Engage your dog at home

7 ways to have an enjoyable lockdown with your dog

So you are stuck in quarantine. You are missing going to work every day, meeting your friends,  having a social life. Here are 7 ways you can make your lockdown enjoyable with your pup…!!

You have cleaned your house, played video games, tried your hand at cooking and now it feels like the walls are coming closer and you are starting to feel suffocated. One can only take so much of  self-isolation.

So what to do now?
How to make your days easier to pass?

The one thing I can tell you for sure is that there is someone who is extremely happy to have you home and all to himself/ herself… that person is YOUR DOG..!!!

On any normal day (a day without lockdown) our dogs don’t see us lounging around the house. What they see is us running hither thither for our work. Even when we are home we are worried about the work the next day.

However, right now, there is no work to worry about for tomorrow. You may feel like clawing the walls of your house, but there is so much you can do right now.

Keep reading to find out 7 amazing and fun activities you can do with your pup during lock down

This is the perfect opportunity to bond with your pup and make some amazing connections which you will cherish for the rest of your life.

My boy, Delta is my life. I rescued him when he was merely a day old. You can read his rescue story
here: The heartwarming rescue stories of my dogs. However, when work falls on our shoulder, we do
land up neglecting our loved ones and I am no less guilty of doing the same.

However, this is the time to strengthen that bond with your pup..so here is a list of 7 activities you
can do with your pup when you are stuck indoors.

1. Teach your dog a new trick:

Training your dog on your own has shown to strengthen the relationship. It also shows your dog that
you are in charge. Even if you have taught your dog many tricks, there is always something new to learn.

I have recently been trying to get Delta to jump over my leg by offering him treats on the other side.
However, my smarty-pants boy prefers to go through underneath my leg instead of jumping over it.
LOL. Alternatively, since I use my bed to hold my leg in place, he finds it more convenient to jump on the bed and get to the other side instead of over my leg. It does create a pretty hilarious situation.

2. Do a DIY indoor activity setup and strengthen your dog’s back leg:

If you have been following my blog, you would know that I recently published a post on designing a DIY dog activity course setup at home with things available in your house.

This activity is great to keep your pup from getting bored as well as provides a really good bonding time between you and your pup. These types of close range exercises teach you to look out for signs of your dog’s next action.

This challenges not only you (keeping the treat at a safe distance away from your dog) but your dog as well (your dog is constantly exercising his or her brain to get to the tasty treat somehow.

One more benefit of this exercise is that it gets your dog to become tired. Thus, you can spend less
time on the walk and more time indoors.

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Keeping happy is very important during this time

3. Do yoga with your dog

I have lost count of how many hilarious videos I have seen on YouTube of people trying to exercise
with their dogs around. Those people mostly never ended up doing the exercise they were meant
to do in the first place. However, the adorable actions of your dog make it totally worthwhile to not
get any real exercise done.

4. Make videos and take lots of pictures

I am not asking you to make professional-quality videos. However, as we all are aware, our dogs don’t have as long a lifespan as we wish for them. So my suggestion to make your quarantine life easier with your pup by shooting lots of videos with them. Record his or her reaction. Share it on social media with friends and family. Provide everyone with something to laugh and joke about.

5. Cook for your dog

Many people have already learned to bake bread at home due to unavailability of the same in the supermarkets.

The next in line is the turn of homemade dog food. You will find thousands of recipes regarding homemade dog food on Pinterest. It’s time to try out a couple and find out if your dog likes your cooking.

6. Play a ‘find the treat’ game

Dogs can be indoor creatures too if motivated properly. A game of ‘find the hidden treat’ will energize and motivate not only your dog but you as well. Take some of your dog’s favourite treats and hide them in different areas of the house. Make your dog stay on command and then give him or her the command to find the treat. Praise your dog diligently after he or she finds the treat.

7. Have a movie night

Who does not like movies? I have seen so many dogs who enjoy animation movies as much as I do. So relax on the couch with a big bucket of popcorn and put up your favorite dog or animation movie to watch with your beloved puppy. A few of my all-time favorite dog movies are:

• Marley and me
• Eight below
• A dog’s way home
• Homeward bound
• A dog’s purpose
• Air buddies

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So many options to choose from. Which is your favourite?

What are we doing with Delta?

Well, for starters, Delta is not all that much of an outdoor dog. He is happy and content as long as he can see his parents.

• I regularly exercise him indoors with the DIY DOG ACTIVITY SETUP so that he is able to shake off excess energy and keep his stamina up.
• He does go out to poop and pee and to feed his street friends but it’s for a very short while.
• As you guys know, Delta mostly eats homemade dog food. Right now I am trying a couple of dog cake recipes which I can use for his next birthday. He is a very helpful companion in cooking.

1. He loves to taste everything.
2. Licks the bowl clean after the batter has been transferred.
3. Offers to be the first one to get a taste of the cake the moment it’s out of the oven.

Delta does not enjoy videos of other dogs…LOL. He does, however, enjoy watching his own videos. So I put up his YouTube videos on a loop for him to watch. I think he is still trying to figure out who that other dog is in the videos with his momma..!! He also responds and howls to his howling videos which make it very entertaining for all of us.

Conclusion:

Quarantine is like a glass half full. Take it as a boon. Spend this time with your beloved dogs or cats.
You are their whole world. Every day when you go for work, all they do is wait for you to come home. Once this lockdown is lifted, the world will go back to the previous routine and your pup will spend the entire day missing you. So utilize this time you have with them and make the most of it.

So what are you doing with your cat or dog during this quarantine? If you try any of the above-mentioned activities or if you have a few ideas of your own, be sure to write them in the comment section. I am eagerly waiting to hear our opinions.

PS: If you liked this post, please share it with your friends. Even if you are not a dog guardian, you
may know someone who is. This may come in handy to them.

Thank you for reading…

Stay safe. Stay indoors…!!