Indoor Exercise and Impulse Control for Dogs

Have you ever been sick or hurt yourself? Maybe it's too hot or too cold for going out. What if you have a breed that can't tolerate the climate you live in? Maybe you're disabled and you can't always walk your dog. Your dog might be reactive and you just can't handle another day of barking and lunging.

I think we've all been there at some point in our lives where getting outside just isn't going to happen. I've had days where I was sick, days where it was way too hot and days where it was pouring rain. My dogs absolutely hate going out in the rain and they don't like being cold. Dogs still need exercise and mental stimulation and that's where coming up with indoor games is critical.

Recently I signed up for Susan Garrett's "freecaller" program. You got a portion of her "recaller" class for free. Sadly, her program is way too expensive for us and we couldn't continue with it but at the end of the free portion she did a live webinar. During the webinar Susan did a demonstration of her puppy playing an impulse control game that she dubbed the WOW! game. We've played a lot of impulse control games before and I really liked the way she did that game so about two weeks ago we started playing it, too.

Here's a video of my dogs playing the game. 

Note: In the video, you can see that Zoe does not like having her collar grabbed and she does not like being restrained. She is more weirded out about the restraint and doesn't like it when I use it to "drive her forward". I'm definitely planning on working on this!

After doing this game for about twenty minutes they were both ready for naps. They were exhausted and since the game is mentally and physically challenging it's win-win! They love playing this game and it's a great alternative for going outside. It also makes feeding time a lot more interesting than just pouring a bunch of kibble into a bowl and setting it down. Since they also have to "search" for the kibble it gives them a job to do and dogs love jobs.

Teaching Impulse Control is such an important aspect of dog training. They have to learn how to control themselves and that not everything dropped on the ground is for them. It's also helpful in so many other ways and makes living with dogs much easier. I plan on doing another post about this important topic so stay tuned.

Now for some directions. If your dog is new to playing impulse control games I would recommend taking a look at the It's Yer Choice tutorial. Kikopup also has a great one about teaching them not to mug your hand. I would recommend working on those two things first before proceeding on to the more advanced version of what I did in my video. You can still toss kibble and have them chase it for the exercise, though! I also do a version of It's Yer Choice (with the treats in my hand first and then near me on the ground) before I start the WOW! game to warm them up for it. 

Do you play indoor games with your dogs? What's your favorite?

Happy Fit Dog Friday everyone!