If you and your family own a dog, you have endless opportunities to have a good time. Dogs love to be entertained as much as they are entertaining and spending quality time with the dog will bring you all so many rewards. It’s lucky then, that there are so many fun things you can do with your four-legged friend…
Teach Them Agility
Have you ever watched dog shows? If you do you’ll no doubt have seen those perfectly trained pooches running through tunnels, jumping over fences and having a wail of a time with their owners’ as they do it. You don’t have to be a professional dog trainer or into competitions to get in on this action. You can buy many home obstacle courses, or find them in your community, where you can teach your dogs a few new agility based tricks just for fun, and it is a lot of fun!
Check Out Their DNA
If your dog is not a pure breed, you’ve probably wondered from time to time exactly which breeds they are made up of, well now you can find out and it’s surprisingly fun. As you can see from these Certapet’s DNA test recommendations, lots of dog owners are giving their pooches DNA tests to find out what they’re made up of. Many of them then post the results of social media to add to the fun. It’s like doing your family tree, but for your dog which instantly makes it so much cuter.
Volunteer with Them
If you own a pet dog, you’ll know that they can make everything better. No matter how bad you’re day has been, when you see your dog’s happy face and you sit down to stroke his silky fur, all of your cares melt away and you feel good again, at least for a little while. So, why not bring some of that joy to others? Animal-assisted activities are popular at retirement homes, nursing facilities, rehabilitation centers, in search and rescue scenarios and so many other places where people could do with a boost, and volunteering yours and your dog’s time will be so rewarding. It will teach the kids about the importance of helping others, and show them that doing so can be lots of fun, too.
Go HIking with Them
There’s nothing like getting out in nature with your faithful friend by your best side to make you feel like all is right with the world. Dogs love exercise and they love being able to explore new terrain, and all of the wonderful smells they find there, whenever possible. Their obvious lust for life and delight in the simple pleasures of nature will undoubtedly rub off on you all and ensure that you too appreciate nature as much as it should be appreciated. Just be sure to check any rules and regulations regarding dogs before you head to any given area.
Hit the Dog Park with Them
The great thing about the dog park is that not only do you get to benefit from having quality time with your own dogs, but you have the privilege of being surrounded by lots of cute critters from all around the neighborhood. You’ll have lots of simple fun watching them run around, play and do silly things and if you’re lucky, you’ll get to pet more than a few of them too. Your dog will adore it and so will you.
Do Yoga with Them
Yes, dog yoga, or Doga as it is known to aficionados of the activity is a thing and you know what? It’s great. It combines the calming benefits of yoga with the soothing benefits of your animal’s presence, and it ensures that you both get a gentle workout in., What could be better than that?
Teach Them New Tricks
A lot of people look upon training their dogs as hard work rather than something that can be done for fun, but it can actually be very entertaining. Watching your dog pick up new skills and teaching them funny tricks like pretending to play dead or teaching them how to play hide and seek will give you hours of entertainment, and because your dog will become more obedient throughout your training, you’ll be able to have more fun outside the home with them too.
Teach Them Tracking
Speaking of hide and seek, teaching your dog to track other objects apart from your and the kids is surprisingly good fun, Hide a favorite toy or treat and see how long it takes them to find it. Whoever’s hiding skills prove the biggest challenge gets a prize!
As you can see, if you have a dog, you truly never need to be bored again!