February is usually one of the most challenging times of year for dog parents -- when outside there are freezing temperatures but your furry friend still wants to play! As we dread facing the cold outside, the walks tend to get shorter, which means less moving and sniffing outside, so less physical and mental exercise. This is when dog parents might see their dogs start to bounce off the walls. The good news is that just like physical exercise makes a dog tired, so does mental stimulation. In an ideal world we always want a good balance of both. It does not hurt for periods of time to emphasize one a bit more than another though. So here are some mental enrichment suggestions you can offer your dog these last weeks of winter before the sun will grace us with warmth again.

Keep the dog preoccupied on his/her own

• Ditch the bowl! Make 3-4 stuffed Kongs and put them in the freezer. There is no need for your dog to eat out of a bowl when he/she needs to keep extra busy. You might even soak his kibble and pack that in the Kong, along with some canned dog food to make it extra special!
• Go out and buy a bag of marrow bones. It will keep your dog busy for quite some time (Hint: A frozen marrow bone keeps your dog occupied a lot longer).
• The Kong Wobbler (looks like a big Kong with a hole on the side where food can fall out) is a great food and treat dispensing toy. Another great way to feed the dog his meals during cold days.
• Put some high-value treats in a box and tape it shut. When your dog figures that game out put the taped box into a taped box. Use those old Amazon boxes for something useful before you recycle them.

Ways you can engage your dogs

• Let your dog play with a Kyjen puzzle.
• Hide food in your house for your dog to search; start with very easy finds (dog can see where you put it) and gradually making it more challenging. Smelly food helps too!
• Sit on the couch and say, “Find it!” as you toss food in different directions.
• Show the dog some good treats and then put them under an old blanket and see if your dog can figure out how to get them out. You may have to help your dog in the beginning before they get the hang of it!
• Put some treats in a paper lunch bag and crinkle it up or a bigger grocery paper bag where the dog has to put his head and maybe entire body in the bag in order to get the treats out.
• Put three plastic cups upside down on the floor in front of your dog and hide treats under one of them.
• Play hide and seek with people. One person shows a treat and then runs and hides. The other person holds on to the dog and says, “Where is X?!” and then releases the dog. Treat is delivered by the person in hiding once the dog finds him or her. The person found will hold on to the dog while the other person does the hiding and game repeats. Begin with easy hiding places and increase level of difficulty.
• If your dog is reward marker savvy (using a clicker or a bridge word) you can put any novel object on the floor and mark and reward for any attempt to look at sniff and later interact with the item. It can be a really fun game once the dog catches on.
• Retriever games are great for dogs who enjoy them. Always trade with a treat when the dog returns with the ball or toy to reinforce a solid retrieve.
• Teach your dog some cool tricks. If you do a search on Youtube all sorts of cool trick teaching ideas will pop up. Just make sure the videos are all based on positive training methods.
• Do a few trial runs with a box where you put food in it where the dog can see it. Next step put food in the box when the dog cannot see it and present the box. Soon your dog will learn that box means there is a treat in it. At this point you can put boxes around a room. Allow your dog to go and search for them in order to get to the treats inside. Once your dog is savvy about this you can put out boxes but only hide treats in some of them. Now the dog must not only look for a box but also rely on their nose to find what box is a winner.
• Recall game-two people stand in view of each other and call the dog. Every time the dog comes to the person calling (only that person) they get a treat. Gradually separate yourself. This is not about hiding (see the other game of hide and seek) so much as making the dog move longer distances to get to the other person. Note: Make sure to not keep repeating, "Come!" if the dog is not doing the behavior, wait and let the dog think. If the dog appears to lose interest, get higher-value treats and also make it easier by decreasing distance between the people.

Ways you can engage your dogs

We hope these suggestions will inspire you to have many hours of fun with your dog. While this is the time of year it may make sense to play these games indoors, please feel free to take them outside as well when the weather allows. Mental enrichment is so important for the behavioral health of our furry friends, and will help create a happy, content and tired dog.

*Article Courtesy of Vivian Leven, CPDT-KSA, CBBCC-KA