Unless you happen to be the pet parent of a Siberian Husky, Shiba Inu or similar cold weather breed, helping your dog avoid cabin fever during inclement weather may take some creativity. Depending on the activity level, health, personality and intelligence of your dog, a 48 hour blizzard may either be a welcome opportunity to snuggle up with you and catch up on beauty sleep or it may trigger your dog to engage in some remodeling. I mean, did we really need all of the wall intact?!
If your dog is more on the end of the spectrum of you find me a project or I’ll create my own, better project type of dog, then we have a few fun tips to keep your pup entertained in a more productive way.
Indoor Agility
While we are not suggesting that you necessarily take up the sport, but rather you enhance your dog’s indoor play session. Assuming your pup is in good health and reasonably coordinated, creating an indoor obstacle course could help both of you have a ball. So many common household items can be used to safely create an extra work out for your dog. A variety of objects can safely be made into an obstacle for your pooch to leap over as she plays fetch. The obstacle should be a reasonable height for your pup’s size and fitness level, that has some give if your pup doesn’t clear it. Soft obstacles provide further safety. The photo to the right shows our much younger Maggie hopping over a retired gymnastics mat.
If you have carpeted, or non-slippery stairs in your home, you may also maximize your dog’s game of fetch by incorporating stairs.
Is your dog, not really into fetch? No problem! Have one member of the household stand at the top of the stairs another at the bottom and alternating calling your dog, rewarding her with a treat for coming.
Some dogs thrive on a search and rescue type game. Have your dog wait in the other room or better yet have her stay and watch you start to hide treats, then move out of site. Make sure your pup will need to go over obstacles or upstairs in order to complete the mission.
Tricks
Been a bit since you’ve had fido work on all of the stuff he learned in puppy class? Or perhaps fido is solid on his day to day manners, but you’ve always wanted to teach him to give you a high five. Want to teach your dog something new but not sure where to start?
The internet has many wonderful resources that utilize positive reinforcement, such as a tasty treat or praise, in teaching your pup a new trick. Many offer step by step guides as well as tutorials. Doing a bit of training with your dog, can thoroughly stimulate his mind thus warding off boredom. Plus, there is the added benefit of strengthening your bond with your dog.
Braving the Cold
Sometimes, the best way to cure cabin fever is, well, to leave the cabin. If you do elect to go out, we find that monitoring a dog’s response to the weather periodically crucial to ensure everyone stays healthy and happy.
There are so many wonderful products on the shelves these days to help your pooch keep up with the gear that’s available to you. High quality boots will help prevent your dog from getting frost bite or suffering chemical irritation to the paws from the salts thrown down on sidewalks and roads. Waterproof, well-lined winter coats help even the playing field with his cold-weather breed friends. Our staff pick for high performance equipment, that won’t wear out quickly is Ruffwear. That being said, there are many other wonderful brands as well.
Have a busy schedule or aren’t able to get your dog out as much as she desires? Feel free to contact us and we would be happy to take your pup out for a walk to model her new winter gear.
We hope that these ideas will further enhance your pup’s winter!