What To Do with Your Pets While In Quarantine
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have said that pets cannot get the disease. Still, like their owners, they recommend that pets stay indoors too.
With the new stay at home orders, your pets may not understand the quarantine contingencies. They’ll be happy to have you stay home all day, but they need both mental and physical stimulation in case they cannot leave the house for long periods.
So to eliminate any boredom for your pets, here is a list of things you can do with your pets while in quarantine.
Games To Play With Your Pets During Quarantine
Hide-and-go-Seek
While your pet sits or someone holds him, open all the doors in your house, except the front door, of course. Then hide in a location that he can’t see you. Once you hide, call their name so they can look for you. When they find you, congratulate them and, if you can, give them a prize. Either their favorite toy or treat. Repeat this game by finding more difficult places to hide inside your home.
Create A Treasure Hunt
Take some of your best friend’s favorite treats and distribute them in various rooms throughout the house. Then call their name and, once they learn what the game is, watch how fast they will find them. This game could occupy them for quite a while as long as they know there are goodies still hidden.
Hide A Treat
Using your pet’s favorite treat, place one in your palm, and close your hand. Then hide your fists behind your back and switch the food between your left and right hands. Offer your pet both hands and let them try to guess which hand is holding the treat. To make this more challenging, you can use three cups. As your pups watch, place a treat under one cup. Move the three cups around to try to confuse them. Place the cups in a row and allow your pet to sniff out the treat.
Play Fetch
If your pet has a favorite toy or ball, throw it away from them, and ask them to bring it to you. Start by short distances and praise them when they approach the toy. If they don’t understand that you want them to bring it back to you,
Play Tug-of-War
Most dogs are thrilled at the prospect of a great game of tug-of-war. Depending on how big or how small your dog is, take an old hand towel, washcloth, or bath towel, and use it as a substitute for a braided rope toy.
Walk And Eat
Is your pet feeling sluggish? Perhaps your dog doesn’t want to go for a walk? Use their food as a means to get them moving. Place some of their kibbles on the floor and make a path. Get creative by expanding the way from room to room.
Walk Your Dog
Some dogs will still need their fair share of physical activity to stay healthy and stress-free. In light of this situation, some countries might issue special permits to pet owners that will allow them to walk their dogs at certain times. Other states might allow dogs to roam freely, as long as social distancing rules are respected. Remember also to follow proper dog waling etiquette and not to take your dogs for a walk as an excuse for you to be out and about unnecessarily.
Train Your Dog to Speak
Not only is this a fun trick to teach, but it can aid you in ending excessive barking. By teaching your dog to obey the words ‘speak’ and ‘quiet’, you’ll also be able to issue these commands when your put is barking way too much, and it’s starting to get on your nerves. Your dog will learn that it’s okay to bark sometimes, but not regularly, and you should be able to have him stop when you tell him to. Plus, it’s great fun to show people how intelligent your dog is because he can speak!
Special Treats
Think about getting your dog a chew treat that will last longer than an hour or two. The Himalayan Dog Chew is a good idea. It consists of yak and cow milk, tastes like cheese, and is topped off with a bit of salt and lime.
This is one treat Rover will have to work at because he’ll only manage to scrape off part of the treat at a time, but this will give him literally hours of pleasure.
Cat Toys
While cats may be a little harder to distract than dogs during a coronavirus quarantine, capturing their attention shouldn’t prove too hard. Just take an old toy, a ball of foil, or even a feather and tie onto a piece of string connected to a yardstick, and you’ll have the perfect way for your cat to go fishing.
You can also use a laser pointer to entertain kitty. Your cat will love this and will spend hours leaping about trying to catch that elusive point of light.
The Petstages Cat Tracks cat toy is also a cat favorite. This circle track with moving balls will satisfy your cats need to hunt, chase, and exercise.
While nobody wants to be under quarantine, this can be an especially difficult time for pets who don’t understand what’s going on or appreciate the coronavirus threat. All they know is that they want to play and have some fun. Since you’ll likely be home as well, go ahead and throw yourself into spending some quality time with your dog or cat and have a good time while you’re at it.
And when you’re both feeling tired and ready to wind down after a long day, there’s nothing better than sharing a cuddle with your favorite pup or kitty. Animals like nothing more than getting a chance to be close with their owners. The most important people in their world. You can make the experience even better by giving your dog or cat a gentle, slow massage to top off their day. They’ll love you all the more for spending time with them and for showing how much you love and care about them.
Did you just adopt a new puppy? Learn more about how to potty train them HERE!
