25 Things You Should Be Doing With Your Dog

If life’s become a little predictable lately, mix things up: get your furry friend involved with these 25 things you should be doing with your dog.

While August is the “official” National Dog Month, it’s no surprise that we are fully in favor of celebrating our four-footed friends all year! But in celebration of their big month, we’d like to help you kick off some rut-breaking changes to your routine—and theirs:

1. Visit a park—there are some beauties right here in the Holderness, NH area, but check the pet permissions before you go.
2. Enjoy a frozen treat together: watermelon cubes are an easy option, or freeze broth—sodium-free—in cubes for them (you may want a more traditional popsicle, yourself).
3. Play hide-and-seek, indoors or out, for toys or treats.
4. Take a walking tour of your downtown area. Whether your local downtown is small town or big city, snap on a leash and stroll. When you get tired, sit outside, share a snack and people watch—you’ll almost certainly make a few new acquaintances!
5. Discover the fun of a new toy.
6. Play in the sprinkler (while the weather’s warm).
7. Play in the leaves and/or snow (come fall).
8. Go for a jog, or a sprint. Start this new activity slowly though, with shorter distances, for both your sakes, if jogging or running aren’t already part of your routines.
9. Do a costume photo shoot together. What dynamic duo pairing could you be? Do we sense a new dog album in the making?
10. Create a song-and-dance act (speaking of albums… or TikTok, or YouTube, or Instagram).
11. Teach him or her to remember… really, really well. Want to jumpstart your progress? Our Amazing Recall class will get them started.
12. Watch a wildlife video together. Your dog may or may not have a secret wild side, but it’s one way to find out. One of our incredibly docile dogs was ready to lunge at the TV wolf stalking a flock of sheep! Has yours had a surprising reaction to a threat or puppy’s cries on video? Let us know in the comments.
13. Teach your dog a polite way to ask to go out (e.g., bring you their leash; ring a small bell you hang by the door).
14. Get a conversation going: teach them to respond in certain ways to common instructions or questions. You might train them to speak a soft woof if you ask “do you want to go out?” Or otherwise expand their “vocabulary.” (Other responses to common interactions might include lifting a paw, covering their eyes or rolling over.)
15. Treat them to an all-dog getaway like Enrichment Camp, where they’ll get the royal treatment as well as all the play, mental and social stimulation and healthy treats you’d give if life didn’t pull you away!
16. Teach your dog to clean up his or her toys, putting them into a basket or box in a designated spot. Maybe you can even extend that to your children’s toys too!
17. Grow their skills and make new friends with an advanced training class.
18. Give your dog some gentle massage. It’s even possible to do this, gently, with your feet, but skip the shoes. Instead, while you’re at a desk or watching TV, enjoy the relaxing, meditative feel of their soft fur on the soles of your feet.
19. Set up an obstacle course and teach your dog to navigate their way through.
20. Include them in your friends’ or family’s game of frisbee.
21. Treat them to a paw-dicure. While you may not feel confident at clipping your dog’s nails, you can file the edges, buff and/or add a splash a dash of color if they’ve got a show-off personality.
22. Brush their hair—you’d be surprised how relaxing and meditative this can be (for both of you).
23. Stroll the farmer’s market (assuming your local one is dog friendly).
24. Take a nap together.
25. Take your dog with you to any pet friendly destination. Of course, if you’re likely to be away for hours at a time, a day camp may be just the ticket!
26. Bake healthy dog biscuits, and people biscuits, and take your coffee or tea breaks together.