Is your dog suffering from boredom? Or are you looking for new ideas to keep your dog occupied?
Boredom can lead to destructive behaviours in dogs, luckily, you can follow some of these simple steps to keep them busy
Make Meal Times More Fun
Make meal times more fun for your dog by engaging them in some of these fun activities. Interactive feeding can help meal times last long and prevent boredom in dogs that are on strict rest/weight loss regimes/eat meals quickly helping provide enrichment.
- Messy eating: Feeding kibble in the garden or on kitchen floor.
- Treat balls/Kongs: Serve your dogs meal in a treat ball/kong.
- Puzzle Bowls: Bowls with grooves or odd shapes cut into them.
- Get creative: Hide food in cardboard boxes/egg boxes or put kibble in a baking tray and cover with balls/toys.
Remember that food used should come out of the dogs daily allowance to help prevent weight gain from using high calorie treats.
Cater Activities To Their Interests
If your dog likes digging holes in the garden then try building him/her their very own sandpit. This can be filled with dirt or sand. You can bury some of their toys to encourage them to dig in this area and not your flowerbed!
Burn Off Energy With Exercise
Exercise is really important for you dog. This should be altered to suit your pet’s age and any health conditions they may have.
Some things you may want to try with your dog include:
- Dogs with lots of energy will benefit from plenty of off lead exercise if safe to do so.
- Play with their favourite toys on walks.
- Training: Practicing commands (sit, paw, lay down, leave etc) will help keep their brain busy
- Attend obedience/ agility classes
Have you got any other tips for preventing boredom in your dog? Tweet us your techniques @ScarsdaleVets
This article was originally written by Charlotte Turpie
