Keeping Your Dog Entertained During Gloomy Weather

If your dog is a couch potato, they're probably fine with having a lazy rainy day indoors with you. But, if your dog is always on the go, waking up to rain can make for a very boring day in the house for them. Help keep you and your dog entertained indoors by trying out some of the ideas below!



Hide and Seek with Treats, Toys, or with You

Dogs can enjoy playing Hide and Seek just like kids. There's even a variety of different ways you can play this game with your dog! All variations of this game are a great way to keep your dog busy and tire them out, as well as giving their nose a good workout to help them find the items.

For our food motivated furry friends, you can hide treats around the room or around the house and have your dog find them. You can do this with their own treats, with their favorite fruits or veggies (carrots and green beans are great snacks!), or even with a Kong filled with peanut butter or other treats.

Hide and Seek can also be played with toys! For the dogs that can't get enough of their rope toys or plushies, you can hide them around the room or around the house instead of treats. You can play with just one or multiple toys, depending on what your dog enjoys.

You can also play this game yourself! Just like the original game of Hide and Seek, you can hide somewhere in your house and have your dog come find you. You can have other family members join in, too, for extra indoor fun for the whole family.

Play "Which Hand" or the "Shell Game"

These games will help them work on their problem solving skills and give your dog lots of mental stimulation. Both games are played with treats, but the Shell Game can also be played with small toys.

Playing "Which Hand" is super easy. Just grab a few treats and your furry friend! Place a treat in one hand, close your fists and let your dog pick which one the treat is in. They can sniff, paw, or touch the right hand to get their reward. This is also a great way for dogs to practice their "touch" command for those who know it. You can even mix it up and put your hands behind your back while grabbing a treat for those smarty pants who catch on to this game fast.

The Shell Game is similar to playing "which Hand". For this game, you need 3 cups (or bowls, buckets, or anything that you are able to hide treats or a small toy under, as long as they aren't translucent). You set out the three cups and place a treat (or small toy) under one while your dog watches. Then, you shuffle the cups around and have your dog pick which cup has the treat under it. This game is also a great way to have your dog practice their "touch" command, if they know it.

Create an Indoor Obstacle Course

A homemade indoor obstacle course is a great activity to provide your dog with mental stimulation and exercise. Get creative! You can have them jump over stacks of towels, shoe boxes, pillows, or even bags. Make a little tunnel for them to go through out of a few chairs with a blanket laid over the backs. If you have a bunch of water bottles around the house, you can create a little water bottle pyramid for them to jump over or plow through, depending on your dog's style. You even can create an area for them to weave through with toys, pillows, or chairs, and have a blanket finish line! The ideas are almost limitless! If you have kids, you can have them help you build and also go through the obstacle course, too, for a win-win-win for you, your children, and your fur babies.

DIY Puzzle Games and Toys

There are so many puzzle and toy ideas available, it is hard to choose! Some of our favorite ideas were the muffin tin game, indoor ball pit, water bottle toys, and old T-shirt rope toys.

Muffin tin Game- using a muffin tin, tennis balls, and treats, you can create an interesting puzzle for your dog! Place a few treats in a couple of the muffin cups, then cover all the cups with tennis balls. and let your dog figure out which cups have the treats. You can also use peanut butter in the cups instead of treats, but it's a good idea to switch the tennis balls out for racquetballs if you go this route to make clean-up easier. This game can even be played with your dog's normal kibble to prevent them from eating their food too fast (bonus!).

Indoor ball pit- if you have a kiddie pool from the summertime, and a bunch of balls, you can make an indoor ball pit! Some dogs love just the kiddie pool with the balls and will have a blast with that alone, but you can also turn it into more of a puzzle for dogs who might need more mental stimulation. You can use treats or small toys in the kiddie pool and have your dog dig through the pool to find their treats or toys! Additionally, just like with the muffin tin game, you can also put your dog's kibble in the pool to prevent them from scarfing down their food too fast!

Water bottle toys- apart from using them as a pyramid in your obstacle course, you can also use water bottles for quick toys. If your dog loves the crunching sound of water bottles, you can put on old sock over the water bottle and knot the end for a fast crinkly toy. Or, if your have a food motivated friend, cut out a few small holes in the water bottle and fill it with treats. Your dog will have tons of fun tossing the bottle around to get treats out of it!

Old T-shirt rope toys- you can create a new exciting rope toy for your dog from just an old T-shirt. Cut the T-shirt into strips and braid it, twist it, tie it, knot it, weave it to your heart's content! Create a regular rope, a circular rope, an X-shaped rope, or whatever crazy shape comes into your head! Your dog will love the new rope toy with tons of textures and shapes, and you'll have one less thing to get rid of when you clean out your closet.

Blow Some Bubbles

An easy way to have a great time indoors with your dog is to blow some bubbles! Many dogs are fascinated by bubbles and love to watch them or love to try and catch them. If your dog doesn't know what to do, you can even teach them to catch bubbles. The best part: bubbles that are for children are non-toxic, so you don't have to go out and get special supplies or a special type of bubbles, you can just use the kids' bubbles.

Have Your Dog Help You Around the House

If you're running low on new tricks to teach your dog, and your dog seems bored repeating the ones they already know, teach them to do random things around the house! Your dog will love having new tricks to do, and you'll have a new chore buddy! You can teach them to turn lights on and off or to shut doors. If they love fetch, you can teach them the names of things you would like fetched, like slippers or towels, and then work on having them fetch those items. You can even teach them to fetch things out of the fridge for you if you tie a small hand towel to the fridge door handle so they can open it. If they like to pull out all their toys from their bin, you can use the "drop it" command to help teach them to pick up their toys and drop them back into their bin when they're done. There are tons of ways you can have your dog help you around the house that'll double as a new trick and help keep them busy!

Give Your Dog a Spa Day

Use your rainy or snowy day to give your dog a spa day and get some bonding time in! Give them a good brushing (even short haired dogs can enjoy a good brushing) and some belly rubs. Trim their nails and brush their teeth (if you dog isn't a fan of these, reward them with treats to help them associate it with a positive experience). Give them a nice bath with dog shampoo and some good towel scratches when drying them off. If your dog loves to be pampered, you can even paint their nails with doggie nail polish (it does have to be dog safe, though). You can use this time to bond with your dog and also help reinforce grooming as a positive experience.