How to exercise your dog indoors

Here I am sitting at home watching the snow fall at a very rapid rate. I don’t really mind a little snow, but this year we are digging in here in western MA. The big problem is that after the last snow storm, it rained which put a thin layer of ice on top of all the snow making it almost impossible to walk.

Yesterday I was going for a walk with my pup, but when I got to the yard I felt like I had run a marathon.

This can be a difficult time of the year to exercise your dog. As I was sitting here watching more snow fall on us, I decided to make a list of all the ways to exercise your dog inside and I’ll share it with you.

Dogs need physical AND mental exercise. I have included both in my list. Here you have:

Search and Rescue – Especially good if you have children.

Tell your children that you are going to play a game with your dog. They have to go and hide somewhere in the house.

They have to be very quiet and let them know that their dog is going to rescue them. Hold your dog while he hides. Once they hide, tell your dog “Find them” and let him go.

Your kids will love playing this game. Be sure to tell the kids to make a big fuss when the dog finds them.

Find it: a variation of the above but made with toys.

Fill a toy kong with some of your dog’s favorite treats right in front of her. Tell him to stay and go hide the toy. Once he’s hidden, release your dog from the stay command and say, “Find him.” As your dog gets good at this, it will become increasingly difficult to find the toy.

Tug of War – One of my favorite games. It can be played in a very small area and really gives your dog some good exercise.

Retrieve Upstairs – This was a favorite for my Belgian Malinois, Sweden. I would stand at the top of the stairs and throw a ball down them. He ran downstairs, retrieved the ball, and went up the stairs.

Ten minutes of this can wear any dog ​​out.

Tricks – What better way to give your dog some mental stimulation than tricks. Teach your dog to roll over, sit up, shake off, and play dead. These are easy tricks to teach and will get your dog out.

Obedience – Another great way to mentally stimulate your dog when he is bored. Work on sit, lie down and stay. He starts working the moment your dog makes a stay and distractions.

Work on persistent behavior problems – what better time to finally put an end to those behavior problems you’ve been enduring. Now is the time to teach your dog to stop barking on command. Stop begging at the table. Teach your dog never to steal anything from the table again.

Turn a snowy day into a productive day with your dog.