Ask Crystal: Ways to Entertain Your Dog at Home
Welcome to “Ask Crystal,” where you can ask your pet behavior questions! You can submit your question for Crystal at the bottom of the page!
Dear Crystal,
We have been quarantined at home for a few weeks and unable to go out much with our dog. I am worried that she is getting antsy. She seems really hyper. She is running around the house getting into things and tearing things up as well. Is there anything I can do with her until we can start getting out like normal again?
Sincerely,
Hyper hound
Dear Hyper,
I can sympathize with your dog! I think a lot of people are really starting to understand why our dogs get so excited for walks. I am so glad that you are considering the effect that being home bound also has on your dog. A dog’s behavior can definitely start to deteriorate when we are not providing adequate mental and physical stimulation. Luckily, there are a lot of ways to entertain your dog and yourself while stuck at home. If you provide enough mental and physical stimulation, you should see a decline in the destructive behavior. If this behavior is new, it is likely related to quarantine.
There are a number of fun games to play with your dog that work on training a really reliable recall. The Name Game is the first game to start with. If your dog has some basic name recognition, wait until the dog is looking away from you and call their name in a high pitched tone of voice. When the dog turns their head to look at you, say “yes” and hold a treat out by your leg. Wait for the dog to come all the way over to you. You can turn this game into a Round Robin with the whole family taking turns calling the dog around the house. This is a productive way to burn energy running around. One of my favorite recall game is hide and seek. Have the dog sit and stay or if you dog isn’t solid on stay, have someone hold them. Start by hiding in fairly obvious places and then make it increasingly more difficult, within reason of course. You probably shouldn’t hide behind shut doors since dogs can’t open doors. We do want them to be able to find you. When they find you, get excited, give the dog a treat or maybe play with them. Trust me the look on your dog’s face when they find you will be priceless. This is a great game to involve the kids in. You can also teach your dog a game of “chase me” if they like to chase. This is a great cue if your dog accidentally gets out. You can yell “Chase me!” and run in the other direction. If you have played enough, they will turn around and engage in a game of chase.
If your dog has a solid background of cues, consider teaching your dog Rally. Rally is an obedience sport that uses a course set up with signs which give different cues for you to do with your dog. Some examples of signs are slow pace, fast pace, about turn, right turn, sit and walk around your dog, etc. You can print signs from the AKC website and set up a course in your house or your backyard. Rally is a fun way to practice cues with increasing distractions. My experience is that it creates a dog that is more responsive to handler cues and is a great way to bond with your dog.
If your dog doesn’t know any cues or maybe doesn’t seem to know them very well, now is a great time to work on training. Training uses mental energy and helps tire dogs out. Start with basics like sit, down, stay, target and recalls. These are foundation cues that your dog should know for daily life and will be helpful if you want to play rally or agility games with your dog. Worried about the quarantine 15? Use your dog’s kibble for training if they will work for it. Otherwise, cut down on kibble to account for additional treat calories.
Set up an indoor obstacle course for your pup to run though made of household items. You can make jumps from a variety of objects. You can use a broomstick and laundry baskets, a hula hoop or even towels tied up to two pieces of furniture. Start by teaching the dog to walk over the object on the ground by luring them over with a treat or by using a target and then give him a treat. As they get better you can slowly raise it up inch by inch. Only adult dogs should be jumping up over obstacles, keep it on the ground for puppies. Set up a weave with a line of objects on the floor that your dog has to walk through. Make it harder by using dog toys as a distraction. Use a blanket as a pause station to have the dog down stay. A ladder on the ground to have the dog walk over the rungs. Your dog can crawl under chairs or coffee tables. If you get really into it, you can make a variety of obstacles with PVC pipes for an outdoor course.
Nose work games are perfect for inside the house. Start by training a “find it” cue. Start in a low distraction environment. Say “find it” and drop a treat on the ground in front of your dog. As they are eating that treat, drop more and continue saying “find it”. This is a fantastic cue to distract your dog from situations that my cause them to be too reactive. It engages your dog’s nose which is very reinforcing natural behavior. A new favorite in my house is hiding treats or kibble around the house when your dog’s is sitting in another room. Similar to hide and seek, you can have your dog sit and stay or have someone hold them or close the door so they can’t see your hiding spots. Release them and tell them “find it”. Don’t make it too hard in the beginning so they can get the game. You can hide treats in boxes as well. Try the shell game by hiding a treat under one cup and moving the cups around. You can even hide a treat in your hand and have the dog pick the hand.
Don’t forget about the good old standards like fetch and tug to burn energy. Play tug with rules by teaching your dog to take it, drop it and sit. Then ask the dog to take it, drop it and sit in between tugging. Two toy fetch teaches a dog to sit and drop the toy in their mouth for the toy in your hand. The dog doesn’t get the toy thrown until they drop the other toy and sit. This is a great way to build in impulse control training in your dog’s life.
Lastly, incorporate food enrichment toys into your dog’s daily feeding. You can purchase them or DIY it. If you are feeling bored, get crafty. You can make your dog a snuffle mat with household items like old fleece or t-shirts. People that like to sew can make an activity mat for dogs with different size pockets to hide food in. Craft a treat braid with old t-shirts and hide treats inside. You can make a toy out of a tennis ball with a hole cut out of it and put kibble inside. Use recyclables like cardboard boxes, tubes, egg cartons to make destructible toys. Make a spinner out of plastic bottles and a string tied between furniture. Drill a hole in the bottle, put kibble inside and put the string or dowel through and tie it up. Th dog uses his nose to spin the bottle around to get the kibble out. Roll treats in a towel or yoga mat for your dog to unroll. There are so many great ideas out there. Always, always supervise your dog with these toys. Anything can be ingested if you leave a dog alone with it.
There is a surprising amount of activities you can do inside. I am willing to bet you and your dog will enjoy these activities so much that you will keep doing them even when you can finally leave the house. These games are also great for rainy days and cold days as well. A balanced life for a dog not only is about walks but training and mental stimulation.
Until next time,
Crystal
