How To Keep Your Pets Busy During Quarantine
We must all do our part to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease. Therefore, we should only leave the house when absolutely necessary. For shopping, refueling, working and taking our dogs for a walk. It is time to use all our ingenuity and come up with new, fun work alternatives. But this does not only apply to us humans. So today we want to tell you how to keep your pets busy and entertained during quarantine.
How can you keep your pets busy during quarantine?
The days that we and our pets spend at home during the quarantine can be used to improve the environment of our four-legged friends and make them more interesting.
Although we currently have to spend most of the day at home, our four-legged friends should have the opportunity to develop behaviors that are appropriate to their nature. This contributes significantly to maintaining your physical and mental well-being.
You can encourage and support this behavior with simple games, activities and various objects. In addition, these activities will be a lot of fun for everyone involved. Below we will give you some suggestions on how you can keep your pets occupied during quarantine.
1. Smelling games for dogs
Dogs have a very fine sense of smell and can perceive smells miles away. They owe this ability to the more than 220 million olfactory cells that they possess. Since more than 50% of activities in a dog’s brain are related to smell, smelling is extremely important for dogs.
Perceiving, sniffing and smelling odors is therefore of central importance for their healthy mental development.
If you want to stimulate your dog’s sense of smell at home, you can simply hide different treats in different places. For example, under a mat, in a toy, or by wrapping some food in old rags or towels that you have at home.
This activity will also help reduce your dog’s anxiety. In addition, it also reduces your pet’s cravings, as it takes longer to eat and has to make an effort to get it.
2. Hunting games for cats
If you have a cat at home, you can stimulate its hunting instinct with toys, string or your feather duster. In this way you simulate a small prey for your house tiger. In addition , this common activity helps to intensify the bond with your animal.
But that’s not all that this game has to offer. You are also making sure that the cat gets enough exercise and does not become overweight. Obesity is a widespread problem, especially in domestic cats.
You can also use small balls made from crumpled paper or throw small treats for your cat to hunt and catch. However, it is important that you give your cat some time to get used to the game if he or she is new to it.
3. Have you tried catnip before?
Nepeta cataria, better known as catnip, is a very attractive herb for cats. It releases nepetalactone, a volatile substance that is very attractive to most cats (between 50% and 70% of domestic cats).
The cats that react to this herb rub their heads or wallow in these plants with their whole bodies. In addition, they could hop, roll around, meow, chew on the herb, or salivate. Then they get very euphoric and excited. This effect lasts for about 15 minutes.
You can buy catnip in different sizes or grow it yourself at home. You can find them in some supermarkets, pet stores, or online. If you grow catnip yourself at home, it will take a few days for it to grow.
You can simply offer the catnip to your cat as it is or you can hide it in your cat’s toy. You can also use it to make a spray. If you spray your cat’s bed, scratching post and favorite playgrounds with it, these places will certainly become even more interesting for the animal.
4. Keep pets busy during quarantine: games of hide and seek
When you and your pet are bored, a game as simple as hide and seek is perfect to do. First of all, you should make sure that your dog or cat remains seated quietly whenever possible. In the meantime you hide and then shout “Search!”.
Although this game requires a little practice at first, it is a very good way of allowing you to practice commands with your dog at the same time. If your dog listens to you better, it will be very helpful even after the quarantine is over.
5. Let your imagination run wild and invent your own games
There are many items in your home that you can use to entertain and keep your pets occupied during quarantine. You can use them for entertaining dogs, cats, rabbits, or rodents. For example, cardboard tubes, boxes, empty plastic bottles, paper balls … All of these items are ideal for hiding small treats for your four-legged friend.
However, you should make sure that the materials you use are safe and harmless to your pet. In addition, you should also watch your animal while it is busy with this toy. This way you can make sure that it doesn’t injure itself or accidentally swallow parts that could harm it.
Keeping your pets busy during quarantine is good for you too
Keeping your pets busy during quarantine will not only make the time go by faster. In addition, you can also improve your bond with your animal by playing together and get to know it better. Understanding your own animal better will also improve your basic understanding of all animals.
And one final note. You shouldn’t let your dog or cat play with toilet paper that you plan to use later. Firstly, it is wasteful and, moreover, it is not hygienic.
Even if you mop your floors every day, it shouldn’t be used as a toy. Neither for animals nor for your children. Therefore, you should wait until you have an empty reel and then use it for your games.
