Winter has finally arrived, cold nights, wet days and of course dogs and cats that do not want to go outside, after all they like to be warm just like us.
It can be difficult to find the time to exercise your dog after work due to the nights becoming dark much earlier so below are a few simple ideas to keep your dog busy and active.
- Dogs love to play hide and seek and especially with family members, easily done in the home on a rainy day and it helps practice their recall.
- Treasure hunts are another fun activity that can involve family members, the dog can follow a treat trail or biscuit trail and it then leads to the grand prize.
- Teach your dog a new trick, high five, bow, spin, lots of very simple ones for them to learn and to keep them active mentally and physically.
- Puppy push ups help keep your dog fit, ask them to sit, then ask to lie down, then ask them to sit again. Make sure you do this exercise on a soft surface
For cats they are less likely to want to go outside and prefer to stay around the home, it is important to keep them moving to prevent any weight gain during the winter months.
Instead of feeding your cat their biscuits from the bowl you can toss some of their food across the floor for your cat to chase.
You can teach your cat tricks, many people think you can’t train cats but that is not true, they can learn recall, sit, high five to name a few.
If your cat loves catnip, spray some on to their toys like the feathered wands and entice them to catch the feathers, it helps them to stretch their muscles and makes the toy exciting.
If you have an area that your cat can sit and look out the window many cats like to watch birds flying around to the trees in the garden, this gives them some mental stimulation.
Keeping your pets active throughout winter can be easy and simple like some of the ideas above, make sure you keep an eye on their weight and make adjustments to their feeding regime where required.
Stay warm, cuddle your pet lots and snuggle up together to beat the cold.
