4 Indoor Sniffing Games for Your Dog
Keep Your Dog Entertained Indoors
Sniffing is great for your dog’s brain and a great way to tire them out. When it’s a rainy day, and you can’t get outside for a sniffari adventure, consider some of the ideas below to help your dog get some sniffing stimulation in.
1. Snuffle Mat
Snuffle mats are exactly what they sound like – a fabric mat that you can hide treats in and let your dog go to town sniffing them out. They are usually made of a type of fleecy fabric and have lots of fabric strips and pockets in which you can hide treats. It’s called a snuffle mat because dogs “snuffle” with their noses to find the food. They come in all shapes, sizes, and patterns.
Our dog Jax loves his snuffle mats and we use them regularly when the weather is just too bad to go outside. Amazon has a number of great options here.
If you’re the hands-on type, they are also easy to make yourself. All you will need is a rubber mat with holes in it (think a sink mat) and fabric (preferably fleecy material) that you can cut into strips. Thread the fabric strips once they are cut through the mat holes and tie them so they are secure. Use different colours and lengths to make the snuffle mat more interesting for your dog. Once you’re done, hide food or treats in the strips and twist them up to make it more challenging for your dog.
2. Cardboard Snuffle Box
A simple DIY activity. Take a cardboard box (the larger the better) and fill it with crumpled newspaper, empty plastic boxes/bottles, and anything else you can think of that’s noisy. You can even put cloths, old socks, etc. The idea is to hide treats or other high value items in the box, covered up with these distraction items and even hid inside (example: treats inside a crumpled newspaper). Keep your dog out of the room while you prepare it and once ready, let them at it. Your dog will enjoy sniffing for the treats while looking through all the distractions, which will really work his or her brain.
3. Rolled-Up Towel
Another simple DIY activity. Take a large beach towel, lay it out flat, and sprinkle treats or other high value items all over the surface. Then roll it up length-wise with the treats hidden inside. Let your dog take a stab at getting the treats out; this works their brain as they have to figure out how to get the treats out of the towel. This isn’t that easy when you just have a head and paws! Keep in mind if your dog is destructive that they may decide to rip up the towel instead, especially if they get frustrated, so always supervise.
4. Hide and Seek
Hide and seek isn’t just for kids! Put your dog in a room where he can’t see what you’re doing. Then take his favourite toy/treats and hide them throughout the house in hard to find places. Once you tell your dog to go search, they will have fun using their brain to find out where the goodies are hidden. A bonus: this helps you practice your stay command with your dog!
Next time you’re looking for a way to beat doggie boredom and stimulate your dog indoors; give these a try!
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