How do I keep my dog occupied in hot weather?
Here we go again! Another summer, another brief spike in the temperature, and another opportunity for me to discuss one of the most important yet underrated areas of knowledge for any dog owner - heat safety, and how you can navigate these tricky times of year without being able to walk or play as much!
A graphic showing the general risk of contracting heatstroke at different temperatures
I get very passionate about this topic because unfortunately, year after year I see people clearly either ignorant of the dangers of exposing their dogs to high temperatures, or uncaring. Heatstroke is an entirely preventable condition, but one that once contracted more often than not proves fatal.
Here are some key stats, via VetsNow:
Around 75% of cases develop as a result of playing or exercising in high temperatures
The survival rate for dogs diagnosed with heatstroke is around 50%
It can take as little as 15 minutes for a dog to die from heatstroke
A dog’s normal body temperature is 38.5 degrees - an increase of just 2 degrees is enough for heatstroke to develop
At internal temperatures of 43 degrees, a dog’s internal organs start to fail
So evidently, heatstroke is serious and something to be avoided wherever possible. A large part of this comes down to reducing activity during those high temperatures, but what does that mean for your routine? How do you keep your dog entertained throughout the day when it’s unsafe to walk or play a game? I’ll discuss some ways to manage this below.
Scentwork / Nosework Games
Scentwork is an amazing skill to be able to fall back on during times when you can’t walk or play with your dog for any reason, including due to unsafe temperatures. The term ‘scentwork’ refers to exercises that get your dog using their nose; to investigate environments, find items, to search and retrieve, and even to track people or animals. The reason it’s so fantastic is that it’s SO mentally stimulating for our dogs that even a fairly short session can tire them out as much as physical exercise, meaning that we can use this in place of a walk or game if needed.
You can play scentwork games indoors as well as outdoors, and these can be super simple for beginners right the way up to hardcore games for those of you with seasoned pros! For those of you just getting started with scentwork, here’s a short video explaining how to teach your dog to ‘Find it!’ using a really easy game.
From this basic starter game you can begin having your dog search throughout the house for treats or items, getting more complex in your setups as they get more competent at searching.
Scentwork and feeding
Another great way to introduce some extra stimulation to your dog’s day in the form of scentwork is to get them using their nose a little for their food. This only really works if you feed them any amount of dry food however, so do bear that in mind!
There are a couple of ways you can help your dog to get the most possible engagement from their meals via scentwork: scatter feeding, and use of a snuffle mat. Scatter feeding is as it sounds - essentially, what you’ll do is scatter a portion of dry food across a small area to start with, either indoors or if it’s safe and appropriate to do so, somewhere shady and cool outdoors (grass makes it more challenging!) for your dog to sniff to find and consume. It may seem strange, but getting them to search out their food encourages them to engage their nose, and can be a big help in other ways, slowing down those speedy eaters and giving more nervous dogs a chance to build some independence and confidence during mealtimes.
Alternatively, there’s always the snuffle mat. If you’ve never used one before they’re fairly straightforward - they’re mats with lots of little fronds of felt or similar material, in which you can hide small bits of food for them to sniff out and eat. Again, this probably works best with drier food, although a more solid form of ‘wet’ food may work too if you’re prepared to pop the mat in the wash after each use! You can pick up a snuffle mat pretty much anywhere these days, from Pets at Home to Amazon to Tesco, so definitely give this a try if you haven’t already.
Frozen enrichment
There are tons of other ways to provide enrichment for our dogs throughout the day that don’t involve scentwork, and things like a frozen stuffed Kong or similar, frozen lickmat, or puzzle toys like K9 Connectables are all great options that get your dog chewing, licking, and problem-solving - all great for their mental stimulation and wellbeing!
Below is an informative video discussing the benefits of using a stuffed Kong, and how to get your dog to understand the game, and to enjoy their Kong! I picked this video to share particularly because it keeps things nice and simple. I agree that the wealth of recipes and ideas for stuffed Kongs and the like can be quite overwhelming, and that keeping things easy can be beneficial all round, especially if it helps to make this something you are more likely to be able to do for your dog! This guy is also sharing plenty of the same advice I give all of my clients about the importance of routine, and how we can use the tools of routine and enrichment of this type to tackle other issues, eg. building up confidence and independence, as well as things like boredom or frustration which is what we’re aiming to avoid on these hot summer days.
You can also give other outlets such as lickmats or puzzle toys a go, adding in some freezing to make things more challenging, longer-lasting, and cooling for your dog! There are similarly tons of lickmat recipes online to wade your way through, so I think it’s worth reiterating that there’s no need to make things overly complex for yourself and add to your workload - some dog safe peanut butter, mashed banana, plain yoghurt, or even finely grated cheese made sticky with a bit of water can all be added to your lickmats, and as with the Kongs, it’s easy to prep a bunch of these at once and have them in the freezer ready to go when you need them.
Training sessions
Let’s not forget that getting in some training practice is another great way to keep our dogs occupied and to give them something fun and challenging to work on. Wherever you’re at with your dog, there’s always room for more practice. Maybe you’re interested in expanding your skillset and want to try learning something new? Or perhaps you’ve gotten a bit rusty with the basics and might want to brush up a little on some core stuff. There’s always new things to learn and to try, and it never hurts to practice the stuff you may have already mastered. You can also find training games that strengthen those skills in a different way, so there’s tons of options here for you to investigate.
Training sessions needn’t be long - in fact, short and sweet is often what’s best! So you could take 5 or 10 minutes out of your lunch break to do some training, then let your dog chill out with a stuffed Kong before sleeping away the afternoon.
Hopefully these tips have helped you to figure out some ways to help keep your dog occupied and happy during the hot summer days, and indeed on any other day when you might not be able to use physical exercise for whatever reason!
For more info and resources on introducing enrichment to your dog’s daily life, check out my previous blog post on this topic here, and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions!