Indoor movement for the dog on rainy and bad weather days

For the same amount of time, an activity that engages the nose and the head produces a longer lasting tiredness than a run. Running indoors, moreover, raises arousal without offering an outlet for the cognitive part of the behaviour, and an excited dog is not a satisfied dog: it is a dog ready to start again. On days shut inside it pays to flip the priority and put mental work before physical.

This does not mean physical movement is useless, but that indoors it is hard to give enough of it and easy to give the wrong kind. Better short physical bursts placed between spells of mental work, so the whole discharges the body without leaving the dog wound up. The practical rule is simple: nose first, paws later.

Scent searching is the indoor activity that gives the most and asks for the least space. No equipment is needed: part of the day's ration and a few minutes to hide it are enough. A dog searching with its nose works in a way that belongs deeply to it, and does so quietly, sitting or standing, with no need to run.

1. 1

   Start with a very easy visible search

   The first times let the dog see you hide the food in a few obvious spots, so it understands the game. Difficulty rises only after it has grasped what it must do.

2. 2

   Move the ration onto a surface to sniff

   Scattering part of the food on a tufted mat or between layers of cloth forces the nose to work at length to gather it, and greatly lengthens the meal.

3. 3

   Hide small portions in different rooms

   Spreading the food across several reachable spots turns the meal into a sweep of the house, with walking, low jumps and searching in place of the bowl emptied in a minute.

4. 4

   Introduce a box with paper and treats

   A cardboard box filled with crumpled paper and a few treats inside offers a safe, low cost search, refilled each time with part of the ration.

5. 5

   Always count it in the day's total

   All food used for these activities is part of the ration and not added to it, otherwise an idea meant to get the dog moving ends up making it heavier.

Prolonged chewing is one of the few activities that genuinely lower arousal. A suitable object to chew keeps the dog busy for a long time and has a calming effect no run produces. Alongside chewing, toys that release food through manipulation combine head and paws and satisfy within a few minutes.

• Chews chosen for the dog's size and strength, to avoid the risk of tooth fracture or of swallowing pieces.
• Containers that release food as they roll, filled with part of the wet or dry ration.
• Interlocking puzzles where the dog must move pieces to uncover the food, with rising difficulty.
• Freezing a filled container lengthens the working time and makes the activity harder on the longer days.
• Supervision with new objects, to check the dog does not break off and swallow pieces instead of chewing them.
• Rotate the objects: few available at a time, changed every few days, because novelty is part of the stimulus.

Days shut inside are the ideal chance to work on small exercises with the person, combining mental activity and a stronger bond. You need neither a young dog nor advanced training: very short sessions, few repetitions and the ending decided before the dog tires are enough, so the activity stays desirable.

Revising a sit, a stay, a recall from one room to another or teaching a small new trick engages the head intensely in a few minutes. Tug with a clear start and stop rule is an acceptable indoor physical activity, provided it is governed: play on invitation, teach the release of the object and close before excessive arousal. A dog that learns to release the object on request turns a potentially heated game into an exercise in self control.

Indoor activity is not the same for every dog. A puppy needs very short, frequent opportunities and real rest between them; a senior dog or one with joint pain should be kept away from jumps and slippery surfaces; a large dog in a small flat has space constraints that push even further toward nose work. The choice adapts to the individual animal, not to the calendar.

A smooth floor is the most underrated risk of indoor activity: a sudden brake or change of direction on tiles can cost a strain or a fall, especially in a senior dog. A rug that offers grip in the play area removes much of the problem and makes even the few physical bursts you allow safe.