Four Ways to Keep Dogs Distracted

It's the fourth of July and the time of year that the largest percentage of dogs go missing. Do yourself a huge favor: Keep your eyes glued on your dog, keep doors closed, let family members know to watch near any doors so Fido cannot escape, and most importantly, keep him or her safe from harm. A dog's hearing is much more sensitive than a human. There are ways to keep dogs distracted, especially on the fourth of July.

Fidose of Reality wishes all humans and their canine family members a happy fourth of July. Games and activities of distraction are a sure-firecracker way to keep dogs busy, preoccupied, and hopefully unaware of the boom booms happening outside.

Using a little ingenuity and a bit of resourcefulness, heighten Fido’s sense of winter fun and frivolity with these tried and true indoor festive games:

Canine Limbo: Using a standard agility hurdle, canines get their Caribbean groove on with this variation of “how low can you go” fun. Let the music play while dogs walk under the limbo stick, lowering the bar a notch each round. The last dog to successfully go under the limbo stick without knocking it off, wins.

Magical Mutt: Houdini, behold. Have each dog line up for some slight of hand and treat. Place a treat into one closed fist, keeping the other empty. Ask each dog “which hand?” When Fido touches his nose to the fist containing the treat, reveal and reward. Add a competitive spin and time each dog, with the quickest “find” dubbed the winner.

Musical Mats: Set up a few mats on the floor. Borrowing from the human counterpart version, when the music stops, dogs must go to their mats and sit, removing one mat each time. Owners may encourage Bowser, but no pushing or pulling allowed. The last dog with a mat wins!

Paint Like “Paw-Casso:” Dogs channel their inner Rembrandt with this activity. Mix together corn starch, flour, water and food coloring to thickened consistency, or alternatively, use non-toxic acrylic paint. Put paint on art paper, place plastic wrap atop, and let Bowser walk all over it. Remove the plastic wrap, allow to air dry and proudly display.