15 Minute Activities You Can Do With Your Dog

In a perfect world, you have plenty of time to take your dog on lengthy walks or play for hours.

However, this isn’t a perfect world. While you may have some extended time, most dog owners only have fifteen minutes a few times a day.

But even if it is just a few minutes, there are plenty of 15 minute activities to do with your dog.

Toss the Ball Around

Taking a short walk is the most obvious way to spend some quick quality time with a dog. However, you can’t get very far in 15 minutes, nor do you want to get sweaty jogging around the block.

Instead, why not stay closer to home and toss the ol’ tennis ball around? If you have a backyard, this is a great activity before or after work as a way to wake up or unwind.

However, it can be done where ever you have the space, even in a hallway or using a set of stairs. As you can keep your dog at a near-constant running pace, it is a wonderful way to burn off some of their energy throughout the day.

Play a Brain Game

Dogs not only need physical exercise to expend their excess energy, but they also need to be mentally stimulated as well. If you have ever come home to a chewed couch, it is because they were bored and needed some mental stimulation.

This can be as simple as hiding a few treats around the house for them to sniff out while you are gone. Or, if you have time, take a few minutes to play the cup game with them.

The cup game simple game you might be familiar as a hustle you would see on the streets. Essentially you hide a treat under one of three cups, shuffle the cups, and challenge your dog to choose the correct cup. It can be excessively fun if your dog thinks they are very clever.

A number of brain games for dogs can also be purchased online. Some are solo activities and some dog brain games can engage both pet and owner.

These can be particularly helpful if your dog gets bored when you are not at home as well. It gives them something that they can work at over a set period of time. However, never use it as a replacement for more interactive activities when you have the time.

Learn a New Trick

Depending on what trick you choose to teach them, learning something new can be both physically and mentally challenging. Like with people, learning a trick requires focus to know what we want them to do and when.

Long periods of dog training can result in diminishing returns. Teaching is something that is beneficial to do in short, 15-minute bursts.

Agility Training

Like learning new tricks, doing agility training with your dog in quick bursts can have maximum effect. Essentially, agility training takes trick training up a notch in both mental and physical challenge.

Instead of your standard sit and shake, you teach them to jump through hoops and run along platforms. Do a little training every day and you could maybe even enter them in a competition for it someday. However, the immediate benefits include more controlled energy and increased mental sharpness.

Do you have any 15 minute activities that you do with your dog? Tell us in the comments!