Hide, Seek, and Stay Cool: Dog Games for Hot Days

Summer is here, and so is the heat!  We all know that walking our dogs in extreme heat is not good for them, or us. From hot pavement to sky-high temperatures, our pup’s physical health could suffer dramatically. So, how do we exercise our dog when it’s too hot out? They still need physical and mental stimulation, so how do we make it work? Can they be walked or played with? The short answer is, yes! But, it’s all in the balance.

It’s simple. Dogs need to be walked. Or at the very least, be let outside to do their business. The best times to bring your dog outside during extreme heat is the early morning and the evening. The length of time you spend outside depends on your dog’s age and overall health. But I would not exceed these early morning and late evening outdoor excursions past 15 minutes. If your dog is elderly or has compromised health, I would bring them back inside once their business is done. Another great gauge to see if your dog is getting too hot is, your dog! Remember, they regulate their body temperature through panting and sweat glands on their paws and nose. If your pup is panting heavily and the tip of their tongue begins to curl, they are getting too hot and need to be brought into cooler temperatures immediately. When you’re outside, stick to the shady sides of the street and try to encourage your dog to walk on the grass if you have it available. For my city pups, it might not be a bad idea to teach your dog to wear dog booties if you’re as a proactive measure against the hot pavement. This way, you can safely give them the allotted time they need to get their business done! 

The last thing you want to do when it’s unbearably hot out is walk your dog for an extended period because you think that’s the only way you can burn their energy. However, animals are really smart. When it’s hot out, even if they are young and full of extra energy, they know that their best course of action is to stay calm and conserve their resources. With that said, dogs do need SOME sort of mental stimulation that they find challenging and can expend some extra energy on. The main goal for any of these activities it to get your dog to THINK as opposed to getting them to move. After all, it’s hot out and we don’t want to push them too far physically! Burning mental energy will ALWAYS tire your dog out MORE than just a physically stimulating activity alone. A few examples of these kinds of activities include:

Hide and Seek

This game requires your dog to know Down and Stay out of sight. If your dog does not know these commands, then you would teach them these FIRST before moving on to the game. Learning commands is a GREAT way to burn mental energy so even if you’re not able to play the game right away, at least you are achieving your objective. 

OK, so your dog is lying down. Second, show them/let them sniff a treat. Then ask them to stay. Walk out of the line of vision and hide the treat. Then, ask your dog to Go Find It! For first-time Hide and Seek players, I recommend putting your dog on a leash and guiding them to the area where the treat is. We don’t want your dog to get discouraged because they don’t understand the full parameters of the game. After a few repetitions of telling them to Go Find It on leash, try it Off Leash and see if your dog is able to connect the dots. I recommend hiding the treat in a pretty obvious area at first, and then, as your dog gets better and better, get more creative with your hiding places. After a few rounds of Hide and Seek, your dog will be ready for a nap!

Puzzle Toys

There are a whole lot of dog puzzle toys out on the market. The idea of these toys is to get your dog to use their sniffer, aka nose, to find the food! Sniffing requires a dog to THINK, and THINKING tires a dog out big time! While you can buy puzzle toys, you can also be creative with various objects at home. One way I like to have my dog work for their food is by hiding treats in a towel. I lay a towel out flat, sprinkle food on the towel, and then twist the towel around, starting in the middle. The result should be a spirally looking towel. Then your dog can be instructed to go investigate the towel. They will you their nose, but also their paws to work at the towel, to get the food. 

Another at-home item I like to use is…a cardboard box! I’ll put a treat in a box, close the box (not fully), and have my dog go and open the box! She uses her nose, her paws, and sometimes destroys the box with her mouth! (If your dog starts to ingest the cardboard, I may hold off on this particular activity.) But in general, this activity is great fun as it works a few of your dog’s senses, to get a job done.

Puppy Push Ups

Although slightly physical, this exercise can easily be done in the comforts of your living room and with air conditioning. First, you ask your dog to sit. Then, lie down. Once they complete these two steps, you invite them to walk with you, then you stop, and repeat steps one and two! This exercise promotes working basic commands and impulse control. You can make the exercise more difficult by asking your dog to lie down for a longer period of time, asking them to stay, walk away, and then return to them, before repeating the exercise. You can also put some tasty treats near them and prove their ability to focus on you and the activity as opposed to the distractions around them.

Weather conditions should not be an excuse not to fulfill your dog’s enrichment needs. It’s not about the quantity of the activity, but the quality behind the exercise. What is it doing for your dog? Is it getting them to think?  In extreme heat, you want to avoid any activities that overexert your dog physically. So, it’s time to get creative with supplemental activities when Mother Nature has other plans that impact your normal routine. However, these activities can be practiced ANY time, so just go out and have fun with your dog!

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