Being stuck indoors is rarely fun, especially when your inner Adventurer starts screaming to get out! Here are some ways to avoid becoming a couch potato and to help keep you and your furry sidekicks happy and entertained while you Shelter-in-Place!

1. Fort Building- Believe it or not most pets love forts! They aren’t that great at helping build them, but that’s the fun part for you! Dogs, cats, rodents, birds, and reptiles can all appreciate a good fort, you just have to tailor it to their personality. A man who called himself Papa Jake has a YouTube channel dedicated to box forts, including some made specifically for nonhuman animals!
   • Have you heard? Boxes are an excellent fort building material! And most animals love playing in them! Dogs are a little clumsy with box forts so you have to be thoughtful during your build, but cats, rodents, reptiles, and birds can handle the most cattywompus of box forts. You can find free boxes on CraigsList or NextDoor!
   • Sheets, blankets, & towels, oh my! Blanket forts are a little easier for larger pups to enjoy, and other animals enjoy the comfort blankets offer. You can build it big enough to include their bed, a comfy spot for you to sit, and your tv or computer for binge watching Animal Planet. If you don’t have enough sheets or towels, you can get creative and use clothes!
2. Getting Fresh Air- Basically the only thing we’re allowed to do is go outside for a walk. Not only does your dog enjoy this, but all your pets will love getting out! They make leashes & harnesses for basically every shaped animal alive! If you can order pet supplies from a small or local business please do! But you can easily find leashes & harnesses on Amazon.
   • Go for a smell walk! Don’t just stare at your phone and tug your pet along, instead really get into it! Explore smells with your pet! Hold your kitty up to a tall tree so she can smell the otherwise unattainable leaves, and smell them with her! Let your ferret dig through shrubs to explore new scents, and maybe just take a distant whiff! How often do you use your nose? How often do you share sensory experiences with your best friend? Just steer clear of anything they might be rolling in! Yuck!
   • Scavenger Hunt! Take a walk with your fluffy pal and bring some trinkets along. Nothing important to you, could even just be small stones. Get your scent on them, roll the item around in your hands and get em nice and smelly. Then on your walk simply place the totems randomly along your path. On your next walk allow your pet to try to seek these totems out! Keep a score of how many they find! (You can do this activity inside your home as well!)
3. Hide n Seek- Exactly what it sounds like! Have your pet stay in one spot while you hide, then call them to you so they can seek you out! This game really only works with dogs, and in my experience rats & rabbits. Whenever I have tried playing it with a cat I come back to find them snoozing in the same spot I left them in. And forget about playing with a reptile, they prefer to be the hider not the seeker.
4. Puzzles- Brain games are a great way to help pets pass the time and exercise their minds! Be careful when playing these games with cats… if they get any smarter they might finally take over the world!
   • Hiding treats around the house is a great way for your pet to use their nose and brains to find them! Have then stay in one spot while you hide the treats in easily accessible areas around the house! Don’t hide treats near irreplaceable family heirlooms! This works with almost all pets!
   • Use household items to create a puzzle game for your pets. Placing tennis balls in a muffin tin easily hides treats and your pet can sniff them out and figure out how to get to them! Imagine a Kong, and then get creative to make your own at home! Toilet paper and paper towel rolls are great makeshift Kongs! Fold up one side of the cardboard roll, plop some treats inside, and then fold the other end! Your pet will have to chew the roll apart to get to the goods inside! You’ll have a mess to clean up, but that’s all part of the game 🙂
5. Energy Work- Spending quiet time bonding with your pet will greatly benefit both of you! You’re normally so distracted with work, and kids, and friends, and television, and Reddit… why not spend this time slowing your brain down and connecting with your best friend. Maybe now is a good time to master Reiki!
   • Pets, massages, and tTouch are all great ways to quietly sit with your pet, quiet your mind and deepen your bond. You can find different massage techniques and tTouch exercises on the World Wide Web. There’s something offered for every type of animal!
6. Treat Making- This is a great way to get your kids involved in dog care! And to get them out of your hair for a bit 🙂 I prefer making easier, minimal ingredient treats, like pupsicles! But you can get pretty crazy with your treat making! There is a list on Good Housekeeping that has some more extravagant treats, but if you want to keep it simple just blend some peanut butter, plain yogurt, and bananas and add the mixture to an ice cube tray to freeze overnight!
7. Try Something New Together- Try anything new with your pet! Anything! Something you’ve never done before, but perhaps have always been curious if your furry best friend would enjoy. My dog rarely plays ball, so one day I decided to try a soccer ball and he was all about it! He now has 3 Chuck-It soccer balls and wants to play every day! When my outdoor cat became an indoor cat, I got her a harness to take her outside for mini trips. She hated it. So much. But after a few outings, she began to enjoy being outside again! She refused to walk on the leash with me, in case one of the neighborhood cats saw, but she enjoyed when I sat in the yard and gave her a long leash so she could safely explore! The new activity you try together could range from reading your pet your favorite book to seeing if your cat enjoys slack-lining. Get into it!