Owners of Labrador Retrievers know for a fact just how active and energetic these dogs are. While many dog lovers take the opportunity to run and play with their dogs when taking them outside in order to answer nature’s call or to simply burn off that excess energy, such mundane exercises, while good for physical health, don’t provide good mental stimulation for your pet.
If you want to have a dog that is both physically and mentally healthy.
Here are some activities that you might want to consider doing with your Lab.
1) Hiking
Hiking is one activity that you and your Labrador will love. Labs, in particular, love exploring the great outdoors, so not only will they have good exercise, their senses will also get a boost as they experience new environments.
When going hiking with our dog, make sure to plan ahead. This would include determining the location where you will hike (such as a forest and mountain trail) and any potential hazards that you might face.
Stock up on supplies, especially water when your dog gets thirsty and a first aid kit.
2) Running and Biking
Running with your dog is an activity which you may already be doing. However, as you may have already discovered, your Lab is more energetic than you and can run much faster and farther than you.
You might want to consider running with your Lab in a spacious park or open field. This way, your dog can indulge in zoomies as much as it wants.
Biking is another good activity, which can allow you to speed up faster than your dog, thus giving it a great cardio exercise.
However, it is best to train your dog first to either run with your bike without a leash or to heed commands in case it wants to bolt whenever it sees a cat or anything that catches its interest.
Remember that a Lab is a large dog, and it can drag you and your bike if it decides to chase a squirrel or a cat.
3) Hide and Seek/Scent Trails
Many dog owners harbor the ambition that their Lab can become a good tracker. Activities like Hide and Seek and Scent Trails enable your dog to use its nose in finding treats and other objects.
Start by letting your dog sniff smelly treats. Hide the treat. Then ask your dog to find it. Do this activity often to hone your dog’s sense of smell.
After it has mastered seeking out treats, you can progress to having your dog sniff and track clothes and objects within your house and garden.
4) Simple Agility Course
Nothing can be more exhilarating for a Labrador than an agility course. Not only is it great physical exercise, it requires them to use their minds in order to navigate through the course in record time.
Some dog parks or dog training facilities have agility courses which you can use.
In the absence of these facilities, you can create an agility course for your dog in your own garden or backyard, using construction materials and items around the house, such as cement blocks, benches, old garbage cans or barrels, seesaws, and hula hoops.
You can check out YouTube for great DIY agility courses.
5) Catch the Bubble
Some pet owners may find it ironic, but there are a couple of cat playtime activities that dogs are also sure to enjoy. The first example is “Catch the Bubble”.
Using a bubble blower or gun, create bubbles which your Lab can chase and snap at. For greater fun, you can play this game while out in the park to give your dog a larger space to chase the bubbles.
6) Teaser Wands or Sticks
The second example of a cat play activity that your Lab can have fun with is the teaser wand. These are rods or sticks with a long rope at the end to which is attached a feather or a toy.
It is a great form of mental stimulation because your dog will make every attempt to snatch the toy.
When playing with your dog, wave the toy in the air to catch your Lab’s attention. Next, let it drop to the ground. When your Lab comes to pick it up, pull the toy out of its reach.
After a few tries, you will start to notice your dog going into silly stealth mode, crouching or lying with the front part of its body on the ground while its butt wiggles in the air.
7) Swimming
Because of its retrieving roots, Labs love to swim. If you have a swimming pool or a body of water near your place, make it a point to bring your Lab along for a dip.
8) Dock Diving
Related to swimming, this activity entails your dog to go zooming down a dock or pier or from land and then leaping into the water.
To convince your Lab to dive, toss its favorite toy into the water. Then, order your dog to fetch it and swim back to you.
9) Tug-of-War
Labs love to show off their strength and one way you can do this is through a good game of tug-of-war. Whenever you play tug-of-war with your dog, always make sure that you have trained it to heed your command to release the rope especially when it gets overexcited in the middle of the game.
Also, make sure that you gauge the strength of your pull. You Lab may mistake your strong pull for a battle and may promote aggressive behavior.
10) Puzzle Games
Puzzle games, like the popular KONG toys, help to provide mental and physical stimulation to your Lab if they get stuck indoors. One great puzzle game is to put treats, like peanut butter, inside a bottle and have your dog figure out a way to open it and lick the goodie inside.
Let these activities enable your dog to have fun while getting much needed exercise and mental stimulation.
