68 Pawesome Indoor Activities with Your Dog Massive List

COVID-19 means that even our dogs should stay inside.

While it’s okay for them to go for a daily walk, it’s not the time to be throwing puppy parties or roaming around the dog park.

So how can you keep your dog entertained? How can you keep yourself busy too?

Especially if you’re working from home or have been laid off, you’re likely spending a lot of time inside with your doggo.

In this post, we’re sharing 68 indoor activities with your dog

68 Indoor Activities with Your Dog

We all need to stay social during COVID-19, but physical isolation makes that challenging. One connection that’s good to strengthen during this time is the one with your dog. Here’s some ideas.

1. Make a dog cocktail. How about a Doggy Daiquiri or Pupslide Mudslide?
2. Dog party via cam. Get all your dog’s friends together on Zoom or Skype and let them say hello.
3. Do an isolation photoshoot with your dog.
4. Record your dog and play it back to see if he recognized himself (See my dog’s reaction here)
5. ^Adding to the last point, record your dog watching himself. Then play that back to him too. Yes, he’ll be watching himself watching himself. You could do this until COVID-19 ends and let it get really weird.
6. Play hide and seek. Tell your dog to stay, go and hide and tell her to start searching.
7. Make a dog fort with pillows and blankets
8. Have a second birthday party. Even if your dog’s already had his birthday, he’s probably feeling a little down lately because he can’t see his pals, so throw him another one! Of course, it would be just your family and your dog inside, but we know he’ll appreciate the extra gifts!
9. Indoor picnic. Lay out the picnic blanket and some dog-friendly foods and get munching away!
10. Muffin search. Take a muffin tray and put some kibble/treats into only some of the spaces. Place a tennis ball in each cup and allow your dog to sniff out where the treats are and remove them.
11. Organize all the pics of your dog (we know you have thousands!)
12. Put your dog on a zoom call meeting. Insist “Sarah couldn’t be here today, but I’m Buddy from the Bone department and I’m here to help with the report.”
13. Fill your dog’s Kong with a new recipe
14. Play a small game of fetch inside
15. Doggy taste test. Let your dog taste our new dog-friendly foods to see what she likes.
16. Run up and down the stairs with your doggo for some exercise
17. The cup game. Take 3 cups and place a treat under just one. Show your dog which cup it’s under and then shift the cups around. Test your dog’s tracking abilities.
18. Slide an ice cube across the floor and watch your dog chase it
19. Make your dog wave to herself in the mirror. Have a good laugh about it.
20. Play some dog YouTube videos and see if your dog reacts.
21. Sniff tour. If you have a small dog, pick her up to a human-level and let her sniff all the new scents.
22. Have a jam. If you don’t have any instruments, be a kid and use some pots and pans. Give your dog a squeaky toy and play along to her squeaking beat.
23. Join your dog in this really strange dog meditation
24. Craft a paw print necklace
25. Participate in formal Fridays by dressing up at home and making a nice meal for you and your doggo. If he has a tie, have him dress up too!
26. Set up a Tinder or Bumble account pretending to be your dog and see how long it takes to get banned.
27. Search GoFundMe for worthy doggy causes and donate some money in your dog’s name
28. Doggy dance party. Blast music and dance like no one’s watching except your dog.
29. Make your dog an Instagram account. Now’s a great time to pretend to be a dog.
30. Take a video of your dog and do a voice-over, highlighting your pup’s suspected thoughts.
31. Teach your pup some basic tricks
32. Make a paw print shadow box—either for your dog or a dog who’s passed on
33. Do some yoga with your dog (here’s 8 Yoga Poses with Your Dog: A Treat Filled Sequence)
34. … then follow that up with some harder tricks
35. Make a DIY costume so it’s ready for Halloween (try these DIY costumes)
36. Spend the afternoon planning a birthday party for your dog after COVID-19 (7 steps to the pawfect party here)
37. Go channel surfing and see which shows your dog likes best (mine likes kid shows and Fresh Prince)
38. Make some easy DIY dog treats. These are 3 Dog Recipes with 3-Ingredients Only.
39. Get crafting and make a DIY dog crystal collar
40. Skype with your dog’s favorite people. See if he can recognize their voices or faces.
41. Hit record and see if your dog does anything funny.
42. Find your dog’s favorite color. Place the same type of treat on sheets od different colored paper. See which he picks!
43. Phone up a dog psychic and see what your dog has in store
44. Jump on your bed with your dog (only if they like it and don’t bounce them off).
45. Make paw print art by using safe paint, your dog’s paw and a canvas.
46. ^ Or, be extra creative and use their paw to create a flower design
47. Hide some treats around your house and see if your dog has an advanced sniffer to locate them
48. Try out a range of barks and see which is closest to an actual dog bark by judging your pup’s reactions
49. Fire up the barbeque and cook a little treat for your pup, too!
50. Give your dog a bath with a delicious smelling shampoo
51. Plan a trip with your dog. For after COVID-19, of course.
52. Dehydrate some vegetables or chicken in a dehydrator or oven and make a crunch treat
53. Cuddle up and watch a movie with dogs in it
54. Learn how to clip your dog’s nails
55. Give your doggo a nice, deep puppy massage
56. Make some pupsciles AKA dog popsicles
57. Get some indoor obstacle course equipment
58. Treat lineup. Line up a few different treats and see which one your dog wants more (see which jelly bean Binky chooses!)
59. Play balloon volleyball. Real volleyballs aren’t good for inside and we’re remaining inside, a balloon is a good replacement.
60. Wrap a treat in tissue paper and watch her open it
61. It’s not Christmas but it’s a good time for crafting. Make a DIY dog paw print ornament.
62. Go for a walk with your dog (in uncrowded places. If it’s crowded, leave).
63. Go for a hike with your canine.
64. Make a puzzle toyto keep your pup busy
65. Make DIY toys. Check these 5 ideasor 6 more tutorials here. They include things you already have in your home, so you won’t need to go out for extras.
66. Play a new audiobooks to see if your dog likes any (higher pitched voices/kid shows work well)
67. Balance random things onyour dog’s head or nose and give her a treat as a reward.
68. Turn on the animal channel to simulate the feeling of being with other dogs

What are you doing with your dog? Email us at info@yodoggydog.com with any new ideas. We’re all in this together 🙂