Too Cold Out? Train & Excercise Indoors

[Cindy]

From Eric Letendre - www.amazingdogtrainingman.com. All common sense, but sometimes we forget there are all kinds of things we can do in the house in inclement weather.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As I was sitting here watching more snow dump on
us, I decided to make a list of all the ways to exercise
your dog inside and I am going to share it with you.

Dogs need physical AND mental exercise. I've included
both in my list. Here you go:

Search and Rescue - Especially good if you have kids.
Tell your kids that you going to play a game with your
dog. They have to go and hide somewhere in the house.

They have to be very quiet and let them know that their
dog is going to rescue them. Hold your dog as they go
hide. Once they are hiding tell your dog "Find them"
and let him go.

Your kids will love playing this game. Make sure you tell
the kids to make a big deal when the dog finds them.

Find it - A variation of the above but done with toys.

Stuff a kong toy with some of your dog's favorite treats
right in front of her. Tell her to stay and go hide the
toy. Once it is hidden release your dog from the stay
command and tell her, "Find it."

As your dog gets good at this make it more and more
difficult to find the toy.

Tug o war - One of my favorite games. Can be played in a
very small area and really gives your dog a good work out.

Retrieve up stairs - This was a favorite for my Belgian
Malinois, Suede. I would stand at the top of the stairs
and drop a ball down them. He would run down, retrieve the
ball and haul back up the stairs.

Ten minutes of this can wear out any dog.

Tricks - What better way to give your dog some mental stimulation
than tricks. Teach your dog to roll over, sit pretty, shake and
play dead. These are easy tricks to teach and it will tire your
dog out.

Obedience - Another great way to mentally stimulate your dog when
he is bored. Work on sit, down and stay. Start working on the time
your dog does a stay and distractions.

Work on nagging behavior problems - What better time to finally
put an end to those behavior problems you've been putting up with.

Now is the time to teach your dog to stop barking on command. End
begging at the table. Teach your dog to never steal anything off
the table ever again.

Turn a snow day into a productive day with your dog and if you
need help ending those pesky behavior problems check out
http://goodk9manners.com