You may wonder what the topic of employment for senior dogs or dogs with joint disease has to do with dog physiotherapy. At first glance, not much. However, dog seniors and also dogs with diseases of the musculoskeletal system are often affected by movement restrictions. A typical example would be a young Malinois whose torn cruciate ligament has been surgically treated and now needs to be kept still. Extensive walks are then not possible. To bridge such phases or, for example, an older dog whose walks are shorter and to offer appropriate alternatives, I would like to address here. Employment for dogs
Because not infrequently dog owners face this very problem that they are overwhelmed in what way they can now exercise their dog to avoid frustration and boredom. At the same time, employment provides your dog not only a mental workout. It also promotes the release of endorphins and not only makes you happy, but also relieves pain! That’s why I’m putting together some ideas for employment here that are straightforward to implement.
These employment ideas for dogs are perfect for joint diseases and for older dogs employment for dogs
Intelligence toys
Nowadays, there is a wide range of intelligence toys with different levels of sophistication. This provides great opportunities to mentally exercise your dog according to his needs and capabilities. It is important that you always present your dog with solvable tasks to avoid overwhelm.
Feed balls
Food balls offer a nice way to keep a dog exercised for a shorter period of time. Especially for older dogs who tire more quickly, this is a good solvable occupation. At the same time, food balls offer the advantage that they can also be “worked” while lying down. Thus, they are a very good choice for dogs for which standing and walking is difficult. At the same time, the dog’s fine motor skills are trained.
Sniffing carpet
Also, the sniffing rug allows your dog to occupy himself with it even when lying down. On days when joints ache and prolonged standing is difficult, or for paralyzed patients, they offer a great way to keep busy. Sniffing carpets can be uncomplicated to make yourself, but you can also buy them in stores.
Search food bag
Many dogs enjoy searching for and retrieving hidden food bags. This is how you combine exercise and nose work. Here your dog has exercise and nose work at the same time. The advantage is that movements can be controlled very well here and you can also work with your dog over a short distance.
You can let your dog search for the food bag both in the house and in the garden and even on short walks to spice them up a bit. Employment for dogs
Treat search games
Simply hiding treats is probably the quickest and easiest way to give your dog something to do. Depending on how experienced your dog is, you can expand the search to a room or even the entire apartment. You can also hide snacks in the garden or on a walk and let your dog search for them, adding variety to walks. A nice option for a treat search game is to hide them in a cardboard box filled with crumpled newspaper and let your dog pick them out. When choosing a box, always make sure that it fits the size of your dog.
Let search objects occupation for dogs
You can, of course, teach your dog to look for different objects. For example, if he has a favorite toy, you can hide it and let him search for it.
Let learn tricks
Even older dogs and those with joint diseases can learn tricks. Of course, these should always be adapted to their physical needs. For example, you can teach your dog to put different items in a crate and put away his toys, for example.
Nice other ideas to keep your dog busy would include Do as I do or clicker training.
If you want to keep your dog busy and do something for his health at the same time, then I recommend the dog fitness media library.
Try to see your dog’s (temporary) immobility as an opportunity, not an obstacle. You both have the opportunity to discover and get to know beautiful new things together. Employment for dogs
All the love, Tina
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