Gabby Halpin, LVT
Veterinary Information Specialist
Pet Poison Helpline®

Since we are all spending a bit more time at home these day’s it can be good time to spend quality time with our pets. It’s also a time when we may not be able to get out to dog parks to exercise our canine companions.

Here are some fun activities you can try at home with your pets:

Doggy Spa Day! Now can be a great time to catch up on nail trims, give a good thorough bath, and a good brushing to help with all of that dog hair. You can also use this time to thoroughly clean and scrub water and food bowls and well as disinfecting and cleaning crates, toys, and bedding.

Practice your obedience skills! This is great to keep your dog mentally and physically stimulated while they are stuck indoors as well as strengthening the bond and communication between you and your dog. Adults and kids can work on basic commands such as sit, shake, down, and stay. Try measuring out your dogs daily food to be used as treats to make sure they don’t put on extra weight with all of those extra rewards for being a good boy/girl!

Set-up an agility course! At home agility courses can be a fun way to expend some of your dog’s energy and if you don’t already have the equipment it can be a fun DIY project for adults or kids. Some common obstacles you can recreated would be tunnels, jumps, weave poles, and/or a seesaw.

Don’t leave out your cats! Cats can also benefit from interactive play time using fishing pole type toys and can learn many tricks using positive reinforcement(treats)/clicker training just like dogs. Cats can pick up sit and paw very quickly and can be trained to do many other fun tricks as well.

Indoor cats may enjoy a window perch with a bird feeder/bath placed within view for “Kitty TV” or YouTube contains many loops of bird feeders: just search “videos for cats” to see plenty of fun options.