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Dogs have been one of the closest fuzzy friends of humans for years. Many fun moments come with owning a dog. They include playing with them in your yard or taking them on a walk at the park during the summer. However, during winter, most people, together with their dogs, tend to hide indoors, looking for warmth. While this may seem like an ideal way to spend the winter with your dog, it’s crucial to understand that your furry friend still needs lots of exercises to burn off pent-up energy and avoid developing behavioral issues.
Additionally, keeping your dog active will significantly reduce the chances of health issues such as obesity. However, it’s best to understand that keeping your dog energetic during winter can be challenging. But the good news is that there are several ways you can use to keep your canine friend active even during extreme weather conditions.
The following article offers a detailed look at ways you can use to keep your best friend active during winter. Read on.
How To Keep Your Dog Active During Winter
Although it might be challenging to keep your dog active during extreme weather conditions, the following ways can help you achieve your goals. They include:
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Consider Outdoor Walks
As a dog owner, you have a high chance of taking your dog for a walk almost daily. Walking your dog plays a huge role in controlling weight and improving blood flow. Hence, walking your dog during winter will help improve its overall health and allow them to interact with other dogs, ensuring they stay active.
However, walking your dog during winter is not as easy as it sounds. During the winter, a dog may slip, get injured, and be exposed to winter-related risks such as frostbite. For this reason, choosing the ideal outdoor wearable for your dog is vital. Besides looking cute, winter dog clothing offers protection, ensuring your dog enjoys the outdoors with minimal risk of getting hurt.
Over the years, many brands have offered dog clothing to ensure you and your furry friend enjoy the outdoor walk and other winter-related games. Due to the many options available, it can be hard to get the ideal clothing for your furry friend. However, you can consider visiting Neewa Dogs or any other reputable dog clothing vendor in your locality. Although it’s best to ensure you conduct enough background checks to gauge the vendor’s reputation and whether they’ll meet your dog’s needs.
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Engage In Indoor Activities
In some cases, the outdoor environment might be too extreme, and you’ll need to stay indoors with your furry friend. However, your dog still needs to remain active, despite the situation. Fortunately, there are several indoor activities you can engage in to ensure your dog stays active. They include:
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Play Fetch
It is one of the indoor activities you can try with your dog. Take advantage of your interior space to play fetch with your dog using a softball. Ensure you get the right ball for this activity to protect your indoor surfaces against damage. If there’s not enough space in your home, you can move some furniture around to create extra space for your dog to run around.
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Practice Doga
Dog yoga? That’s right. It is another indoor activity you can engage in with your dog. This activity focuses on meditation and dog massage, among other relaxing practices. While the dog might not get the same benefits as walking, doga may help your dog become relaxed. If you find this challenging because it’s new to you, look for a reputable doga expert in your area to help the dog stay calm and relaxed. Furthermore, you can utilize the available online materials to learn more about how you can practice yoga with your canine friend.
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Plan Play Dates
It is another way you can consider keeping your dog active. Whether it’s an indoor or outdoor play date, it guarantees physical exercise. During the play date, the dogs will socialize, chase each other, wrestle, and play games such as tug of war. It ensures they get the much-needed exercise and burn off pent-up energy.
However, it’s best to determine whether your dog loves having other dogs around. If it does, you can call a friend and ask if their dogs need dog-to-dog interaction. However, if you’re busy, you can consider taking your dog to your local daycare facility for some playdates.
Bottom Line
As discussed above, it’s best to ensure your dog stays active during extreme weather conditions such as winter. This way, your dog will not develop behavioral problems just because they’re inside your house all day long, with nothing else to do because they can’t go out and play like they used to. So, conduct extensive research to identify the ideal ways to keep your furry friend energetic during winter, improving their overall well-being.
Connect with a verified veterinarian in minutes. Licensed vets are available 24/7 to answer your questions. No need to worry about your furry family member.
Tom
Tom has always loved to write since he was little - he wanted to be either a writer or a veterinary doctor, but he ended up being a professional writer while most of his works are based on animals. He was born in San Francisco but later moved to Texas to continue his job as a writer. He graduated from the University of San Francisco where he studied biotechnology. He is happily married and a soon to be father!
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