COVID-19 has been an unfortunate change & challenge in all of our lives. Social distancing and self quarantining is providing more time to spend with your fur babies. K9 Gentle Dental is here to give you some ideas on how to keep you and your doggy entertained. 

MENTAL STIMULATION

Mental stimulation is super important for our fur babies. Keeping their minds busy will help them in many ways. Working on some brain exercises now will also help your pup when their humans’ lives go back to normal and they are back to lounging at home while their parents are at work. Mental stimulation reduces anxiety, destructive behaviour and increases your pup’s happiness and tends to tire them out and keep them occupied. Some ways to exercise mental stimulation are:

Puzzles – Many dog stores sell puppy puzzles. This is a tool used to help mentally exercise your pup. Place a treat reward in the puzzle and allow them to figure out where the treat is and how to retrieve it. This is a good brain workout for your pup that takes up a good chunk of time and a limited amount of space. 

Nose Work – Does your dog love treats? For nose work, the highest value of treat you can find will end up being the most successful result. Try buying things like turkey or chicken necks or even using things from your fridge like cheese. Starting out easy will help your dog learn how to do nose work. The first step will be setting up a few boxes or empty containers around one room in your home and placing the treat of choice underneath the said object. Your dog will then be allowed into the room and begin their search using only their nose to find their reward. As your dog gets better and better at finding their treat you can make the test more challenging; setting up their search outside or on different levels or throughout different rooms in your home. This can also be a way to make mealtime challenging and fun for your dogs by spreading out their meals in hidden areas and allowing them to find their meal and exercise their mind at the same time.

Trick Training – Teaching your dog new tricks is beneficial for them but also helps you and your doggy to build an even stronger bond. Starting with basic commands like “sit”, “stay” and “lay down” and then working your way up to target training which can result in your dog grabbing you a soda from the fridge while you’re watching a movie. You and your pup can get very creative when it comes to new tricks.

PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Physical activity is one of the first things that comes to mind when talking about your dogs’ health and well being. Day to day walks will be a regular part of your quarantine routine however, changing things up from time to time is always fun. Trying new things with your dog can be fun and rewarding for both you and your dog. Some new things to try with your fur baby are:

Hiking – try new dog-friendly trails around your city. If your pups off-leash skills aren’t strong yet and you’re not too confident with letting your pup roam around the trail, now is the perfect time to build some trust and confidence in letting your dog off-leash while strengthening their recall skills. 

Agility – You won’t necessarily have your regular agility course available during this time but setting up a DIY agility course for your dog can be fun for both dog and owner. Try new agility drills with your dogs like weaving through posts and jumps. 

After a good workout everyone, human or pooch deserves a good post-workout snack. We can help your pup out with that! 

SNACK TIME

Does your doggy love hanging out in the kitchen with you while you are preparing a meal for yourself? This is the perfect time to try something new in the kitchen. Baking for your best friend? We took a look around the internet, gave a few recipes a try and had our fur babies review the products. Wagging tails, drool covered floors and happy bellies were the result. 

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Ingredients

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

3 cups whole wheat flour 

Directions at: 

Blueberry Dog Treats

Ingredients 

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 1/4 whole wheat flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup blubbers cut in half

Directions at:

REST AND RESET FOR ANOTHER DAY IN.