Michelle's Life With Dogs

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Our thoughts & prayers are with the families of

the two NYPD officers who were brutally

murdered in Brooklyn today. RIP

Winter Training Tip

Dogs need to burn energy and don’t care if it’s bitterly cold outside. They will drive you crazy if you don’t provide them with both physical and mental challenges to get them (and you) through the long, cold winter months. Of course practicing obedience with your dog will accomplish this as it burns both physical and mental energy. Below are a few fun ideas to use in addition to working obedience to help exercise your dog in the coming cold months ahead.

 Games and toys that will help wear them out mentally would be:

1) A game of tug. If you have a serious tugger, not only will a 10-15 minute game of pulling back and forth wear your pup out, but you will have burned some calories as well. Holding on to the rope itself requires mental energy!

2) Treat puzzles. You can purchase them at the store, but there are a few that you can rig on your own.

Muffin tin. Place treats in select holes of your muffin tin and then fill all the holes with

obstacles such as balls. Your dog has to use his sense of smell to find the treats and

also lift the ball up to receive them.

Two liter bottle. Place some high value rewards that can easily fall out of the opening

inside a clean and dry 2 liter bottle. Let your dog throw it around and roll it to receive

his reward. If you have a dog that gets discouraged easily, you can create more holes

in the bottle so the treats fall out easier.

3) Kong. Simply stuff the Kong (where the tongue can reach) with cream cheese (my favorite) or peanut butter. Freeze for an hour and then give it to your dog. It takes mental energy to hold the Kong and patience to lick out the frozen reward.

4) Find it. A fun game of teaching your dog to find a toy or a treat.

5) Trick training. Training your dog requires tons of mental energy. Check out YouTube or purchase a trick book from your local book store.

5) Hide and seek. This is a great game for you or your kids to play with the dog. Someone holds the dog while you run and hide. Then the person hiding says “go”! Release the dog! (If you have a dog that gives up to easily, your hider may have to occasionally say the dogs name)

6) Frozen broth cubes with treats inside. Even though its winter, your dogs are still thirsty. Take your old fashion ice cube trays and pour low sodium broth in them and add a couple of their treats. Put the frozen treat in their food bowl and they will chase it around with their tongue to lick it.

Blowing physical energy

1) Fetch. Yep, fetch in the house. Chuck it brand balls has a indoor version ball and thrower for you and your pal to be able to play fetch in the house. The hallway is a safe place to do this!

2) Take your dog for a field trip. If you dog is used to going for a walk every day, take it indoors! Pet Supply Plus, PetSmart and Petco allow dogs. Don’t go shopping; take your dog for a power walk. While you’re there, practice your lose leash walking techniques and manners with customers.

3) Go play in the snow or the rain with them! Bundle up and go play a game of Frisbee, fetch or go make a snow angel.

4) The tub game. This is a great game if your dog loves to play with balls, but if they don’t, you can use a treat. Toss your dog’s ball in the tub. When your dog jumps in, have him drop the ball in your hand and then throw it out the bathroom door. When he comes back, toss it in the tub and start over again. If you are using treats, your game will just be jumping in and out of the tub. The jumping burns tons of energy!

The inclement weather should not keep you from exercising your dog both mentally or physically!