Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Exercise on a cold winter's day

After much procrastination I finally got out to walk the dogs today and brave the -22 temperature.  Not long, we were only out for about 15 minutes but long enough for everybody to stretch their legs and then back to the warmth.  This got me thinking of those not lucky enough to be home during the day and therefore be able to walk with the sun out and the temp as warm as it was going to get.  So today's blog is about ideas to keep your dog from driving you nuts when you can't get them out for a good walk.

Trick Training

Using their brain can get your dog pretty tired.  Here are some websites that show you how to teach a bunch of easy tricks.

http://www.doggiebuddy.com/topics/Trainingtopics/traintopic3.html
Your dog will probably know some of these but lots of great ideas to train.  Don't worry about not having a clicker just say "Yes" and give the treat your dog will pick it up pretty fast.

http://atrickaday.blogspot.ca/
This is a great blog that shows how to teach a new trick every day.

Indoor Exercise

There are some options for exercising your dog and staying inside.

Using your stairs (if they are carpeted) is a great idea.  Sit at the top of the stairs and throw a toy or a piece of kibble down to the bottom of the stairs.  Send your dog to go get it and then call him back to you.  If you want to get some training in at the same time work your stay when you throw and make sure to call them when they are grabbing the toy or the kibble.  Make sure to reward coming back to you unless your dog already has a great retrieve.  If you are only rewarding going down they will stop coming all the way back.

Do you have a treadmill getting dusty in the basement?  It is easy to get your dog using the treadmill and a great way to get some exercise.  First off the treadmill needs to be at least as long as your dog is fully stretched out, just measure them when they are lying down.  I recommend getting them used to getting on the treadmill when it is turned off.  Have a 6ft leash and a flat collar on the dog and let him jump off and on.  Reward for jumping on by placing the treats where you eventually want the head to be.  When the dog gets on and stands in the right position waiting for treats it is time to turn it on.  If the dog gets off no biggie, just set it at the lowest speed and wait for him to jump on again.  If this isn't happening turn it off and go back to building value for just standing there.  Be patient it won't take long for your dog to love it.

Hope you can use some of these ideas and please let me know what you dog to keep your dog exercised and warm.

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