Often people considering getting a dog are worried about them being hard work. A combination of long working hours and small apartments make it important to know ways to keep your dog entertained. Sadly, we can’t all work in the Buddy Bites office, where dogs doing laps during Zoom calls is encouraged. With our recent addition to the team, Ann (and her Aussie Shepard “Boba”), we thought we could shine some light on how to tire out your high energy dog.
Run like the wind.
There is certainly nothing wrong with walks, but do keep in mind that our two legs keep us going pretty slowly. Dog runs/ parks provide a great opportunity for dogs to let loose and get up to top speed. Don’t worry too much about the size of the dog park, just make sure they have a little space to run and hopefully some friends to meet.
Sniff out a solution.
Your dog’s nose does more than smell the roses. While we depend on our vision, dogs use both sight and smell to assess their surroundings and communicate.
Let your dog sniff when on walks! Interestingly this can stimulate a dogs mind as well as burning calories. By letting your pup analyse all the scents along their normal walk, or even better, on a new route, you will get a more relaxed and tired pup.
Pull yourself together.
Tug of war based toys, or more simply ‘a rope’. Most dogs naturally like playing tug of war and it is a great way to burn off some energy in a small space. Plus, it gives you an excuse to avoid the gym yourself. One thing to be aware of is to avoid lifting your dog off the ground. Your dog may be enjoying it and not want to let go, but there is a risk of injury, so just be careful.
Practice makes pawfect.
It is a common misconception that physical exercise is the only way to calm high energy dogs down. In actuality training, or mental stimulation can be just as effective. Remember the last time you took an exam, now look beyond the tears and recall how tired you were following. Training is a great way to burn energy, and results in a better behaved dog. It’s a win win. We are not saying you have to use Buddy Bites Training Treats, but we’d be hugely disappointed if you didn’t.
Engaging toys.
It’s important to make a mental sweat too! There are a wide range of puzzles, often that involve inserting treats or food as an incentive. This can be an expensive solution though, so be aware that it is feasible to create some homemade solutions. Kong’s are a common offering which makes them work for their food. Checkout our Instagram for Boba and Ann’s homemade Kong!
Socialise.
Unfortunately we can’t all have 26 dogs like Vera’s vision board, so if you are a one dog household, the odd play date can be a great way to burn off some energy. Plus this means you get to hang out with other people who like dogs (the best kind of people).
More than anything, just make a plan. We know how busy life can get, so don’t be too hard on yourself, just make sure you have some time allocated to let your pup run wild.
