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  1. #1
    Senior Dog BaconsMom's Avatar
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    Cold Weather Activities

    We are entering some of the coldest weather Minnesota has seen in a while. What do you all do to keep your Lab's minds occupied during the cold weather when they can't get outside?

    We have been doing lots of training and some indoor fetch, but fetch down the hall just isnt cutting it for Bacon. Thoughts?
    Julie & Jake, Bacon's Humans

    Instagram: @mrbaconthelab


    Born: 9/02/13

    Gotcha: 11/08/13

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  2. #2
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    All of that is what I would do. Do you have a drop in class you could take him to locally (that's inside)? Like rally?

  3. #3
    Senior Dog doubledip1's Avatar
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    Raw marrow bones. I crate Luna, hide tiny pieces of kibble all over the house and she has to smell them out.
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    Sarah, human
    Luna, born 6/14/13, gotcha 8/18/13 and TDI certified 5/12/2015
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  4. #4
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    All of the above. With Mardi, no problem, she prefers just hanging around. Archie is the one who needs more activity. Have not done the seek in a while, will have to do that today.

  5. #5
    Senior Dog
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    Go to Petsmart/other stores that let Bacon in and walk around
    Bundle up as much as possible and play fetch for as long as is safe
    Treat dispensing toys: the Wobble Kong, the Buster Cube, Nina Ottosen's puzzles
    Hide and seek in the house

    But yeah, when Kimber was younger and the weather here was treacherous (the worst for us was ice- I was petrified she'd tear an ACL), I mostly had to wait for the weather to break.
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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  6. #6
    Real Retriever fidgetyknees's Avatar
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    I love nosework. To get started with that, find a bunch of empty boxes, show him a cookie, and dump I in a box right in front of him so he knows it's there, tell him to find it so he can kinda learn what that word means. Once he has the idea have a couple of boxes in front of him, don't let him see which one you put the cookie and and ask him to find.

    Then progress to easy things like a cookie on a chair or cookie under the coffee table ... first let him see you put it there and then not. Eventually you will be able to hide cookies anywhere in the room and he can search them out.

    And if he really likes the game and you want to do the real nosework thing, you buy some birch, clove and anise essential oil and teach him to search qtips scented with those oils out. The transition always starts with food being put with the qtip, but once you have done that regularly for a while you can wean off the treats with the qtip and give them a cookie the moment and right at the spot he locates the scent.

    My girls love the game. My 10 year old is doing an official odor recognition test this coming Saturday.
    Last edited by fidgetyknees; 01-08-2015 at 12:41 PM.

  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to fidgetyknees For This Useful Post:

    doubledip1 (01-08-2015), Jollymolly (01-08-2015)

  8. #7
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
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    Nosework! You can use anything: shoes/boxes/tupperware containers/etc. Hide treats and have him find them, you can hide them behind furniture, anywhere. If he gets really good at that and you really want to try a challenge, you can order birch oil scent and start pairing the treat with that, or instead of pairing the treat hide the oil scent in an easy to find spot to start out, and if he is clicker trained you can click (or just praise) when he sniffs it. And he should catch on to look for that scent. Here is a link to scent kits:

    K9 Nose Work products | All Good Dogs

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  10. #8
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
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    Haha, I posted at the same time as fidgetyknees!

  11. #9
    Real Retriever fidgetyknees's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shellbell View Post
    Haha, I posted at the same time as fidgetyknees!
    Too funny. But it is a great sport to play inside. Dogs lovvvveee it!

  12. #10
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    We still walk if it is over 15 out and not icy and stormy. We walk through the woods though so the trees beak up the wind.

    Then Hemi does Pilates, he is trained to work out on an exercise ball. Yes, he gets up on top of a exercise ball. He does push ups, squats, crunches, should exercises. 3 times a week. I workout and lift wights with him we take turns between sets.
    He Paints of course as well.
    We still have indoor agility classes ever week.
    Nose work Classes every week and at home throughout the week as well, he does birch, anise, and clove now.
    We practice canine musical freestyle still. Its dancing with your dog, it's lots of fun, and I can;t believe I just said that too. Being that I taught Hemi how to play a toy piano last year I am trying to work a skit of him dancing to Mr Piano Man.
    Come up with new tricks for him to do.
    Play hide and seek.
    He torments me, I torment Him.
    I also made Hemi part of house chores. Like laundry and so on he helps out with. Old post long gone but I put a rope toy through a laundry basket. I load the laundry basket up and Hemi take it to the laundry. Then Clean clothes back. He closes the drawers and stuff after I put things away. If I drop hangers he picks them up and hands them to me. Once or twice a week we take the laundry basket through the house and he put all his toys in there and drags it back to his toy box. I dump them in, still working on we don't immediately have to take them back out.
    When I blow snow he follows along right behind me all proud and happy. I have a elderly lady on the side of me and so I do hers as well. She always comes out to her picture window and waves at him. He stands on his hind legs just so happy.

    Quite honestly keeping a lab entertained is only limited by our imagination I believe. The more I talk to people about dogs the more I learn.

    Oh yeah and from Hemi's trainer. One of his favorite things to do. I make a big bowl of popcorn, take a big handful and throw it out in the snow on the deck. Let him out on the deck I go back inside and eat my part of the popcorn and watch him hunt.

  13. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Jeff For This Useful Post:

    doubledip1 (01-08-2015), Jollymolly (01-10-2015), sheltieluver (01-13-2015), Tanya (01-13-2015), Woodrow_Woodchuck (01-08-2015)

 



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