Given the current situation, we spend a lot of time at home. On the one hand, this means that we spend more time with our animals, but on the other hand, we only walk them when essential. This means that the animal’s physical and mental stimulation is also reduced. What can we do to compensate? We present four games for dogs that can be played at home.

1. It’s not too late to train them. Things like sitting, pawing, lying down and staying may seem boring, but training keeps your dog attentive, engaged and mentally stimulated. Note that learning may be slower, the more complex the behavior to be learned, but in addition to the stimulus, this activity promotes a moment of connection between you and your dog and will bring you even closer.
2. If you have space for it, you can build an obstacle course at home. Blankets, cushions, chairs, everything can be used to create a track that your dog will have to overcome. Beware of accidents! Always secure everything that could fall, so that it does not get hurt.
3. You can organize a treasure hunt with just a few cookies. Start by hiding the cookies in places where he will easily find them and as he gets better and better at finding the treasure, start hiding them in more difficult places. A variant of this game is the use of food-dispensing toys. With these toys, your dog will have to figure out how to get the cookies to come out. In order to control the amount of calories he ingests, you can play this game with his normal food, as long as he remains interested.
4. Even indoors, it’s not impossible to play “fetch”. Believe that even if they can’t run as much as they can outside, they will be happy to do an activity they enjoy and have their owner paying attention to them. You can add “Tug-of-war” to this game, which consists of “fighting” to remove the toy from their mouth, which is easier with toys that are already suitable for this purpose (they usually have a piece of rope).

Be creative! You don’t need a wide variety of toys to entertain your dog. You just need to dedicate some time and have imagination. The longer you play with your animal, the stronger your relationship will be. In the end, both will win!

Vet.Point – Oeiras Veterinary Clinic
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