Winter is still going strong! More snow and cold weather are around each corner or still covering the backyard. I don't know about everyone else, but winter was a hard time for me when it came to enrichment. Dog's still need to be challenged, but long walks are not always ideal. But not to worry! There are still fun things you can do in your backyard and in the warmth of your home.
Snow Mazes
If you want something fun for your dog to do outside and you live in an area where you have a lot of snow, snow mazes can be great! Build a maze out of snow in your backyard and let your dog lose for some fun! But there are a few things to keep in mind. Below are instructions and some safety tips:
Instructions
Building a snow maze is simple. Start by walking out the path you want to make. Stomp down the snow as you go, leaving a winding trail behind you. If your dog is short, this might be enough! If you have a bigger dog, you might need more snow. Get snow and pack it on top of the snow that borders the trail you stomped into the snow. Make the walls of your maze about as tall as your dog, so they know the idea is to follow the path.
Once the maze is built, let your dog in the backyard! If your dog is not quite sure what to do, start a fun game of chase in the maze and reward your dog for following you. You can also hide at the endpoint and call your dog to see if it can find you in the maze. Have fun!
Safety Tips
Make sure you and your dog both stay safe in your snow maze. Here are some tips for how to do so:
Make sure there is nothing your dog can hurt itself on. Sometimes sharp twigs and other plants can get stomped into the snow trail, leaving sharp objects that you can't feel through your boots, but your dog will definitely feel if it steps on one.
Limit the amount of time your dog is in the maze, or put snow boots on your dog. Many dogs have built up callouses on their paw pads that protect those pads, but if your dog runs and runs and runs in the snow on bare feet, its paw pads can get raw, especially if it is really cold outside. So, make sure you take care of your dog's paws. If you need to, get some paw pad moisturizer to put on your dog's paws after it is out playing in the cold snow. This will help prevent cracking.
If your dog is small and or is built for warm weather, make sure to keep it warm. You can find jackets at pet stores that are great for small dogs. While I do not normally recommend putting clothes on your dog, it is important to keep your dog safe and warm, so a jacket is a good idea. But make sure you introduce your dog to its jacket in a positive way so that it enjoys wearing it.
Make sure your dog gets plenty of water. Snow might be made of water, but dogs still need to drink water, especially if they are running around getting lots of exercise. If you keep a bowl outside, you can put it on top of a heating pad to keep it from freezing solid. Or you can just fill a bowl and put it out there when your dog is playing outside.
Proofing Cues
If you need something to do inside where it is warm and cozy, try taking cue proofing to the next level. One of my favorite ways to do this is to teach dogs to perform a behavior when asked, even when it can't see its handler. This can be a great brain game for many dogs, and it also offers a great skill that can come in handy in the future!
Instructions
To proof a cue and the behavior attached to it, your dog first needs to have fully trained, highly successful cues. This means you will not be teaching your dog a new behavior, but rather practicing one it already knows really well. If you have never done this before, good cue to start with can be "sit" or "down." Before you get started, make sure your dog knows the cue as well as you think. To do this, get your dog's attention and cue it to do the behavior. Do this ten times (make sure to resent your dog each time it performs the behavior). If your dog responds to the cue within three seconds, at least nine out of the ten times, then you are good to go!
Once you have tested out the cue or cues you are going to use, make sure you know which one you will work on first. At the beginning stage, only practice with one cue, preferably your dog's favorite or the easiest one.
Now that you have a cue and corresponding behavior to work with follow the steps below. For this example, I will be using the cue "sit":
Find a wall in your house where your dog can stay on one side, and you can stay on the other. Once you have found a good place, get your treats (in a treat bag), a clicker (or other marker), and your dog.
Start with both you and your dog on the same side of the wall. Cue your dog to sit. When it does, click and treat.
Reset your dog by asking it to reposition in the standing position. Then, stand a couple of inches farther from your dog than you did before. Once you are in place, cue your dog to sit and click and treat it when it does.
Repeat this process, gradually moving around the wall until your dog cannot see you anymore. To help you know when your dog is sitting, you can position yourself near a reflective surface, have a friend help you, or sneak a peek and pull back around the wall to click for the sit or wait/re-cue if your dog has not responded yet. Make sure you click before you return to your dog to deliver the treat so that your dog is getting marked for sitting when it can't see you.
I hope you and your dog have fun with these enrichment ideas! Make sure you keep it fun for your dog and make sure you both stay safe!
Photo credit: Unsplash - Anastasiia Tarasova
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