5 Tips for Tiring Out Your Dog Indoors

Dogs need exercise. But sometimes we don’t
have time to give it to them! What do we do if it’s too hot, or too cold,
or too rainy, or we don’t have enough time, or there’s not a space outside readily available
to exercise in. How do we handle that? That’s what I’m talking
about today. I’m going to teach you how to burn energy
in your dog without even leaving your house. Let’s go!>>Meg: And now, the vet who keeps jumping
up on people>>Meg: even though is he way too big,>>Meg: Dr. Andy Roark! So, what’s the best way to exercise your dog
indoors?>>Meg: Thighmaster!>>Stephen: P90-Rex! That’s…that’s not a thing! No! Here are
my top five tips. Hide and seek is really basic, but it’s awesome.
All you have to do is sneak away, or have somebody sit with your
dog, or use the stay command until you get hidden, then you call your dog’s
name and see if they can find you. Or if they even care to look.>>Stephen: Is that why you were asleep in
the closet this morning? I hid a looong time. Stair ball is only for certain kinds of dogs
on certain kinds of stairs. If the stairs are too steep, or they have
a turn in them, or they don’t have carpeting so they’re kind of slick,
the stairs are out. Otherwise, it’s just a game of tossing a ball
or toy up and down the stairs and letting your dog fetch it.>>Stephen: One of my dogs is named Rocky
Balboa. Is it ’cause he loves to run up the stairs?>>Stephen: No. Is he a Boxer?>>Stephen. No…he just looks like Sylvester
Stallone. Oh. If you’ve ever run stadiums in your life,
then you’ll know this exercise is exhausting. But, when your dog has the
best glutes at the dog park, she’ll thank you for it. Put your dog to work for treats. There are
a lots of great food puzzles and toys like Kongs, or toys from the Nina Ottosson
collection, or other sources where they have to work to get a reward. I want dogs to expend mental and physical
energy to get a treat.>>Stephen: My dog has to beat me at a game
of chess before he gets a treat. Wow, that’s harsh.>>Stephen: Nah…he wins every time. The truth is, you don’t even need store bought
toys or puzzles, ok? Just wrap treats up in a blanket, put them
under cups, put them under bowls, or just hide them. And that brings
us to… Dogs are natural scavengers, and are quite
comfortable spending their time searching for food, as anyone knows
who’s put their trash back in their trash can. Rather than just putting your dog’s food in
his bowl, why not spread it throughout the house and let him
find it? You can put some into puzzles or toys, or
just put it in little piles and let him search for it. Also, you can toss
kibble and let him run after it to get exercise.>>Meg: I enjoy tossing dates at my dog. The fruit?>>Meg: Yeah…….the fruit. There’s a variation on this game called “Find
It”. It’s my own dog’s favorite game in the world. He waits, and
I hide treats and then just say “find it!” and off he goes, and he
runs all over the house and has a great time. If your dog has a best friend, then set up
a play date for your dog! It doesn’t take much time or effort or organization
on your part, and if there’s lots of tugging and wrestling
then you will have an exhausted pup in no time. And when setting
up a play date for your dog, I advise against using
the term “play date for my dog,” because if you say
that, then you’ll be the type of person who says things like, “play
date for my dog.” Did you know that I would love to send you
an email every time a new Cone of Shame episode comes
out? ‘Cause I would. I would like to send you that
email. And so, you can have that! All you have to
do is sign up. There’s a link below this video in the description. So, please, take a moment, check it out, and
I’ll see you next week. But until that time, let’s be the people that
our pets deserve.