Basic Dog Care

Keeping Your Dog Busy

Keeping you dog busy is really important to avoid them damaging items around your house. Here are some things you can do to keep your dog entertained and distracted:

-Give them a puzzle toy: Dog puzzle toys are great for keeping your dog busy and giving them something to think about. Puzzle toys provide mental stimulation for your dog, and encourage them to use their nose, tongue and paws to get to the reward. You can hide your dogs favourite treats inside to encourage them to try and get them. Puzzle toys can help stop your dog from getting bored and may even help ease separation anxiety. Giving your dog a puzzle toy can also help tire them out, as they'll be getting lots of mental stimulation. You can find plenty of different ones online and in pet shops.

-Play with them: Playing with your dog will keep them busy and also help you bond with them. You could play tug of war with their favourite rope toy, you could play fetch (use something soft or lightweight if playing inside so that you don't break anything), or you could run around with them outside in the garden. Playtime will also tire them out and give them some exercise.

-Set up a play date: If your dog has any dog friends or human friends that don't live with you, you can invite them over for the day and let them play together, or you could send your dog to their house to play. If you have a relative or friend that also has a dog, you could take them for a walk together and let them play in the park.

-Give them a job to do: Dogs love to be busy and have something to do. Teaching your dog to do things like closing cupboards or fetching items for you will help keep your dog busy.

-Send them to doggy daycare: Doggy day care is a fantastic way to keep your dog busy while they also have fun. It's a great way to socialise them with other dogs and humans and to get them some exercise. This is a great option if you work out of the house for hours every day and don't want to leave your dog alone at home. There are some risks to sending your dog to doggy daycare. Some of those risks could be, your dog getting sick, learning bad behaviours from other dogs, and paying for daycare could be expensive.

-Teach them tricks: Teaching your dog new tricks can be fun for you and them. It provides mental stimulation, keeps them busy and you get to reward them for their hard work and focus. Tricks can also be a good thing for you as well, as you could teach your dog some useful things, for example, you could teach them to ring a bell when they need the bathroom, or to put their toys away when you ask them to. There are also some tricks and commands that are essential for you, your dogs and others safety, like "sit" or "leave it".

-Buy them new toys or rotate them around: You could buy your dog a new toy every now and then, or you could only let them have access to a few toys one day, and then a set of different toys the next day. This will help them stay excited for their current toys for a bit longer. You could also play with them and use their toys during your play to make the toys more interesting and fun.

-Play hide and seek: Hide and seek may not seem that fun, but dogs enjoy the game of looking for their human and being rewarded when they find them. Once they get the hang of it, you could hide in more harder places that will require them to use their ears and nose to find you. You could also teach them to find things like toys or treats that you've hidden.

Dogs can become destructive around the house due to boredom or separation anxiety. Making sure you dog has plenty of toys and things to do can help stop them from doing any damage to your items. It will also help keep them mentally stimulated and happy.