How to Keep Your Dog Mobile and Active Inside Your Home Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic

An expert vet offers advice on easy ways to keep your pet mobile while still practicing social distancing

Published on March 16, 2020 03:00 PM

As businesses temporarily close or shift to work from home schedules and local governments encourage social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, more pet owners are finding themselves inside for long periods with their dogs and without the usual access to doggy daycares, dog walking services and more.

But just because you and your dog are social distancing, that doesn’t mean your canine has to lose mobility. Chad Dodd, a veterinarian with over 20 years of experience in the animal health industry and a consultant to Lintbells, has expert advice on how to keep Fido fit and stave off cabin fever while you and your dog are home together.

Check out Dr. Dodd’s advice below on simple ways to keep your pooch mobile during your coronavirus self-quartine.

Keep Walking: No matter what size house or apartment, find 15 minutes twice a day and walk at a decent pace through your home with your dog. It gets your pet and you moving.

Play Hide and Seek: Hide some kibble or favorite toys around your home and let your dog find them.

Play Tag with Your Dog: This can be done in a hallway, basement, or backyard. Grab your dog’s favorite soft toy, give it a toss, except this time, race your dog to retrieve it.

Take the Stairs: If you have stairs and your dog is mobile, go up and down the stairs with them twice a day for about 5 to 10 minutes.

If You Have Outdoor Space, Use it: If the weather is nice and you have a terrace or backyard, get some fresh air while you power walk around the area. Add in some intervals of jogging, sprinting, or lunges to spice it up.

Check-in on Feeding Habits: If you’ve been overfeeding your dog, now’s a good time to start to cut back their food by about 10%, especially if they’re used to much more daily exercise.

If you are looking for more tips to keep your dog mobile, visit www.yumove.com.

For updates on how COVID-19 affects pets and their owners, please visit the CDC, WHO, and local public health departments online resources, and visit our coronavirus hub.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.