Enrich Your Pets Environment This Winter

If the winter seems to drag on for us humans, imagine how it must feel for our pets that love to feel their paws in the grass, sun on their faces, and wind in their hair. With the temperatures so cold, we often don’t take our pets out to play as much as we normally would or at all.

How can we serve as awesome parents to our furbabies and keep them busy and stimulated during the long winter months? Easy, add some enrichments activities and techniques into your day-to-day routine! These can be food based, sensory, social, novel objects, or positive training.

Enrichment Activities for Dogs

Okay, so your dog may not be able to play its favorite game of fetch with you every day like it can in the spring, summer and fall, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! We all know pups love food and treats, so break out the jar and some hollowed out toys to get the good times rolling. Stick some treats or peanut butter inside a few different toys and hide them throughout the house for your dog to find. It’s fun, stimulating, and tasty!

If you want to get more involved and be included in all of the action, purchase a few new and different toys such as ropes or toys with knobs and unique textures. You’ll have their senses going wild and they’ll have so much fun playing tug-of-war with you too.

Want to teach your dog some new tricks? Positive training is not only useful in terms of making your life easier, but it’s also beneficial to your dog. Its mind will be completely stimulated as it focuses on what you’re teaching, keeping it far from a state of boredom.

Enrichment Activities for Cats

Let’s face it, it doesn’t take much to keep cats busy. Throw them a shoelace or a pencil and they’ll be occupied for the rest of the day, pushing their prized object across the floor. That being said, it’s still a good idea to check in with your cat to switch things up and make sure their minds are stimulated.

Just like dogs, cats love treats, so get them some toys or balls that can fit some inside. You can either hide the toys for your cat to find or you can toss it around for your cat to chase. Either way, it will be happy to skid across the floor and eat yummy treats!

Adding novel objects to your cat’s environment is yet another way to keep your cat busy. Cats love to fit into small and odd spaces and have way too much fun doing it! Take an empty tissue box, shoebox, or any other type of container and let your cat have at it. It’s amazing how much time a cat can spend playing inside random spaces.