When the weather is bad outside, it’s important to have some fun and exercise with your pooch inside. Here are 5 indoor dog games your dog will love:
1. Jump + More
Find something in your home that your dog can jump over or through. We use a hoola hoop, but you could always use the stick part of a broom propped up on books or small chairs or roll up a towel.
Take your dog’s favorite treats and use them to jump through the hoola hoop, over the broom stick or over the rolled up towel.
Make sure you give your dog enough space to both run before and after the item they are jumping over. Start with a low height and slowly you can increase this.
If you’re dog really loves the jumping game, you can take it to another level by creating a mini-obstacle course.
First you might start by using the hoola hoop and broom stick and rolled up towel. You can add a chair for your dog to run over or under and also add items your dog can weave around.
2. Fetch
The classic dog game, Fetch, can easily be played indoors, especially in a hallway. Our dog will only play Fetch with treats, so I’ll give him a few more treats that day and just remember to reduce his normal meal to make up for it.
To increase the workout, you can play fetch up or down the stairs (make sure your dog is fit and your vet agrees that running stairs is ok for your dog).
3. Puppy Push-Ups
Puppy Push-Ups aren’t just for puppies, but that’s often when dogs learn these commands.
This involves 4 commands one after another – sit, then down, then sit and stand. It’s a good way to reinforce the basics of sit, down and stand. It also gives them some push up exercise.
4. Doggy Play Dates
Our dog just loves a doggy play date – even if it’s only just 5-10 minutes to run around with his dog friends and have some fun. Here’s Kobi and his favorite girlfriend, Fiesta.
5. Find It
This will give your dog‘s nose a workout. Put your dog in another room, out of sight, while you hide a few treats. Start out by choosing hiding spots that allow your dog to find the hidden treats easily. Try placing treats behind the legs of furniture, partially in view.
After you’ve hidden the treats, go get your dog and say “Find it!” right before letting him into the room. Encourage him to look around for the treats.
You might have to point them out the first few times you play. 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.
As dogs often don’t have a long attention span, rather than one long play session, it might be better to do more frequent short sessions.
Most importantly, indoor games with your dog should be fun for both you and your dog!
If you need more indoor activities with your dog, check out our post on how to teach your dog tricks.
