blast searching for the scent!

Also, don’t forget: make sure to place treats in safe areas away from objects that can be knocked down!

2. Play the Cup Game

The cup game is a simple and fun problem-solving game for any dog! All you’ll need is three cups and a treat! 

First, place a treat underneath one of the cups, then shuffle the cups around and encourage them to find which cup the treat is under! The cup game gives your dog plenty of mental stimulation, and helps them work on their problem-solving skills!

For healthy organic options, try chopped carrots for this game!

3. Time To Train!

With being busy, it’s super tough to find the time to train your dog. Take this period of slowing down as an opportunity to teach your dog some new tricks and/or obedience skills!

Every dog is different and based on your own living needs, different obedience skills may benefit certain dogs more than others. You know your sweet dog better than anyone else so it’s best to do some research on what kind of commands may interest you –– the options are endless!

To start your search out, here are a couple of fun and cute tricks, like balancing a treat on the nose or rolling over! You can even teach your dog to learn the names of his toys, then send him to get it! There’s truly so many fun possibilities that will bond you and your dog!

 4. Play Some Tug Of War!

“Tug of War” is not only one of the best ways to engage with our dogs, but it’s great mental and physical exercise! Most importantly, it’s a myth that tug of war will make your dog more aggressive and dominant.

Dogs that play tug of war with their owners have been found to be more obedient and have higher confidence –– it’s also a great way of using positive reinforcement! When you do play, to keep your puppy’s interest, you should let them win –– it’ll make them happier!

If interested in some more of the research health benefits of tug of war, check out this link!

5. Gift Some Interactive Toys To Your Dog!

Interactive toys are an excellent, fun tool for sharpening your pet's mind while also rewarding them! If you don’t know what an interactive toy is, that’s what this guide is here for!

An interactive toy is like any other toy, except they have a space to hide treats inside of it. It requires some problem solving and energy to get to the food, so your dog will have to experiment and think about the mechanisms of the toy in order to get their treat!

Some popular products are Kong toys and Everlasting Treat Balls, which can be stuffed with treats or soft food! It’s always so cute to see your dog thinking while licking, chewing and even throwing the toy to try and solve the problem. There’s also great puzzles that will keep your dog entertained for hours like Nina Ottosson Games!