Keep your dog happy, healthy and mentally stimulated – even when it's too hot outside.

You Don't Have to Walk Your Dog Every Day

Many owners worry that skipping a walk means they're letting their dog down.

The truth is, dogs need mental stimulation just as much as physical exercise. In fact, a dog that has spent 15 minutes using their brain can often be more settled than one that's walked for an hour.

Whether it's too hot, pouring with rain, you're recovering from illness or your dog simply needs a quieter day, these activities will help keep them engaged without leaving the house.

Having said that, we know all too well that some dogs DO need to walk every day - and Bob is one of those dogs.  He's taken out twice a day, every day, and he will get restless if he doesn't go. So, in hot weather his walks are early in the morning and late at night. If he gets restless inbetween, we use some of the tricks below.

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1. Scatter Feed or Slow Feed Instead of Using a Bowl

Instead of serving breakfast in a bowl, scatter your dog's kibble across the lawn or around a room.

Dogs naturally enjoy searching for food, and sniffing uses a huge amount of mental energy.

Top Tip: Start easy before making the search more challenging.

If your dog starts to get good at this, make things harder by putting some kibble up higher, or under items.

You can also use slow feeders and puzzle feeders for dinner time, to extend their meal.

The Kong Tinker allows you to put kibble or treats inside the toy and your dog will enjoy trying to make them fall out.

The Kong Rewards Wally is great to use as a dinner dispenser. It unscrews for washing.

See more puzzle toys HERE

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2. Freeze Their Dinner

Fill a Kong, lick mat or suitable food toy with wet food, natural yoghurt (xylitol-free), mashed banana or soaked kibble and freeze it.

Licking is naturally calming and helps dogs settle.

Bonus: It also helps keep them cool on hot days.

Shop our lickimats and slow feeders HERE

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3. Play "Find It"

Hide treats around the house while your dog waits in another room.

Release them with a cue like "Find it!" and let their nose do the work.

The more they sniff, the more mentally tired they'll become.

You can use their dinner kibble for this too. 

Choose low fat treats so that you can use lots without upsetting your dog's diet.

Shop our low fat & super low fat treats HERE

You can also play find it with toys, not just food! Does your dog have a favourite toy you can use for this game?

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4. Teach a New Trick

Learning builds confidence and strengthens your relationship.

Try teaching:

• Spin

• High Five

• Touch (nose to hand)

• Names of toys - can you teach your dog to recognise five toys by name?

Keep sessions short - five to ten minutes is plenty.

Dogs LOVE learning and they adore trying to please you.

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5. Make a Cardboard Box Puzzle

Place treats inside an old delivery box with scrunched-up paper, toilet roll tubes or smaller boxes.

Let your dog investigate and work out how to reach the rewards.

Supervise throughout and remove the box if your dog starts eating it - obviously *wink*

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6. Have a Sniffari in the Garden

If you have outside space, slow everything down.

Forget throwing a ball.

Let your dog wander, sniff every plant and investigate at their own pace.

The goal isn't exercise, it's exploration.

Use your skills learnt above in the 'find it' game and take them outside!

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7. Create an Indoor Obstacle Course

Use cushions, chairs and blankets to make a simple course.

Encourage your dog to:

• Walk around objects

• Step over broom handles

• Crawl under chairs

• Stand on different surfaces

This improves body awareness as well as confidence. Again, your dog will love learning something new with you. Your attention and praise will please them no end!

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8. Rotate Their Toys

Dogs can become bored if the same toys are available every day.

Put most toys away and only offer a few at a time.

When you swap them over a week later, they'll feel exciting all over again.

Grab a special toy to play with only together. Do you know when you see sniffer dogs and working dogs get unbelievably excited by their 'toy reward', well you can build this 'special toy' excitement by only playing together with certain toys.

Tug-e-nuff toys are perfect for this. They are designed for interactive play (NOT to be left with your dog). They textures and materials will excite your dog's instincts and that makes them perfect for training too.

Check out our whole selection of Tug-e-Nuff toys HERE

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9. Practise Calm

Not every activity has to be exciting.

Reward your dog for lying quietly on a mat.

Offer a chew or simply sit together in the shade.

Chewing is a natural way for your dog to calm down.

Learning to relax is a skill, and one that's often overlooked. Practice this skill at home, then you can take your new skills to the cafe or pub!

Take a look at our long-lasting chew selection HERE

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10. Let Them Choose

One of the best forms of enrichment is giving your dog safe choices.

Would they rather:

• Sit in the shade?

• Paddle in a splash pool?

• Sniff around the garden?

• Rest on a cool kitchen floor?

Giving dogs some control over their environment can help them feel more relaxed and confident. If they want to sit outside on the cold slabs, then let them.

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Remember...

A tired dog isn't always a happy dog.

A fulfilled dog is.

Some days that fulfilment comes from a countryside walk.

Other days it comes from sniffing, solving problems, learning something new and simply spending quality time with you.

Don't measure your success as a dog owner by the number of miles you've walked.

Measure it by how your dog feels.