Occupying your Dog during Lockdown

The current restrictions, such as social distancing and lockdown, due to the coronavirus has an impact on both humans and animals. Many dogs will find their daily routines suddenly changed and their owners at home instead of at work. While this can be an anxious time for everybody it is important to see things positively and use this as a good opportunity to do things we might not usually have time for. One possibility is spending more time with our dogs, especially if they are kept inside for longer periods than usual which can be very challenging.

To help make things a little easier we have pulled together some ideas on how to keep your pets occupied. Here are some ideas to keep dogs busy:

• Search Games: Hiding some treats and toys all around the house will create something like a scavenger hunt for your dog. They can use their senses to find these rewards once they find your hiding spots. Just make sure you only hide small amounts tasty food, and not too much.

• Shell game: Place three plastic cups upside-down on the floor and hide a treat under one of the cups. Move the cups around each other while your dog watches the movements. Then see if he can find the cup with his reward.

• Frozen treats: This is another source of fun and entertainment.  You just need to put some food or a treat in an ice-cream container, fill it with water and freeze it. Your pet will have lots of fun waiting for the ice to melt and revealing the delicious surprise for them to enjoy.

• Chewing: This is a natural behaviour for dogs and treats such as dried pigs ears can keep your dog busy for hours, as well as helping to maintain good dog dental hygiene.

• Training basic commands: Do they already know the important commands like "sit", "stay", "come"? Now is the time to put in some hours of reward-based training.
• Have fun!: Joy and laughter are some of the best solutions to fear and panic. And having fun with your pets is one of the easiest ways to engage in it.

While your dogs are at home, wearing their Velvet Alabaster perfume, we hope some of these points will help alleviate some of the anxiousness that we are all experiencing throughout this time.

Stay safe!