How to Keep Your Dog Entertained in Lockdown

Hi everyone, welcome back to our weekly blog here at Devon Farms Holidays. We hope you are all keeping safe and well. This week we wanted to bring you a blog that would help keep your dog entertained while in lockdown. This is something you could do on your own or get the whole family involved. We know that most people have already taught their dog the basics, sit, down, stay and come. However, we wanted to add some fun ways to keep them entertained. These great ideas come from the experts over at Devon Dogs training who have very kindly provided us with some great ideas for keeping your dog amused during the lockdown. We wanted to do this blog because we know how important our dogs are to us, something many of our accommodation site owners also feel, hence why we have so much dog-friendly holiday accommodation. 

How to Keep them Entertained by Devon Dogs 

There are many strategies to not just survive but thrive during lockdown with your dogs!  It may seem daunting to know what to do when your once a day outings are limited to walking from home.  Devon Dogs based in Okehampton and online has some top tips on how to keep your dog entertained, have fun and trained!

1. Fun with food – have some fun with your dog’s daily food allowance by:
   1. Teaching them to catch, toss some food up in the air and let them catch it. 
   2. Bowling food back and forth for them to chase after.
   3. Having them crawl under and over your legs while following food in your hand.
2. Get fit – you may not be able to go out on those big walks on the moors but you can still keep your dog fit in your living room or garden.  Build a balance path with anything you have around the house, your cardboard boxes, sofa cushions, a plank…you can get quite creative and the kids can get involved too!  Place the items in a long line like a causeway and then have your dog walk all the way along it while you place food down for them to pick up as the balance along the pathway. Have fun!
3. Keep them busy – put those delivery boxes from Amazon to good use!  Place them in a big random pile and have your dog search for their food through the boxes.  You can also pop your recycled plastic bottles into one of the boxes and get your dog to rummage around for their food. We call this cardboard chaos!
4. Play dress up – if you are trying to keep your kids busy and are worried about your dog not being able to see new people during lockdown, how about making your kids (or yourself) the new person.  Give your dog something to do, a kong stuffed with food or a food puzzle, pop out of the room and come back in dressed differently.  A hat, sunglasses, again get creative, this is a great way to keep your dog positive and used to change.  
5. Train online from home – from the comfort of your living room sign up for some online training classes.  These are perfect!  Dog training without leaving your home!
   1. The Worldwide Sexier than a Squirrel Challenge – be ready for off-lead walking!  30-day of games for £27!  A game a day for 30 days!  Lifetime access!
      https://www.devondogs.co.uk/product/worldwide-sexier-than-a-squirrel-challenge/
   2. Training Consultation – speak to a trainer directly and come up with a custom training plan for you and your dog…bespoke training suited to you and your dog!
      https://www.devondogs.co.uk/consult-calls/
   3. Take an online training class – brush up on recall, work on loose lead walking, start your puppy training…plus many more online classes.
      https://www.devondogs.co.uk/events

Further Information 

We hope you have enjoyed that guest piece from Devon Dogs and we would love to see photos of you and your dog having fun at home so be sure to tag us in your social media posts with your dogs with either @devonfarms for Facebook or @devonfarmholidays for Instagram. Here at Devon Farm Holidays, we have an excellent range of dog-friendly accommodation, be sure to take a look for future breaks away. 

Click here to view our dog-friendly accommodation.