Brrrrrr, it’s really starting to get cold.  Time for heaters, warm blankets and puppy cuddles inside.  So what do you do when you don’t feel like going out, but you’re committed to your dog training and your dog needs exercise and enrichment? There are plenty of dog training activities you can do with your dog inside.  Here are a few ideas.

Hide and Sniff

Get a favourite toy (a ball works well) and put a few drops of honey on it.  Then play a quick game of indoor fetch, followed by a reward.

Next time, without your dog seeing you do it, hide the same toy and place tiny pieces of paper anointed in the honey onto the floor at intervals, like leaving them a trail of breadcrumbs on the floor.  Then let the dog into the room and say, “find your ball!”.  When they find the ball, give them a reward.

Gradually reduce the pieces of paper until they can find their ball all by themselves.  Once they are sick of that scent, change the scent and the toy and start again!

And, voila!

Your dog is happy, and you don’t have to move away from the heater.

Food-Dispensing Toys

Another fun thing to do is to deliver treats and food to your dog in food-dispensing puzzle toys.

And if you want to give your dog an extra challenge, why not divide some treats among three or four puzzle toys and hide them around the house.

Start off easy by letting your dog see you “hiding” the toys.  This way, they know a game is coming.

As your dog gets better at it, make the toys harder to find by placing them at different levels around the house and behind or under furniture.

Bonus tip: use dry highly prized treats, not canned dog food.  Ew!  And maybe don’t hide the toys under the couch cushions or in your bed.  Haha!

Stop by and check out our puzzles here . It’s free to take a look.