Free Activities to Keep your Dog Healthy & Happy

Most dogs need at least a little bit of exercise and mental stimulation every day. Sometimes, certain breeds need more exercise or mental stimulation than others. It really depends on what the breed was bred for and how smart they are. Most intelligent dogs typically need more mental stimulation to stay happy and healthy.

Luckily, there are plenty of free activities you can do with your canine to keep them in tip-top shape. Below, you’ll find some of the best free activities you can do with your dog.

Walks

Walks are one of the most common and popular ways to keep your dog healthy & happy. No matter where you live, you probably have somewhere you can go walking. Even busy cities have sidewalks that can be used for this purpose. Different dogs are going to need different lengths of walks to wear them out. Typically, smaller dogs need shorter walks than larger dogs.

While walks obviously wear dogs out physically, they can also wear dogs out mentally. While walking, your dog will likely encounter all sorts of different sights and smells. If you give your canine time to sniff while walking, you can easily fulfill their mental stimulation needs as well.

Training

Training is an easy way to stimulate a dog’s brain. While simple commands may seem easy to us, they can be very challenging to our canines. This fact is especially true when our dogs are learning something new, which takes a lot of brainpower. You can easily change the difficulty depending on your dog’s experience and intelligence level.

To get your dog physically fit as well, you can do active training. Agility courses are an obvious example of this. However, even something like catching a frisbee can be enough for many dogs.

Dog Parks

For dogs that are friendly and enjoy the company of others, dog parks are a no-brainer. Many dogs love romping around with their friends and playing. Plus, you don’t necessarily have to be directly involved at a dog park – you can just sit back and walk. As stated by Doggypedia, “If your dog has far more energy than you do, this can be an easy way to wear them out without getting worn out yourself.”

Dog parks are also full of social interaction, which keeps your dog’s brain sharp. It is also a great way to keep dogs socialized and friendly.

Hide-and-Seek

This is our all-time favorite game to play with dogs. All your dog needs to know is the “come” and “stay” command. Tell your dog to “stay” and then go hide somewhere in the house. Next, yell “come” from your hiding spot and wait for your dog to find you. For the first time, you’ll probably need to hide somewhere easy until your dog gets the hang of it.

This game is quite difficult for many dogs, so it is a great game to play with particularly intelligent ones. However, most dogs with training experience should be able to play it.

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