The past year has been crazy for everyone, but how often have people stepped back and thought about the changes that have taken place for our pets too? Whilst most of us have ended up working from home, or being placed on the furlough scheme, our pets have had to adapt to a new way of living too. From limited walks to having their humans in the house much more, things may seem a little strange for our four-legged friends. It’s time to put our fur babies first and think about how we can keep them entertained during these long lockdown days.
Training Tactics
With more time on your hands, there’s never been a better time than now to train your pet and get them learning some fun new tricks. Whether you’re opting for the basics, or you think your pet is ready to up their game and introduce some fancy new things to their list of tricks, you have enough time to put the effort in to help them learn along the way. Be sure to reward them with tasty treats for their hard work and efforts, as not only will this be a way to keep them entertained, but it’s also a way for them to improve their skills and become an even better trained cat or dog than they were before.
Exercise Ideas
Lots of people have resorted to working out from the comfort of their living rooms and the same can be said for our pets. Whilst we may not be able to go out on walks for longer periods like before, that doesn’t mean we can’t keep our pets in great shape and help them to burn off that energy too. One of the most exciting ways to keep your pets exercise levels up is to create your very own at home assault course. Set them up in the living room or even in the garden and create your very own mini Cruft’s from home.
Extended Play Time
You may be used to having dedicated play times with your pet, but those schedules are all out of the window now that there’s more time to be spent putting those toys to good use. By investing in lots of fun toys for your pet, you can ensure they have plenty to play with and keep them occupied. Aim for a selection of toys from different ranges, such as chew toys, soft toys, puzzle toys and treat toys. This will give your pet plenty of choice when it comes to playing and keep them happy for hours to come. Check out this article from Good Housekeeping to find out which dog toys were rated the best during 2020!
Calm and Relaxed
Once playtime is over, it’s important to give your pets plenty of time to rest and snooze. It can all be very overwhelming when things change and for our pets, it can seem even more intense. Having people around more, constant activity and a change in routine can really affect your pet, so you want to ensure they have enough space and time to wind down and relax, after they’ve worn themselves out playing with their favourite new toys.
