Dear Miss Behavin’:
We have a very active pup and are worried with the rainy season coming upon us, that we will not be able to provide our pup enough exercise. What are some ideas on ways we can exercise our pup during this time?
That is a great question! For many dogs and owners this is a harder time of the year to get adequate exercise due to rain and colder temperatures. Fortunately most dogs can be easily mentally stimulated in the home to help compensate for the decreased amount of physical exercise. There are several products available for purchase or you can get creative and make your own.
If you are looking to purchase something, look at Kong, Busy Buddy, Buster Cube, Starmark, Ethical Pet and West Paw brands. Some of my favorites are the Kong and the Buster Cube. The Kong is great to stuff with a moist food mixture that can be frozen to increase difficulty. The Buster Cube is my favorite for dispensing dry kibble; some dogs can be very enthusiastic in their food finding ability and toss the cube across the room.
If you want to use something around the house, cardboard boxes work great! You can put stuffed Kong, kibble or a favorite treat inside and let your pup tear apart the box to get to their treasure! You can also take several boxes and hide them and then teach your pup to find it! This allows them to use their nose and find the hidden treats. Not all boxes need to have treats; you can make it more difficult for your pup by only hiding treats in some of the boxes for them to choose from. Plastic water bottles are another way dispense kibble or small treats to you pup. You can leave the cap off for them to roll around or place the cap on and cut several holes in the bottle for the kibble to fall out of. You can search online for more DIY treat dispensers toy ideas.