Rainy days

Autumn is on its way, days are shorter and also rainy more often. Hence we’re always looking for new ways to have fun with our vizsla inside and make the most out of gloomy days like this one today. Oto doesn’t make us lose our minds on days we have to spend indoors – he gets lazy and naps even more, he doesn’t like to be out in the rain anyway and is always in a rush to get inside. However, his energy levels are still high, he’s 1 year old and – well, he’s a vizsla – so when bored, we must direct his energy, otherwise … it could get crazy.

Tricks we do to keep our tawny
tail busy on rainy days …

We’ve been loving clicker-training since the very begining. It’s fun, it’s simple and it’s effective. And I think for learning specific tricks, it’s also the easiest. So a lot of afternoons that we spend inside, we clicker-train Oto and teach him silly tricks. He’s very happy to earn treats for performing a specific behaviour and it makes him tired of thinking quite fast. On the other hand, playing is of course an easy way to tire a dog, a simple Tug Of War gets the job done and all dogs enjoy it alot. But Oto’s favourite game must be Hide and Seek – actually, we’ve been practicing it for so long, he now knows all the corners of our flat and finds his hidden toy real fast. He loves it, but again, after a few repets he get tired and wants to rest. Mission complete.

We also use toys to challange him and get him occupied. Kong is dog-toy brand a lot of pet owners know. They make great rubber toys that even the strongest puppy teeth can’t destroy. Oto loves his Kong Ball that we fill with treats and give him to figure out how to get them out himself. Simple tennis balls work too, Oto loves to chew on them and we also use them for some fetch games. Another great way of using tennis balls is to put them over treats in muffin tray holes. The dog must use his nose to sniff for the food and then move the ball out of the hole to get it. This one’s also fun to watch while cheering for your dog, it’s a win-win.

Rain or shine, there are always ways
to have fun with your furry friend!