As a pet owner, you just want to show your love and affection to your furry friends – aside from the usual cuddles and treats. There are many ways to pamper your dog, most of it doesn’t include having to spend any money. These activities can be done anytime, ranging from indoors to outdoors. You can incorporate these into your daily routine, or plan ahead for the weekend.
Doing these activities is also a great way to de-stress and strengthen your bond with your pet. Here are the many ways to pamper your dog to show them love while having fun at the same time!
10 Ways To Pamper Your Dog
1. Make Homemade Treats
Dogs love treats almost as much as they love their toys. One of the popular ways to pamper your dog is to make your own treats at home. They’re pretty easy to create which involves few ingredients. You can incorporate your dog’s favorite food such as peanut butter, bananas, carrots, and more, and create more flavours as you go to spoil your dog with different choices. Baking your own treats also gives you the advantage to know what goes into these treats, so make sure to avoid adding in harmful ingredients. You can also make cold treats for days when it’s extra hot to cool off!
2. Take Them For A Swim
Pamper your dog with a different kind of activity – swimming! Nothing like taking a dip, especially when the weather is hot. It’s also a good exercise for your pet. Some dogs are born natural swimmers, so they can easily wade through water. For some, you can assist your dog while in the water with floating boards until they can learn how to swim without them. However, some dogs do not like to swim, so a great alternative would be to play with them around water sprinklers!
3. Go for A Walk or Hike On A Different Place
If you want to switch up your usual walking routine, a great way to pamper your dog is to take them to a new place for a walk, such as a new park, or take them for a short hike trail. Dogs love adventure and discovering new sights and scents. Make sure to keep watch at all times.
4. Let Them Choose Their New Toy and Bed In The Pet Store
A fun way to pamper way your dog is by taking them to the pet store with you. If you usually pick their toys for them, why not let them pick their own? Let your dog sniff and explore the toy aisle for a new plaything to take home. While you’re at it, you can also get them a new bed, if the old one has seen better days already.
5. Arrange a Playdate With Other Dogs
Dogs are naturally sociable creatures, so they enjoy interacting with other humans and dogs when the chance arises. Contact a friend or family member who also owns dogs, then arrange a playdate in a location (a park, a home with a backyard, etc) where the dogs can play together.
6. Give Them A Massage
Aside from cuddles, dogs also love a good massage! Pamper your dog through relaxing massages that will soothe their muscles and calm their nerves. Run your fingers through their body with gentle pressure, while avoiding areas they don’t like to be touched. Massages are also a great way to let your dog be comfortable with touches and handling, which will benefit owners when it comes to grooming and bathing them later on.
7. Play Games
Keeping your dog entertained and stimulated is another way to pamper them! Aside from letting them play with their toys, switch up their activities through different games like fetch, hide and seek, push and pull, and many more.
8. Teach Them New Tricks
Another way of keeping your dogs mentally and physically stimulated is to teach them new tricks. It can be a fun experience for you and your dog; since dogs love attention and getting treats when they do well.
9. Give Them A Bath and Proper Grooming
Give your dog a bath to keep them clean and healthy! Brush their fur free of tangles and knots, use lukewarm water, and scrub them gently to get rid of any dirt. Then, as you dry them off, you can groom them by brushing their hair, giving them a pedicure, drying their hair, and cleaning their ears. Don’t forget to give them treats to keep the whole pampering experience pleasant.
10. Get Them a New Collar and Dress Them Up In Clothes
Dogs love attention as well as looking good! Another way to pamper them is to replace their old collar with a new one that best suits their personality and looks. While you’re at it, you can also buy them clothes for them to show off!
How Do You Make A Dog Feel Special?
The best way to make your dog feel special is to give them love and attention. It can be shown through the items listed above, but it can also be shown through different gestures and how you interact with your pets. Since dogs can read our body language and gestures, this is their way of getting to know and understand us.
A few of the many common ways to pamper and make your dog feel special is to spend time with them, give them touches, play with them, praise them, and speak to them daily. Eventually, you will come to learn more about your dog and understand them better as well. Your dog will appreciate that you include them in your lives in any way you can.
Conclusion
To pamper your pet, spending quality time with them is the best way in doing so. There are several activities that you can do with your dog, besides the usual routine, to help keep them happy while strengthening your bond. Make time to do these activities with your dog, so you can have fun and de-stress at the same time.