Summer Enrichment

Struggling to think of ways to keep your dog both cool and entertained in this heatwave? Then keep reading!

The hot weather can bring with it a mountain of guilt - you want to do what is best for your dogs, but you also want to make sure their needs are met. The longer the hot weather goes on for, the heavier this guilt starts to weigh.

It can weigh even heavier if you, like me, struggle in the heat as well. It can be hard to get motivated, to want to expend energy, to get your brain to work at full strength, and for some it can just be a generally physically uncomfortable time. Trying to get the energy to think of and set up some extra enrichment activities for your dog can feel like a mountain. For others the heat can be exciting and energising, and that guilt can manifest from wanting to enjoy the weather and make the most of it - and that your dog should out be enjoying it too.

BUT it’s important to remember that you ARE doing what is right for your dog by keeping them safe, cool and hydrated. It is also important to remember that sometimes (just like humans) our dogs don’t know what is best for them either. Many dogs will still over exert themselves by running around and playing when temperatures are high, or taking a nap in the scorching sun for hours. Just as many dogs would happily scoff grapes and chocolate, or swim in bodies of water with blue-green algae (but more on those in another post). Thats’s why it’s up to us to keep them safe, happy and healthy.

Now, I know what you’re thinking; ‘but my dog will be a nightmare without their walk’ or ‘this won’t work for my active -insert breed here-‘. And perhaps you’re right, if your dog has not had much practice with switching off, or with having the occasional ‘no walk’ day, this will likely be tough for them. But as the pet-parent to a Border Collie I will say this: I’d rather have an annoying dog, than a dead dog.

Now, off the back of that I would like to make it clear that just because we’re not walking in the heat of the day (or at all), it doesn’t mean we’re being completely sedentary either. We will play some games, set up some activities, do a bit of training, etc. And this is where the main point of this post comes in…

IDEAS TO KEEP YOUR DOG COOL AND ENTERTAINED IN THE HEAT

So without further ado, let’s get into the actual ideas for what you CAN do:

NOSEWORK:

Sniffing is always a great way to get your dog using their brain and burning calories, whilst keeping things chill and cool. Some things you could do include:

- Flower pot treat hide - use old or cheap plastic flower pots (the ones with the holes in the bottom) to hide a few treats or a favourite toy. When your dog isn’t looking, place several pots out, bottom up, with the toy or treat underneath one or two of them. Encourage them to go find the hidden item - the holes in the pots will help to let the scent out. Do this a few times and once they have the hang of it you can start to make it harder, by placing the flower pots further and farther apart.

- Toy Hide and Seek - hide your dog’s favourite toy somewhere in the house or garden (if shaded) and send them to find it. Bonus points if they bring the toy back to you. Repeat with lots of different hiding spots. The same can also be done with treats or their food allowance.

- Sniff box - collect up a few safe, items from nature such as leaves and flowers from dog safe plants (being mindful of pollinators and how many flowers there are on the plant), safe herb cuttings, dirt, sticks (as long as your dog doesn’t chew them), bark (same with the chewing), etc. Place these inside of a box or spread out and let your dog investigate. Once again, this is more for dogs who are not the sort to investigate with their mouths too much.

- Snuffle Mats/Towel/Blanket/Grass Snuffle - use some of your dogs’s daily food allowance and scatter it across your lawn (if shaded and safe to do so) or hide it in a snuffle mat or knotted blanket or towel for them to hunt for.

- Snuffle box - similarly to above you can fill a big box with safe pieces of recycling (such as cardboard, clean plastic bottles etc. ensuring there’s nothing they can chew/choke on/swallow and nothing sharp) and scatter their food inside amongst the ‘junk’.

COOLING & HYDRATING ACTIVITIES:

- Bobbing for snacks - as seen in the video, get a dog pool, water bowl, bucket - anything that’s clean, safe and watertight - filled with water and drop in some appealing, healthy snacks. You can use dog safe fruit or veg, fresh or frozen (ie. cucumber, carrots, garden peas, green beans/sugar snaps, honeydew melon, blueberries, strawberries etc.) to make a great bobbing activity.

- Pooltime fun - some dogs simply love being in water and you can use that to your advantage, even in the smallest of pools. The wetter your dog can get, the better! Use water safe toys for them to retrieve, let them wallow in it, use sprinklers or other water spurting toys BUT never force your dog to interact if they are unsure and never spray them/squirt/dunk them them directly. It should be their choice to interact and at their own pace.

- Frozen food enrichment - use things like Toppls, Kongs, Lickimats etc. and smear/fill them with dog safe food/treats (even their food allowance). Things with a high water content (or even kibble soaked in water) are great for filling and then freezing, to give your dog something to work at getting out, whilst simultaneously hydrating themselves and cooling themselves down.

REMEMBER - Always supervise any water based activities. Drowning CAN happen in even a few inches of water. Try to keep all activities in the shade, even water, and remember that water from hoses can be extremely hot when first running, if they have been in the sun. Be sure to take care with wet dogs and slippery floors too!

OTHER GAMES/ACTIVITIES:

- Human Hide and Seek - have your dog sit somewhere (or have a second person help by holding them) and go hide yourself somewhere in the house or garden (if shaded). Call them eagerly and let them come find you. This can be great for upping their recall skills if you treat them once they find you too.

- Puzzle Toys/Games - there are some fantastic puzzle toys and games on the market that can keep your dog’s brain busy. I tend to use them at least once a day for my dogs to have their evening meal in.

- Teach A New Trick - not all training has to be serious or related to safety. You can teach your dog all sorts of fun new tricks. There are plenty of ideas online, but make sure they’re from a reputable source and that it uses reward based methods like treats or play. If you would love more ideas, feel free to get in touch!

BUT REMEMBER: Keep any higher energy activities short (ie. 5 minutes or less) with a chance to cool off and hydrate readily available. Some dogs also prefer to chill out when the weather gets hotter. You might find your dog is perfectly content having a snooze and nothing else. They may want to eat less and sleep more. The most important thing to remember is to keep them hydrated, but if you are concerned that your dog is more lethargic than usual, please do speak with your vet!

NOW KEEP KEEP COOL, HYDRATED AND HAVE FUN!

And if you want to learn more, get in touch with us at www.wildshaped.co.uk!