It's January. It's freezing. Nobody wants to go for a walk. But your pet is at the door with a leash like "Come on, let's go".
Depending on your dog's size, it may be to cold to walk outside. Typically for small breed dogs, temperatures below -5c can become uncomfortable for them. For medium to large breed dogs it's best to avoid temperatures colder than -10 c, although this varies by breed. If you do decide to brave the weather and go out make sure you put on booties to protect their feet and a doggie coat or sweater to help them retain body heat. Avoid extreme cold weather walks. If environment canada has issued a weather warning, for your safety and your pets safety, you should stay indoors. So now what? Your pet is still at the door like "LETS GO" Here are a few suggestions.
1- Indoor dog park. Some communities have indoor dog parks that your pet can still go and have fun, play with other dogs, and get some energy out. In most cases you would need to be registered at their facility already. Best to phone beforehand to see if they have availability that day and to see what their rules and regulations are.
2-Go for a car ride. Sometimes just getting out of the house and going for a drive can be enough stimulation to settle the brain.
3-Play hide and seek with treats or a favorite toy. Hide treats around the house and let your dog sniff around to find them. If food isn't their thing, try hiding their favorite toy. Making them use their brain and activate their sniffer can sometimes use as much brain power as sniffing around the block.
4- Feed them with something other than a bowl. Our pets have a very bougie life, unlike what it was like to hunt for their food in the wild. Making them work for their food is very mentally stimulating. Puzzle toys can be a great way to engage their brain. Have you heard of a snuffle mat? Also very stimulating and engages them to snuff around to find their food. Or you can keep it really simple and hide small piles of food around the house and then make them sniff it out to find it. If you can mentally wear them out, sometimes you can skip the cold weather walk.
Need ideas for a puzzle toy? Check out our online store: https://sylvanlakevet.clientvantage.ca/canine-dog-toys-interactivepuzzle-toys
5- Teach them a new trick. Find a fun new trick on YouTube and try it out. You can use their dry dog food that would have been for dinner and feed them 1 kibble at a time to tain a new trick.
How ever you spend your cold days indoors, we hope these tips and tricks will help keep your pet happy and healthy.
