8 Ways to Entertain Your Small Dog Indoors This Winter

With snow falling and temperatures dropping, many dog ​​owners find themselves spending more and more time indoors with their dogs.

However, boredom and lack of exercise can lead to many unwanted bad habits, including excessive barking, bullying, hyperactivity, or destructive behavior.

Rest assured, there are options to keep your dog entertained indoors throughout the winter months!

To help you survive the season, I’ve put together a list of my 8 favorite ways to keep my dogs occupied indoors safely and effectively.

Disclosure: I am part of the Amazon Associate Program and some of the links below are affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.

Simple Ways to Entertain Your Small Dog Indoors

1) Break out the food puzzles and interactive toys

Interactive toys are a popular category of things to easily entertain dogs at home that are loved by trainers, veterinarians and pet owners.

This includes food puzzle toys, Kong style treat toys (use this one for puppies), kibble dispenser toysand anything that offers some form of reward to entice your dog to keep playing long after he gets tired of stuffed animals and tennis balls.

Just make sure you choose a safe, BPA-free dog toy for your dog to play with.

Not only are these toys a great source of entertainment, but they also provide mental stimulationwhich is needed especially when your dog feels stuck indoors during the cold winter months.

Whether you’re looking for options to keep your dogs entertained at work or just looking to keep them busy so you can finish your list of household chores, this is a great option!

For an easy-to-make stuffing recipe for your dog’s KONG or other interactive treat toys, read: Easy and Quick 3-Ingredient Kong Stuffing Recipe.

2) Build your own food puzzle

The cost of owning a dog can add up quickly, and buying a new toy or food puzzle might just not be in the budget.

Luckily, there are plenty of fun food puzzles and games you can enjoy with your dog instead.

The Muffin Tin Interactive Dog Toy

This one is very simple to create, but it’s also easy enough for most dogs to understand.

Take a muffin tin and place treats or pieces of kibble in the bottom of the tins before covering the whole thing with tennis balls, or wads of crumpled paper, then send your dog to sniff out the treats.

Create an occupied compartment

This one is a little more difficult for some dogs, but they can learn that they can just tip the bucket over to get the treats out.

Using a large bucket or laundry basket, layer blankets, towels, or even pieces of your clothing with treats interspersed.

Due to the busy bucket size, it works best if you choose highly scented treats that your dog can detect through the many layers to keep them interested.

Tear the candy ball

This one may be the most difficult of these three options.

Use a HOL-ee Roller Dog Puzzle Ball for this one.

Start with several 1 to 2 inch square pieces of paper or fabric. Place 1-2 treats in the middle of each and fold the paper or fabric around them into a small ball.

Then push these little balls through the openings of the HOL-ee Roller until the ball cavity is completely filled (it doesn’t need to be stuffed, just nearly full).

Your dog will need to understand that he must grab and tear open each wad of paper or tissue in order to access the treat inside.

3) Give your dog a healthy, all-natural chew

Another option that works great for food-oriented dogs is to give them a treat that will take them a little longer to finish.

There are many great options that are not only made from all-natural ingredients, but also offer great health benefits.

You can also find treats meant to improve the health of your dog’s coat and skin, clean his teeth, or even improve his digestive system.

For a few examples, my little dogs Summit and Gretel like to chew:

Note: I give my small dogs the large version of the bully sticks and collagen chews and take them off after about 10 minutes. Since I throw them away when there’s only 1 inch left so my dogs don’t swallow them and choke, there’s less waste that way.

Due to the size of these treats, be sure to account for your dog’s treat calories at mealtime to avoid overeating and help keep your small dog at a healthy weight.

In other words, subtract the calories from chewy treats from their daily calorie allowance from food.

4) Enjoy an interactive game together

If your dog is currently trying to lose weight, you may prefer to ignore treat-based ways to entertain your dog indoors (and that’s okay).

Instead, you can use this as a great opportunity to improve your bond with each other by playing an interactive game like hide and seek, fetch, or tug of war.

Not only will these games entertain your dog, but they will encourage you and your dog to engage in physical activity when you may not be outside as often.

It also gives you the opportunity to build a relationship of trust and a deeper connection, which will carry over into your training sessions and other areas of your life together.

5) Create an indoor obstacle course

Unlike the other options so far, this one is going to take a bit of work and preparation.

If you have children, involve them in the planning too!

Create an obstacle course in your home for your dog using loose objects like a hoop, cardboard tunnel, or chairs to zigzag around.

Be careful to consider your dog’s ability, approaching obstacles that are attainable given his small size and current fitness level without risking injury.

While you take the course with your dog, you not only keep him busy and encourage him to do activities, but it stimulates his mind as he focuses on what you are asking for and how to meet your expectations. .

This is a fun activity for the whole family as many young children will also want to take the course while older children can use it as a training opportunity.

6) Make time for training

Speaking of training, one of the most productive ways to entertain your dog is to schedule a training session.

This could include working on basic obedienceif that’s where you’re at right now, or if you’re moving on to something fun or more advanced.

Active dogs can benefit from this time for balance training to help them stay in shape for the busier season of hiking and exploring ahead.

Is there a trick you’ve always wanted to teach your dog?

Now is the time to get out some of your dog’s favorite treats, clear a spot in the living room, and get to work together.

7) Plan a spa day for your dog

Not all dogs enjoy the grooming process, but if your dog does, it’s a great way to entertain your dog indoors this winter.

Gather everything you’ll need ahead of time and keep it handy to make the day go smoothly, including:

• Your dog’s brush or comb
• Toothbrush and toothpaste (if you brush your dog’s teeth)
• Nail clippers or nail grinder
• Paw balm to refresh and protect their feet
• Everything you can use to keep your dog looking their best

This is also a great opportunity to do a body scan of your dog to make sure there are no new bumps, bumps or marks that you should be concerned about.

8) Plan a puppy play date

If you’re looking for ways to entertain your dog, chances are your other dog parent friends are also looking for ideas.

Why not give them a call and schedule a time for you all to get together and have some fun.

It’s a great way to make sure your dog gets enough exercise to stay fit and healthy while spending quality time with the people (and dogs) you both love.

You can even incorporate some of the ideas we’ve already mentioned, such as setting up an obstacle course, into your group play session.

After reading this, we’re sure that instead of wondering how to entertain your dog this winter, you’ll be spending the time making fun cold weather plans for the whole family!