Winter is officially here and with it comes the cold and the wet, yuck.
But it's not all doom and gloom for you and your pup! There are plenty of activites, toys, and ways to keep warm and have fun this winter.
Scent games
Find it - Get your pup to 'stay' in one spot while you hide a few treats or their favourite toy around a room, then give them the release cue to go and 'find it'. (I used to play this game with my dog Rusty, hiding a treat in his puzzle ball, then hiding the ball in the lounge. He loved it so much that he soon learnt all the hiding spots!)
Homemade Foraging Games - Here's an idea to keep you both entertained! You can make your own games out of things you have at home. For example, you could use a muffin tray, placing a treat in each hole and covering it with a tennis ball. Your dog then has to figure out how to nudge the ball out and access the reward!
Engaging their natural sniffing instincts quickly burns nervous energy and helps to prevent cabin fever.
Problem-Solving & Mental Enrichment Games
Licki Mats - Simply spreading soft food on a textured silicone mat encourages soothing, repetitive licking that relaxes anxious dogs. You can use peanut butter, mashed bananas, cream cheese, tinned dog food, or any other dog-safe spreads (but be careful not to upset their tummy with too much).
Treat Balls / Kongs - Start by ensuring you have the right size and strength treat ball or Kong for your pup so they don't destroy the whole thing! Then pack it with treats and let your pup figure out how to get to them! You can start easy by putting a few treats in and covering the hole with peanut butter or similar. To make it harder, you could put some kibble in and sprinkle a little cheese on top and melt for a few seconds in the microwave, this makes it much harder!
Trick Training
You most certainly can teach an old dog a new trick!
There are many fun tricks you can teach your dog, perhaps how to 'army crawl' or to get them 'sitting pretty'. Check out some YouTube videos for ideas and see if your pup can learn a new trick or two!
Obstacle Course
Gather couch cushions, blankets, rolled-up towels and cardboard boxes. Guide your dog through walking over the soft, uneven terrain to improve balance and reaction time.
Toy Rotation
If your dog has access to all their toys all the time, you might find them less likely to play with them. By storing most their toys away and only allowing a few out at a time, they then become interesting again once they are reintroduced! Changing them up every few days will keep it fresh and fun.
If your dog loves to destroy a plush toy, we can HIGHLY recommend the Resploot Tuffles range of toys. We have had amazing feedback that these toys really do last longer than many others which are labelled as being 'tuff' but have been destroyed in minutes.
Get out for a walk
Even in winter it is important to try and get out for some fresh air and exercise. If it is truely miserable perhaps give it a miss, but if it's not so bad make sure you wrap up warm, and that your pup is protected as well.
Depending on their age, size, coat type and fur length, you may be better with a warm jacket or just a waterproof jacket to keep them covered. And of course it depends on the weather conditions where you live!
You don't have to be out for long, just a 15-30minute walk is plenty, and ensure they are allowed to get plenty of sniffs in along the way!
Once back home, make sure your pup is thoroughly dried and warm.