10 Ways To Exercise Your Dog Indoors

Old Man Winter is here; It's that time of year again for many of us - dark when wake up and dark by the time we get home. With winter here it's definitely more of a challenge to keep our dogs fit and active, but with a little bit of creativity you can do a lot of fun exercises indoors. Here are some simple & fun indoor games that I love to play when we can't get outside. They help keep my dog happy, entertained and best of all they prevent boredom and fun as well.

Play Hide and Seek

Stock up on really good treats to prepare to play this game. If you have kids, the whole family can take turns playing the game by hiding in various places in the house. The hiding person will have to call the dog by his name. Once the dog finds the hiding person, the person can reward him or her with a treat or good boy, girl or his or her name. Your dog will get a good deal of exercise this way and you two will get a chance to bond even more.

Fetch

Fetch is usually played outside, but why not bring fetch inside. If you have enough space in your house, these can be a great way to help your dog stay active. If your space is more restricted, a hallway can do the job. Get into the game by throwing his favorite toy or ball and race with him to get it instead of just watching him chase for it. Ideally, try to pick out a soft toy or soft ball. This way, both of you will have lots of fun without breaking any valuable items.

Use Food Dispensing Balls and Food-Puzzle Toys

These are two other great games to make your dog work for his food. All you need is a food dispensing ball or a food-puzzle toy. You add treats into these toys and your dog has to work hard to get them out. They are dishwasher safe and they often feature a number of difficulties depending on the brand you buy. Not only will this make him work physically, but it will be a very good mental exercise.

Nose Work
Is the fun search and scenting activity for virtually all dogs and people. This easy to learn activity and sport builds confidence and focus in many dogs, and provides a safe way to keep dogs fit and healthy through mental and physical exercise.

Muffin Tin Game
Take a 6-muffin tin and put a treat in each cup. Place tennis balls in about half the cups. Once a dog has found the uncovered treats, he usually figures out that knocking away the tennis balls reveals more goodies. As your dog gains experience, you can start hiding treats under only some of the tennis balls and using a 12-muffin or 24-muffin tin. Keep your dog hard at work!

Dog Brain Games and Mental Exercises

Some indoor activities are meant to mentally stimulate your dogs rather than tire them out. Depending on the dog’s intelligence, some perform in brain exercises better than the others. Here are some entertaining games to play with a dog at home to make sure your pup’s brain is busy.

Which Hand game

Which Hand is a great brain training for dogs. Put a treat in your hand, close your fists and show both hands to your pooch. Let the dog choose which hand the treat is in by sniffing the fists. If your pup chose the correct hand, reward it with the treat. If didn’t - give it one more try.

Massage

While massage certainly does not count as exercise (don’t we wish!), it is extremely beneficial for your pup’s health, flexibility and circulation. A doggy massage increases oxygen flow to the blood, relieves pain and muscle tension, alleviates anxiety, and can even improve immunity. It should also help relax your tireless, house-bound hound!

Training

Training your dog with some basic commands is like teaching your child what’s the right thing to do. As a parent, you wouldn’t want your child to do nasty things.

That’s why training is essential for them to develop a good attitude towards others, and the same goes for your pooch. And proper training is one of the best things that you can do for your pooch.
Practice on basic commands that every dog should learn Here, Wait, Off, and Settle.

"Here"

For safety purposes, it's crucial that your dog learns the "Here" cue so they will come to you when called. The biggest mistake people make is only asking for a dog to 'Here' when it's time to leash up and leave the park or take them inside," she says. "Coming to you should be rewarding and exciting rather than the end to something fun."

 “Wait” Command

The wait command is one of the most versatile and useful commands you can teach your dog. Not only will you use it as a leadership tool and to instill your dog with self-control, but also, in virtually endless practical ways, it make life with your dog easier, safer, and more enjoyable for both of you. In addition to its real-world applications, the wait command is a necessity if you plan to do any kind of field or competition obedience work with your dog.

The wait command tells your dog to pause, in whatever position he’s in or you put him in, until you release him or her wait will be used more than any other command in the early stages of training your dog.

Teach a Trick or Two

Teaching your dog fun tricks is about more than just impressing your friends. Teaching a dog tricks can:

Strengthen your relationship with your pet. When you spend time training your dog, you can increase your bond with each other, improving obedience and behavior.

Teach your dog patience. Dog training is all about patience and repetition, and teaching your dog tricks can help them learn how to wait patiently (or work) for a reward.

Help expend your dog’s excess energy. For especially hyperactive dogs, tricks can help use up their energy and give them dedicated time to exercise and move around, which can lead to a decrease in destructive or annoying behaviors.

Bow

Dogs are naturally inclined to bow, which you can use to your advantage when teaching this trick. Using a treat, stick your hand in front of the dog’s nose, and slowly move your hand in between their legs and toward their stomach. This slow movement will cause your dog to bend down to reach the treat while keeping their backside in the air. Once they take a bow, lure your dog back to a standing position to keep them from going entirely into the down position, finishing off with a reward.

Have Fun and enjoy the indoors with your dog.

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