Boredom Busters, Ideas to Try at Home to Keep Your Dog Entertained

Make your pooch’s day by creating a fun doggy scavenger hunt!

We understand that it is sometimes difficult to always keep your dog entertained, especially when living in a city! With Easter just around the corner, what better way to entertain your dog than an indoor scavenger hunt? Dogs are natural scavengers, so this fun game creates a challenge and plays on their instincts, allowing them to exercise their canine hunting skills, even when cooped up indoors!

Warm up by having your dog in sit-stay, and show him/her a healthy treat – our Coconut Chia Treats are full of chia seed goodness and work perfectly. Place the treat behind a chair and say ‘Find the treat’, or something similar and let your dog search for and retrieve their treat. Repeat as many times as necessary until your pooch gets the hang of it.

IMG_6547.PNG

Once your dog has grasped the game, pretend to hide treats all around the room, but in fact only hide one or two. Keep it simple for the first few times. After a while you can make things more advanced by hiding the treats in empty boxes or wrapping them in a doggy blanket to mask the smell. Empty herbal tea boxes or toilet rolls work well for this. As well as providing entertainment on a rainy day, this indoor scavenger hunt allows you to practice your commands with your furry friend. Add an extra level of fun to the game by incorporating some toys! Filling one of our Mojo Flavoured Treat Balls with a tasty treat and hiding it will create even more of a challenge once your dog sniffs it out! The oblong shape of the toy creates a random and unpredictable bounce that is sure to keep your pooch entertained for hours, with the added bonus of cleaning their teeth and maintaining their dental hygiene!

Simply begin the game with your chosen command and let your dog scour the room for the prizes. Be sure to praise your happy pooch when they find them! Happy scavenging!

Putting Away Toys

We have all had the feeling when cleaning up a room strewn with toys, wouldn’t it be nice if Fido could keep his own toys tidy. Well that is not impossible! Have a go with these training tips and see if you can have your dog put his/her own toys away when requested.

IMG_2159.JPG

  1. Give your dog a toy and encourage him to hold it in his/her mouth with the cue “Take It” As soon as they have it, click the clicker and verbally praise them.
  2. Bring the toy box right next to you
  3. Call the dog over to you, so that if he/she released the toy in their mouth it will drop straight into the toy bucket. Praise them for coming over to you when called
  4. Repeat the steps above a few times and then ask them to “Leave It” or “Release”as they are standing over the toy box
  5. Gradually replace the two cues “Take It” and “Leave It” with one cue “Toys Away”
  6. Gradually build up the number of toys being used at one time

images

Adamals Top Tip: remember It will take lots of patience and practise, this is not something to be mastered in a day!