7 Fun Indoor Games to Play with your Dog when it’s too Hot Outside
We all know that exercising your dog outdoors every day is essential to longevity and good health but what happens when the weather begins to heat up and it’s too hot outside for your dog? Well, take that party inside! It’s really that simple! There are a bunch of indoor games and drills that will not only keep your dog, exercised and entertained but it will boost his brain power as well.
Fetch
Fetch, anyone? This tried and true game is a winner no matter if you’re indoors or out. You can throw the ball for hours and your dog will still be howling for more.
Use caution to choose a toy or softball so you don’t break anything! Feeling a little lazy? Use ifetch. It throws the ball for you. There are three different versions but the cool thing is, you can even teach your dog to put the ball back in the ifetch so you can just sit on the couch and watch if you want to!
Stairs
Use the stairs! For even more of a workout, piggyback on the game of fetch using the stairs. Tell your dog to “stay” throw a toy down or up the stairs, when you give the command, let him lose to fetch it. This will tire out all dogs, even those with high energy.
Chairs
Use chairs! Grab a kitchen chair and a couple of treats. With a little guidance and “up”, “down” commands your dog will release some energy while honing his obedience skills, too.
Indoor Obstacles
Indoor Obstacles. Using cushions, brooms, boxes, cones or any other objects you might have around your home, you can create a bomb biggity obstacle course.
With simple commands, your dog will be jumping, army crawling and much more. If your dog isn’t too sturdy on his basic commands this is a fun way to practice, too.
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Basic Obedience
Basic obedience. Even if your dog doesn’t need to brush up on his basic commands, why not teach him something new? Roll over, play dead, maybe? You get the idea! Be creative.
Chores
Give your dog a chore. Why do all the work when your dog should be helping out. Teach him to put his toys back in his toy box.
Once he gets the hang of that, the sky is the limit. Get him a back pack and fill it and let him carry items to other rooms as well.
Who knows, maybe your dog is trainable enough to volunteer somewhere as a therapy dog. Help him attain his full potential.
Hide and Seek
Hide and seek. Everyone loves to play hide and seek. Tell your dog to “stay”. Then you or the kids run and hide. Then yell “come” and see how quick he can find you. If you get tired, why end the game?
Hide treats/breakfast/dinner in multiple rooms and see if your dog can use his sniffer to find them.
Whether you are indoors or out, your dog will have multiple opportunities to be exercised and entertained. Looking for more game ideas? Check out 50 Games to Play with Your Dog by Suellen Dainty and Janet Tobiassen. Now, go play!