How to make your dog walks a little more interesting!

 

Now we can head out a bit further on our walks, Burns Pet Nutrition have put together some handy tips and ideas on how to provide a little variety and enrichment to your lockdown walks.

Explore a New Trail!

Learn some new map reading skills and get online to look for new local routes. Providing variety in where you take your dog will keep the daily walk more interesting. If you are limited with where you can walk straight from home, then providing some variety can be as simple as going the opposite way. Do you usually leave the house and turn right? Well mix it up and turn left!

Change the Pace!

Make your walk unpredictable; slow it down and take in the scenery or speed it up and get a workout! Being more unpredictable with your pace will also encourage your dog to pay more attention to what you are doing and where you are going.

Encourage Sniffing!

Make your daily walk a lockdown sniffari! Allowing your dog a chance to sniff fulfils a major part of their sensory needs – as much as physical and mental exercise does and as much as play does. Sniffing also lowers bodily functions such as heart rate, helping to promote calm behaviour. Sniffing is also a great mental workout for your dog and allows them to express normal, natural behaviour, therefore, improving their welfare and mood

Do Some Dog Training

People often focus on the physical and forget about the mental when they think about exercise for their dog. But exercising your dog’s brain is just as important as exercising the rest of them. Does your dog need to brush up on its recall skills? Does he tend to try and drag you around on the end of the lead? Spend some time training! Maybe being in lockdown has got you thinking about doing a sport or activity with your dog when restrictions lift, well now is the ideal time to start the groundwork for that!

Have a Go at Scentwork

We have already touched on the importance and benefits of getting your dog to use its nose. Scattering a handful of treats into the grass is like using nature as a big snuffle mat. Just remember to decrease their daily allowance to compensate for any treats given, and if your dog has piled on the lockdown pounds, then use some of their daily food allowance or get them to search for their favourite toy.

Play Games!

Make walk time play time and take out your dog’s favourite toy. Don’t just think that it’s all about the chase either – in fact, just throwing a ball repeatedly may do more harm than good. Instead, try building some self-control and impulse control into your games by doing some blind retrieves or maybe try building focus by playing a game of tug with your dog.

Take Part in a Local Wildlife Initiative!

Many wildlife organisations or charities have various challenges or surveys taking place throughout the year. For example, the RSPB do a Wild Challenge and Plantlife ask people to volunteer to take part in The Great British Wildflower Hunt. Make things extra interesting and add a challenge. This could be anything, for example, every time you come across a particular flower, take a photo of your dog next to it

Make Some Memories, Take Some Photos!

Most people have a mobile phone with a camera, make use of this and make some lockdown memories of you and your dog. Get up early and capture a sunrise. Or, for those night owls, get snapping a sunset. Pictures of your best friend against a dramatic sky – what could be better?

Get Fit Together!

Have you piled on the pounds this lockdown? Perhaps your dog has too. Now could be the perfect time to take up a dog sport. Lockdown walks don’t have to mean that you walk! Sports like Canicross are perfect for building fitness together. You can even use a tracker to record your dog’s steps and compare them to yours. And for the more competitive owners – challenge yourself to beat your dog’s daily steps.

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