7 Rainy Day Activities to Keep Your Dog Busy Indoors
Melbourne winter rain has a habit of arriving just when your dog is ready to go outside and burn off some energy.
Suddenly, the walk is shorter than planned, your dog is following you from room to room, and you are wondering how you are going to keep them entertained for the rest of the afternoon.
The good news is that a rainy day does not have to mean a boring day.
Chewing, sniffing, problem-solving and short training games can give your dog an important mental workout while allowing them to use many of their natural instincts. Although indoor enrichment should not completely replace suitable physical exercise, it can help take the edge off restless energy and leave many dogs ready for a well-earned nap.
Here are seven simple rainy day activities you can try at home.
1. Give Them a Satisfying Chewing Activity
One of the easiest ways to occupy your dog indoors is to give them an appropriate natural chew.
Chewing gives your dog something purposeful to focus on. Instead of wandering around looking for trouble or repeatedly bringing you the same soggy tennis ball, they can settle into one spot and enjoy working on their chew.
Our Roo Teeth Cleanser can make a great addition to a rainy-day routine. For larger dogs and experienced power chewers, the Roo King Tail offers a bigger chewing challenge.
Choose a chew that suits your dog’s size, age, chewing experience and individual chewing style. Set them up somewhere comfortable, provide fresh water and supervise the entire chewing session.
After concentrating on their chew, many dogs are much happier to curl up for a peaceful afternoon nap.
Explore our natural dog chews for rainy-day enrichment.
2. Make a Rolled Towel Treat Puzzle
This is one of our favourite indoor dog enrichment activities we do with Lenny, because it requires only an old towel and a few small training treats.
Lay the towel flat and scatter several small pieces of your dog’s favourite treats across it. Slowly roll the towel up, allowing some of the treats to become hidden inside the folds.
Place it on the floor and encourage your dog to sniff, nudge and carefully unroll the towel to find each reward.
Once your dog understands the game, make it progressively more challenging by:
- Rolling the towel more tightly
- Folding it into different shapes
- Tucking one end underneath
- Using fewer, smaller treat pieces
Start easy so your dog understands how the game works. The aim is to encourage problem-solving, not make the activity so difficult that they become frustrated.
We like to use our Beef Liver Snaps which can be broken into small pieces, making them easy to hide throughout the towel without using too many treats.
3. Play “Find the Treat”
Dogs experience much of the world through their nose, making scent games an excellent way to keep them engaged indoors.
Ask your dog to wait in another room while you hide several small treats in easy-to-find locations. You might place them beside a chair leg, behind an open door or along the edge of a rug.
Bring your dog back into the room and say "find it!."
When your dog begins to understand the game, gradually make the hiding places more challenging. You can place treats at different heights, underneath lightweight objects or across several rooms.
Always choose safe hiding places and remember where you placed every treat.
For beginners, allow your dog to watch you hide the first few rewards. This helps them understand what they are searching for before you make the game harder.
4. Play Games like Hide-and-Seek With Your Dog
Hide-and-seek is not just for children. It is an easy way to practice recall while providing mental stimulation and strengthening the bond between you and your dog.
Ask your dog to stay with another person or wait in a separate room. Find a hiding place somewhere inside the house and call your dog’s name.
When they find you, celebrate with praise and a small training treat.
Begin with obvious hiding places, such as standing behind a door. As your dog improves, try hiding behind the couch, around a corner or inside another room.
This game works particularly well with more than one person because you can take turns hiding and calling your dog from different areas of the house.
5. Create a DIY Sniffing Box
Save a clean cardboard delivery box and turn it into a simple rainy-day enrichment activity.
Fill the box with dog-safe items your dog can move through, such as loosely scrunched packing paper, empty cardboard rolls or several smaller open boxes. Scatter a few training treats throughout the different layers and let your dog search for them.
Keep the first version simple. Once your dog becomes more confident, you can add additional layers or place treats inside open cardboard rolls.
This activity should always be supervised. Remove the box if your dog begins swallowing cardboard, paper or any of the materials rather than searching through them.
6. Build an Indoor Obstacle Course
You do not need professional agility equipment to build an entertaining indoor course.
Use safe household objects to create a simple path for your dog. They could:
- Walk around a chair
- Step over a low broomstick
- Crawl underneath a table
- Move between two cushions
- Place their front paws on a stable platform
- Finish by sitting on their bed
Use small training treats to guide and reward your dog as they complete each part of the course.
Keep all obstacles low, stable and suitable for your dog’s age and physical condition. Avoid slippery floors, high jumps or tight spaces that could cause injury.
Even a short five-minute course can encourage your dog to listen, think and move their body in a controlled way.
7. Have a 5 Minute Training Session
Rainy days are the perfect opportunity to practice an existing skill or teach something new.
You might work on:
- Touching their nose to your hand
- Going to their bed
- Spinning in a circle
- Putting their toys away
- Waiting before taking a treat
- Learning the names of different toys
Keep training sessions short, positive and achievable. Reward progress with small pieces of a high-value treat and finish while your dog is still enjoying the activity.
Several short sessions throughout the day are often more engaging than one long training session.
Your Rainy-Day Dog Routine
You do not need an overflowing toy cupboard to keep your dog entertained when Melbourne’s weather keeps you inside.
A simple rainy-day routine could include:
- A supervised natural chew
- A short indoor training or scent game
- Fresh water and quiet time
- A very satisfied afternoon nap
Rotating between chewing, sniffing, searching and training gives your dog variety and allows them to use different natural behaviours.
A rainy-day basket containing an appropriate chew, a bag of small training treats, an old towel and a cardboard box may be all you need to turn a wet afternoon into one of your dog’s favourite days at home.
Build your dog’s rainy-day enrichment kit with our natural chews and training treats.
Rainy-Day Dog Enrichment FAQs
Do mental games tire dogs out?
Activities involving sniffing, learning and problem-solving require concentration and can help dogs feel mentally satisfied. They are even more useful alongside suitable physical exercise.
How can I entertain a high-energy dog indoors?
Try combining several short activities instead of relying on one game. A scent search, five-minute training session, safe obstacle course and supervised chewing activity can provide variety throughout the day.
How many treats should I use for enrichment games?
Use small pieces and account for them within your dog’s normal daily food intake. You can also reserve part of their usual meal or treats for scent games and training rather than adding extra food.
Are natural dog chews suitable for every dog?
Every dog chews differently. Choose chews suited to your dog’s size, age, health and chewing experience. Always supervise, limit chew sessions to approximately 10 minutes, provide fresh water and remove any chew that becomes small enough to swallow.
Every dog is different. Always supervise chews and homemade enrichment activities, and speak with your veterinarian if you are unsure about what is appropriate for your dog.
