Some dogs live for winter. As soon as the snow touches the ground, they’re pawing to go outside to make doggy-shaped snow angels. But other pups dread the cold. No way your Chihuahua wants to go out and exercise when you can see your breath in the air. But there are plenty of indoor activities for dogs to enjoy in the chilly winter months. You don’t even have to put on your boots!
Here are a few fun indoor activities for dogs that you can do without setting foot (or paw) outside.
1. Learn a new trick
Dogs of any age can learn new tricks! Challenging your dog helps keeps them stimulated, and training can burn off a lot of the excess energy from being cooped up. Even taking time to do a refresher on the basic commands will help with this. Also, training can strengthen your overall bond with your dog.
2. Play mini-fetch
Before you play fetch indoors, there are a lot of things to consider. How big is your dog? Do you have breakable items around? Is your floor carpeted or slippery?
If you have a nice, open space in your home, consider making it a play area. Make sure your pup has enough traction and won’t be crashing into walls or any of your belongings. A carpeted area or a place with a rug that won’t slide is preferable.
Try throwing the ball gently and only a short distance at first so you can see how it goes before you try going all-out. This game is best for small dogs.
3. Hide-and-seek
There are plenty of ways to play hide-and-seek with your dog. Once your dog understands the rules, it can be a challenging and fun game.
Using treats or a favorite toy will make it very rewarding for your pooch. Show your dog the reward, then take them into another room while you hide it. Once it’s hidden, let your dog loose.
You’ll want to start off easy and put it in an obvious place at first until your dog can get the hang of the game. But this can be a great alternative to fetch that won’t leave your house a mess.
4. Indoor Parkour
Parkour is a physical discipline and movement art that involves efficiently navigating through urban or natural environments by using a combination of running, jumping, climbing, swinging, and other movements.
Using pillows, couches, beds, or anything you have around the home, you can make a fun obstacle course for your pup to demonstrate their parkour skills. Placing treats or rewards around the course will encourage them to jump and climb. It will stimulate your pup both mentally and physically.
5. Follow-the-leader
If your dog is already prone to following you around all day, this task won’t be a problem. If your pup lacks motivation, you can try holding a treat or toy.
From then on, it’s just like the old follow-the-leader game you probably played at recess. Just walk around the house. You can speed it up if you like, but be aware of your surroundings and your dog’s limitations.
This way you’ll get a workout along with your pooch. Going up and down some stairs can be a workout for both of you!
There are so many indoor activities for dogs. Your creativity is the limit. If all else fails, you can always just keep it simple and stick to the classics like tug-of-war. Get creative and come up with some of your own unique games to share with your dog. It can be your special bonding time. Then when it gets warm out again, you’ll have even more fun outside.
