Hello – Finley here,
As I sit here and “write” this column it’s the last day of August and basically the last day of Summer 2016…(sniff) It’s been a great summer for me; we’ve had great weather here in the Pacific Northwest and of course I always love that my humans are around more during the summertime. Now that fall is approaching and the weather gets cooler, it’s time to think about indoor activities that will keep us pets happy and busy as we re-adjust to life on the inside.
Kong Dog Toys
Kong toys area a great indoor toy for us dogs. Basically, a kong toy holds a treat that we have to try and get out. They’re a great way to keep your canine busy for a while during the day, especially if they will be alone for a while.
Hide and Seek
Hide & Seek is another great game to play with your dog on a cold or rainy day. Just hide a treat or a toy and say “find it.” Of course if your dog doesn’t know what “find it” means, well then, you’ll have to do some training, but I LOVE hide and seek. It’s one of my favorite indoor activities because I get exercise, I get to spend time with my human and it keeps me feeling smart.
Playing Tag
Tag is an awesome game that my human and I sometimes play. It’s a great indoor game but we’ve played it at the park before when it’s not raining. Tag takes two humans and one dog and basically one human calls the dog and when the dog comes, he gets a treat, then the other human calls the dog and when the dog comes, he gets another treat. The only bummer thing about this game is that sometimes my humans don’t want me to have too many treats, so I get rewarded with a toy or just a pat on the head…which is ok, but I really like the treats best. Plus, I’m getting to run around a lot during the game so I think that balances out all the treats.
Clean-up Time
Teaching clean-up is also a great way to train your canine and keep your house clean. I for one have a lot of toys but sometimes (ok lots of times) they end up all over the house. My human has been teaching me how to pick them up with my mouth and put them back in the basket. I think I’m doing pretty good on this; yesterday I got one of my toys back in the basket so my human only had to pick up about 9.
Stairway Dash
Stairway dash is another favorite game of mine. My human will throw a ball up the stairs and I have to fetch it and bring it back. Sometimes I bring it back and sometimes I play keep-away with my human. Either way, I get lots of exercise and I’m pretty tired afterwards. Lots of my canine friends at Cascade Kennels like to play this game and of course, when I’m at doggie daycare at Cascade Kennels, we play a lot of fetch games.
Doggie Daycare
Speaking of doggie daycare, that’s another great way to keep your dog busy during the day, especially if they have to spend some days at home alone. I for one don’t really like to be alone all that much so I LOVE coming to Cascade Kennels and playing with my pals at doggie daycare. If you think your dog would like to come and join us, you can check it out.
Haunted Puppy Town
Finally, one of my most favorite things about Fall is the Haunted Puppy Town we have here at Cascade Kennels. In fact, if you’ve never been to Cascade Kennels before, that’s a great time to come and check us out. There’s lots of fun activities for dogs and humans. Check out some of the pictures from last year.
I hope you and your canine pal will have fun learning to play these fun fall games and I hope I see you around Cascade Kennels this fall.
Until next time,
Finley
Executive Canine Quality Control Officer
