Firstly here are some notes from the Government in relation to what this means from a welfare perspective:
Here are some Amora recommendations of things to do simply for the Love of your dogs ❤️
ALL OF THESE REQUIRE SUPERVISING!
DOGS will create their own mischief (especially puppies 🤪) if they are not engaged - ‘Just for Kicks!’
Ideas for activites and food games:
· Training, as this uses brain power and gets rewarded with treats
· Home-made Kong Ice creams or ice creams made in paper cups
· Licky mats available (available to buy online)
· Food Games/dispenser toys (available to buy online)
· ‘Find it’ – start small, and build up to using a kibble meal hidden all over the house, and garden (safety audit the garden for any undesirable items) This can include other food sources mixed with kibble such as soft meats, marmite and cheese
· Which hand is it? (see Aprils video from yesterday) a quick break in digging at the allotment 😂
· ‘Catch it’, by throwing a treat in the air and praising when your dog catches the treat! moving on to make this more difficult by resting your puppy or dogs head on your hand and place one piece of kibble on their nose with a ‘leave it’ cue and then say ‘catch it’ as the cue and mark with lots of praise
· Chewing on a safe Nylabone, Antler, Yakers Yak chew or stuffed Kong frozen or none frozen (be aware of cheaper copies as some antlers and chews can splinter - its worth the investment to get the branded safe ones!)
· What’s in the box – shred newspaper and/or hay into cardboard boxes and hide kibble and treats in them, puppies/dogs enjoy finding the kibble and also enjoy shredding the cardboard boxes after the game
· Have a bun tray with tennis balls or toys in each hole covering a piece of kibble or a treat in random holes so they have to work out a way to find the treats
· Snuffle mats are great to tire out puppies foraging for their kibble dinner
· Pieces of cut up old t-shirts in squares laid out with randomly placed pieces of kibble underneath
· Treasure Hunts - to find you! or their toys
· Teach your dog to do leg weaves, at first using a food lure, gradually you should be able to drop out the lure and simply use your hand gesture and verbal cue of weave to show your dog what you would like them to do, praising them at the end of the chosen number of steps with a treat
· Play ‘Follow me’ which will help with bonding and recall, ensuring you give treats and / or pieces of their kibble for compliance
· 3 cups – hide a treat under one and asking them to paw the one with the treat underneath
· Platter feed your dog - introducing some novel items and then step back and see which ones they self select - check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/376870459478985/videos/ for some inspiration!
· Get out the paddling pool early! let them have a paddle in the yard or garden, or fill with soil if you are able to and are happy for them to dig! - be aware of the consequences for some!
· Set up an Agility course inside or outside the house and go steady adding cues and naming the equipment once your dog is enjoying it. Note of caution - If you name the activity or piece of equipment as you start and the dog doesn't like it, you risk ‘poisoning’ that piece of the activity
· Take part in the ‘snoot challenge’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vlDekugA_Q
· Name 3 objects and work on accuracy of selecting the right one with the right name
· Dog friendly bubbles (available online - bacon scented and look for non toxic ones!)
· ‘Middle’ cue - check April and Elmo's video out earlier this week
· Walk your usual route but walk the opposite way around believe it or not this WILL be enriching!
· Keep some toys separate and alternate them daily
· Grooming softly is great bonding and builds trust and is very relaxing
Remember any effective force free training takes Patience, repetition and consistency.
Do not rush the training sessions, 1 or 2 x 15-minute sessions per day are enough.
It may take over 200 successful repetitions of each stage before the learning can be classed as ‘proofed’ but the learning should then last a life time.
Good online Suppliers
(Don’t forget to mention Amora at checkout for Stefs with a #NEW and then Amora in the comments box to get 10% off your first online order!)
AVOID any treats containing any derivatives of any kind / BHA or BHT preservatives (E310 / E320 or E321) / Grains / Cereals / Meat Meals of any kind / Gluten / Xylitol (usually peanut butter) / Nitrates / Salt / Rice / Corn / palm oil
