By Cassi Bee, CPDT-KA

Let’s be real: not everyone, dog or human, enjoys the great outdoors when the temperature drops.

Some dogs will throw the “potty brakes” on at a simple gust of autumn wind, while others may brave the brisk breeze but have a limit when the snow sticks. But with holiday treats and tricky schedules this time of year, maintaining an exercise routine for your dog is critical to their physical and mental health.

So, how do we help our dogs stay fit this winter season without freezing? Below are three fun ways to reconsider indoor exercise with your furry friend in the weeks ahead. An added bonus: both of you can stay in your PJs for these fun training games, and only need to bundle up when your pup needs a potty break!

Hide & Seek

This is one of our favorite games to play at home to reinforce recall, build a stronger bond and better engagement, and keep things interesting for my dogs and me throughout the day. This game is super easy to play and can be made more difficult based on what your dog knows already or learns along the way.

1. Set your dog up in one room with a “Wait” or “Stay” and slowly walk away to a different room. If your dog does not know stay, or this is too big of a challenge for that behavior, simply wait for them to pay attention to something else and slip away quietly!
2. Once you’re at your station, call your dog’s name and recall phrase (“Bugsy, Come!”) but only say it once. If your dog has a hard time finding you, make some extra noises like a tapping or kissy noise to help them find you in your hiding spot.
3. Once your dog finds you, throw a party! You can bring treats or toys with you to your hiding spot, or celebrate all the way to the treat jar in your kitchen and start another round!

Loose-Leash Walking … Off-Leash!

Believe it or not, practicing leash walking when you’re off-leash and indoors can greatly improve your dog’s performance outside when the leash is on. As a bonus, this is a great game to practice in row homes. You just want to make sure you know which words will have which meanings before you start. In obedience classes at Philly Unleashed and South Jersey Unleashed, we like to use “Let’s Walk!” to start moving forward, “With Me!” to stay together, and “This Way!” any time we change directions. Any time your dog shows up by your side after the cue (even if it takes them a few moments to learn the rules) they should receive a treat!

Start with treats in a Tupperware container held by both hands at chest height. Taking a few steps forward, say “Let’s Walk!” and put one treat by your preferred side, holding it in your hand until your dog shows up. Then, bring your hands back up and take a few more steps either forward (“With Me!”) or in a different direction (“This Way!”) and repeat the process for rewarding your dog where you want them to end up.

Pro-tip: If you want your dog to walk consistently on one side, reward them with that hand next to your hip or knee every time while playing this game. It will help prevent them from zigzagging in front of you for the food!

Find It or Scatter

You can use your dog’s daily kibble or some tasty treats for this easiest-ever exercise game. Load up a handful and start with a scatter if your dog isn’t great at sniffing things out by sprinkling many treats on the ground and saying “Scatter!” at the same time. Puppies especially love this one!

If your dog is already great at using their nose and sometimes their noggin, you can make this a bit more challenging by hiding the treats in different (dog-friendly) objects like cardboard boxes, puzzle toys, or rolled up hand towels and stash these items around the house for an absolutely awesome scavenger hunt. When you’re entering a room that the items are hidden in, use “Find it!” to encourage your dog to sniff it out and feel free to help them along if they can’t figure it out by walking closer to the item(s).

Have fun and let us know which games your pup enjoyed the most!