Looking to distract yourself and your dog? Training goes a long way toward stimulating and exercising dogs that are stuck inside. Keeping your dog in shape is an important part of dog wellness, but it’s also crucial to provide mental stimulation and enrichment for your dog. Enrichment does more than just alleviate boredom. Studies show it can help your dog live a longer, happier life, and improve your bond. In other words, it’s a no-brainer! If you and your pets are bored, try out some of these bonding exercises to keep your minds stimulated:

Box Puzzle

If you receive deliveries, you probably have boxes. With your dog in another part of the home, arrange empty boxes on the floor and hide treats in some of the boxes. Show your dog the boxes and let your pup use its nose to find the hidden treats. Rearrange the boxes with more treats.

Cupcake Puzzle

Take an empty cupcake baking tray and 12 (or as many as you have) tennis balls. Place treats or pieces of your dog’s kibble into some but not all of the baking tray’s cups, and cover all of the cups with the tennis balls. Show your dog the tray and see how long it takes for your dog to move the right balls to find the hidden food. Each time you play, change where you place the treats in the baking tray.

Obstacle Course

This one’s easy because you can take advantage of common household objects and design the course to be as simple or difficult as you want. You could use broken-down boxes for your dog to crawl through, place pillows and chairs down for them to navigate through, and even stack books for him to jump over. Use hula hoops to jump through and Frisbee/balls to catch.

THE THREE CUP GAME

Another great nose work starter game. Get out 3 cups and line them up in a row in front of your dog. To start put a treat under one of the cups while your dog is watching, give him the OK to show you which one is the right cup. When he chooses correctly praise him & let him have the treat. Once your dog seems to get the hang of it you can make it more challenging by mixing the cups around after you place the treat.

TUG OF WAR

Played correctly  tug is a great way for our dogs to get in a lot of meaningful play and exercise. Before you start make sure your dog has a good "drop it" or "leave it" command. If your dog gets extra rowdy or starts mouthing you it's time to stop the game. And contrary to popular belief you can let your dog win, there's no evidence that it promotes dominance -- in fact studies have shown that letting your dog win just shows that you're really fun to be around and makes them want to play even more.

HIDE & SEEK

Does your dog know how to stay? If so it'll make this game much easier, if he doesn't get a human helper to keep him sit still while you hide. This is my dogs favorite indoor game by far, and there's something so awesome about how simple it is.

FREE SHAPING GAMES

Free shaping  is building a particular behavior based on small steps. It's a method of training that allows you to train a new behavior without physical corrections, but by encouraging your dogs natural ability to learn. One of the easiest ways to start with shaping is by using a prop like a box. What I like to start with is having my dog touch the box without me giving any signals. So I'll set out a box in front of me, grab my clicker and treats and wait for my dog to simply touch the box. Once she touches the box in any way (with her nose or paw) I'll give her praise. And then you build on that behavior by next having your dog put their foot in the box.

BUBBLES, BUBBLES, BUBBLES!

Bubbles, bubbles, and bubbles! You can even buy bacon-flavored bubbles for dogs. No joke.

PROVIDE A BURY/DIG PIT

This is simple. Buy a dog or kiddie pool and fill it up with sand. You can even hide toys for your dogs to dig up.

ICE TREATS

Try freezing small toys in giant ice cubes and see how long before they can get access to them! Pro tip: do this on a surface you can clean easily.

BONUS!

Emergency Prep 101

Spend some time putting together or updating your pet’s emergency kit! There are numerous emergency situations that can result in you and your pets being trapped at home for days. As a basic precaution against most disasters, keep the following supplies on hand at all times for your pup:

• Non-perishable dog food
• Clean water
• A 30-day supply of your dog’s medicine
• Blankets
• Flashlights, with plenty of batteries to keep them going
• Extra leashes and collars
• Vaccination and medical records
• Photos and descriptions of each pet
• A pet first-aid kit along with a guide to pet first-aid basics
• Stickers you can attach to your pet’s tags with the information of your intended destination and outside temporary contact information

Check your supplies and replace and replenish them on a semi-annual basis. All supplies should be stored in a waterproof container where they can be easily and quickly accessed in an emergency.

In Conclusion

There’s no shortage of meaningful activities you can do with your dog, even when you’re at home. Be sure to make the most of it and spend some quality time bonding with your dog and developing their mental and physical skills.