How to Exercise Your Dog Indoors

Exercise Your Dog

Dogs are amazing companions. Incredibly loyal and very loving towards their owners, a dog’s companionship makes life that much more beautiful. In some cases, they have proven to be worthier friends than human beings themselves. However, if one owns a dog, one should know there are certain duties one must perform. Just as the dog performs its duties towards you by showering you with love and affection, so must you, the owner, also look after your canine companion and make sure its needs are taken care of.

A very important part of every dog’s life is how much exercise it gets. Not getting enough would result in health issues that one should try and avoid. However, it may be possible that the most usual form of exercise, taking it out for a walk, may not always be possible. In that case, one can resort to exercising their pets indoors.

Indoor dog training : Up and Down the Stairs

One would not find it difficult to get hold of a device that emits a small ray of laser light when activated. These are called laser pointers and are excellent devices for exercising one’s pets. Dogs and cats find this light to be extremely fascinating and are always chasing after it in their tireless attempts to capture it.

Thus, waving it around and making your dog run all over the place to try and chase down the light is an incredibly fun and healthy exercise for the dog. But, whatever you do, do not hold the light in such a way that it falls on the eyes of your pet, as laser is really harsh on the eyes and can damage the retina.

Indoor dog training : Obstacle race

Contrary to popular belief, one does not need to go out of one’s way to set up an elaborate obstacle course for one’s pet. Surprisingly enough, everyday objects, lying around the house unused may be utilized to create obstacles that your dog may then be made to race through.

For example, one always has cushions lying around that can be set up to form tunnels for the dog to pass through. One only needs to be imaginative and organized in their arrangements to set up a grueling and fun course for the dog. Not only will the result be physical exertion for your dog, but it will also have to use its brain to figure out how to get past each of the obstacles.

Indoor dog training : Using treats for exercise

Dogs love their treats, which are used for a large number of reasons, from reinforcing positive behavior in a pet to showing your love by spoiling the canine with all sorts of treats. Now one can also make the dog exercise using these treats.

Enable your dog to earn each one of these treats through hard work, by hiding them in all the nooks and crannies around the house, like the back of doors, underneath tables, below rugs, in a kitchen cabinet and many such places. After hiding them, simply sit back and watch as your adorable pet attempts to sniff out all the treats on its own, leaving no stone unturned and undergoing great physical activity in the process.

Play fetch | Exercise Your Dog

One of the most basic tricks a dog may be taught is the one where it is asked to bring back an object that the owner has thrown. This trick involves a lot of running around for your dog as it constantly keeps going back and forth to keep bringing back the object that you repeatedly throw away.

This also involves a certain degree of exercise for the owner too. A similar effect can be achieved by playing the game keep away with the pet. Dogs may be made to do all sorts of activities like this, such as the classic fetching of the newspaper, which lets you rest easy, while your pet helps you out, exercising in the process of doing all these things.

Treading on the treadmill | Exercise Your Dog

A lot of people have a treadmill on which they exercise at him. The same may be used in the case of a dog’s exercise. However, a dog may not understand the concept of a treadmill as easily as you, so give it a little bit of time to get accustomed to the device. Allow it to see the device function, familiarizing it with the movements and sounds emitted by the device.

Then, encourage your dog to get on the treadmill by handing it a treat. The treadmill should initially be put at the speed that is the slowest to let the dog get a hang of things. If need be, give the dog more treats to keep it going. Although the leash may be used to keep it on the treadmill, never ever tie the animal to the machine using the leash. All in all, giving it treats is the better option. Later on, once the dog settles into the treadmill, the speed should be steadily increased so as to ensure a thorough workout for the pet.

Challenge your dog to tug of war!

An extremely popular game, tug of war is timeless in its ability to be a source of great enjoyment as well as exercise for all those involve. Since one only requires a bit of rope or a material that can be held and pulled from both ends, one usually has no trouble finding materials for this activity. However, one must be cautious in this game. Dogs do not like it when something that they hold in their mouths is attempted to be pulled out and may react in an aggressive manner.

This is something that happens often during tug of war games when the canine has not bonded well enough with the person playing against them. The animal must trust you for it to not react in a ferocious manner when the game is being played. Make sure you know your pet before taking part in this particular game.

Toys that dispense treats | Exercise Your Dog

These are ingenious objects, crafted with the idea of making your pet dog work for the treat, which is stored within the toy. However, the treat is stored in such a manner that only after the dog struggles with the toy will it be able to get at the treat stored within.

The toys can be filled with all sorts of treats that the dog then attempts to push out by playing with it. This results in a thorough workout for the dog before it gets to the treat and is an inexpensive way for owners to make sure the dogs get exercise, since pet toys do not cost much and the owner does not have to do much after handing the toy over to the pet dog.

Nosework | Exercise Your Dog

This is what makes security dogs so good at sniffing out problems. Originally taught to only those dogs used for securing an area by having it sniff out bombs or other such threats, nosework is now freely taught to many pets as an activity that allows the dog to undergo physical strain.. The dog is basically encouraged to use its strong nasal sense to find out various things.

The game begins simple enough at first but as the dog becomes more proficient at smelling things out, the difficulty level increases. Even dogs that have issue of behavior or are otherwise indisposed, will be able to participate in this activity.

Bringing friends over

Simply because one is unable to bring one’s dog outdoor does not necessarily imply that other canines may not be brought to your house. Ask a friend whose pet gets along really well with your dog to drop his or her dog over, or invite the friend and his or her pet over to your place. When dogs have company, they are known to be incredibly playful; jokingly snapping and barking at each other while playing all sorts of games that involve running around, all over the place.

Moreover, this ensures that your dog’s social needs are fulfilled, as apart from interacting with humans, one’s pets should also be able to engage with their own kind from time to time. This allows your dog to socialize and exercise, all at the same time.

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