Terri Ramsey Beavers As much as your dog appreciates you being home all day at the moment, your couch potato/mid-melt-down life needs to come to a healthy end. You have to take proper care of your pet so get up and get outside with your furry friend. Below are 5 simple, yet effective, ways to ensure your pet still gets the exercise it needs so that he/she can stay healthy during the pandemic.
1. Walking/Jogging
One of your favorite ways to exercise your precious pooch is still an option. Just be sure to socially distance yourself from other dog-walkers and wear a mask to be extra safe. Try to not touch anything whilst you are outside and remember to wash your hands as soon as you get home. As an added precaution, wash your pet’s paws too, you never know what they could have picked up on your trip that will then be brought into your home. The added bonus of walking your pet is it will also help you lose that extra weight you put on after being house-bound for weeks, eating loaf after loaf of freshly baked bread.
2. Play Fetch
This option is really only available to those of us with pets who buy into this game. I have two dogs, one is all about the fetch life and the other honestly couldn’t give a flying Frisbee. So for me it’s difficult to try and get a game going that involves both of them, usually what happens is one plays for hours and the other chews something personal of mine…likely just to spite me.
3. Obstacle Courses
This one I’m a little hesitant to add because I was not even slightly successful with this one. My girls had absolutely zero interest in even trying. Morgan walked around everything and Lola ran away with a Hula-Hoop and came back an hour later with half a Hula-Hoop. I do believe, however, some people could do this and achieve great success. Speak to Paoli Vetcare for tips on how to exercise your dog in the best way possible for their specific breed. Dogs are complex creatures with breed-specific needs, once you know more about their specific breed you can figure out how to take care of them in the best way possible.
4. Teach Them New Tricks
As I mentioned above, I have two dogs – one is my precious 8-year-old Labrador, Morgan, and the other is my sweet, yet oddly spiteful, 2-year-old mixed-breed rescue, Lola. Morgan will do almost anything for food or toys, she’s my predictable gem. Lola, on the other hand, isn’t particularly interested in either but she is wickedly smart (emphasis on the wickedly). My point here is that during the lockdown and with working remotely etc., I had time to teach them both how to high-five. I realize this isn’t a unique trick and loads of dogs can do it, I was still super proud of both girls – Morgan because it proves you CAN teach an old dog new tricks and Lola because she really didn’t get anything out of it – she did it for love.
5. Puzzles
Exercise doesn’t just refer to physical exercise. Your pet can probably sense your anxiety during this pandemic and might need a healthy distraction from time to time. Dog and cat puzzles are a great way to keep your pet occupied for hours so you can have that highly unnecessary fourth Zoom meeting in peace. Pet puzzles work by rewarding your pet with treats so if your paw-pal isn’t motivated by food then this one will be a little tricky for you.