Keeping your dog entertained is important, especially if you have a naughty puppy at home. You probably know that puppies get very destructive when they are bored. They also have a crazy amount of energy to burn as well. You could take your dog out for a ten-mile walk, and be absolutely exhausted by the end of it. But, your dog will still be running around in circles and asking to play. Dogs really are fantastic creatures, and even though they seem to have a never-ending energy supply, there are ways for you to tire them out.
Keeping Your Dog Entertained
Exercise
When you go to work, you’ll walk your dog in the morning and then again at night. The problem is that at the weekend, you may find that you just want to have a lie-in bed. You may find it hard to get up at the same time and you’ll also dread the thought of having an alarm. The problem here is that your dog is probably used to having a routine. They’ll know when it’s time for their walk and if you don’t give them their walk at this time then they’ll just be sat around waiting for it. This can lead to boredom before the day even starts, so how do you avoid this? One thing that you can do is try and get up an hour later when compared to the time you’d get up for work so they aren’t waiting as long. Another thing you could try is getting them a fetch machine. Check out Fast Dogs if you want to find out more about that.
Challenging Toys
Dogs love to be challenged, and this is especially the case if you have a more intelligent dog like a border collie. This makes keeping your dog entertained all the more important. One way for you to do this would be for you to create challenging toys. You can do this yourself at home and you don’t need to go out and get really expensive products either. One game that you can play is where you have three plastic cups. Put a treat underneath one, and let your dog choose which one it went under. When they get good at this, swap them around once or twice and let them go again. This is a great way for you to really make them work for their treats and they will love it as well. If this seems like too much work then there are plenty of food-based toys out there that you can use and these are ideal if you have a dog that likes to chew or a dog that is a little rough.
Hide and Seek
It’s more than possible for you to train your dog to search for toys or even food. You won’t want to do this if your dog is constantly looking for treats, as this could make their behavior worse. To play this game, simply hide a couple of toys when they are looking. Once they find the toy, give them a lot of reinforcement. Then, you need to hide the toy when they aren’t looking or even put it in a more difficult place. When they have mastered the art of hide and seek, you can then hide toys around the house for them to find when you are at work. Keeping your dog entertained for hours when you away or busy, it will really help to stop any bad behavior as well.
But I’ve Tried Toys!
If you have tried toys before and they just don’t seem to work then don’t worry about it. Just try and keep a huge range of different toys out and rotate them as the weeks go by. This is one of the best ways for you to keep things exciting for them. Of course, if you have the same toys out every single week then they may get bored and this is something that you’ll want to avoid. After all, how would you like to watch the same TV show over and over again for days on end? The same concept applies to your dog.
Barking Problems
How frustrating would it be if you could hear something, but you just couldn’t see it? That’s what it’s like for a dog on a daily basis. They can hear things happening all the time and they just can’t contain their excitement. If you have a problem with your dog always barking at the window or even jumping up at the fence then you can try and have some peepholes installed in the fence or you could try and shut the blinds so that they can’t see anything going by. This can help to calm them down when you are out of the house and it also helps when they are in the house as well.
Splash
Dogs love to get wet. If you want to make your dog’s day then consider having a small paddling pool set up. This is a brilliant outlet for fun and it is especially useful in warmer months. When you have a paddling pool, you can easily put some of their toys in it or you could have an inflatable beach ball. You could even try and put dog treats in the water to try and get them interested and it is a great way for you to really keep them occupied for hours.
Obedience Training
There’s nothing better than a well-trained pup. If your puppy is causing you problems then try and have some time set to one side so that you can train them not to do certain things. The weekend is one of the best times for you to do this, because not only do you have the time, but your puppy will be happy to see you as well. This is ideal if you want to make the most out of the time that you have and it is a great way for you to teach them not to carry on with the bad habits that they have already developed. A little training can go a long way!
