Author: Barky Boy

Fall is a great season to spend time with your dog. The weather cools down enough to take more walks, and the crisp leafy blanket underfoot is fun for everyone to play in. It’s also the perfect time to find new dog-friendly locations to explore, like your local corn maze or apple orchard.

To help you prepare for the upcoming fall, here are a few of our favorite dog-friendly activities.

The 15 Fall Activities to do With Your Dog

1. DIY Fall-Themed Bandannas

With the days growing shorter and steadily colder, there are plenty of times when you and your dog will need to stay warm. If your dog needs a new bandanna or a collar, this is a great time to update their style.

While you can find bandannas and collars at your local pet store or an online shop, spending the day at home gives you the perfect opportunity to try your hand at a DIY project. Choose fabrics with a fall color scheme, or use Halloween materials for those chilly October days.

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2. Explore a Corn Maze

A great fall activity is navigating your way through a corn maze. There are plenty of places with miles of paths that are welcoming to dogs. Pack water and a few snacks, remember the poop bags, and enjoy a day exploring the winding paths through corn trails. If you have a larger maze near you, it’s also a good spot for an interesting hike.

Your dog might even surprise you by finding the way out first. Just ensure that you keep them leashed, and respect your fellow maze guests by picking up after them as you find a solution to the maze.

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3. Do a Fall Photo Shoot

The vibrant colors of fall make for beautiful pictures. As a dog lover, your photos likely feature your dog in one way or another. Head out to the park or your backyard to take advantage of the changing colors and the leafy blanket on the ground.

Dress up your dog in a Halloween costume, show off your matching DIY bandannas, or just photograph them as is. With a bit of planning, you could also let your dog’s canine friends join in. However, you decide to photograph your dog, have fun and pack a picnic to enjoy your day out.

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4. Go Hiking

If you’re not fond of photography, you can still enjoy the seasonal colors. Find local nature walks or hiking trails, and take your dog on a day trip. If you live by the mountains, the best fall views can be found on the trails when you reach the peak.

Your dog will enjoy the change of scenery too. Exploring a hiking trail that you rarely visit gives them a chance to get away from their usual walking route around the home and enables them to put their noses to the test.

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5. Go Trick-or-Treating

Fall brings Halloween, sweets, and trick-or-treating for the kids. If you and your family already dress up for Halloween to visit the neighbors for sugary goodies, include your dog in the celebrations. Give them their own Halloween costume — you can DIY one if you have time — and let them carry their own bucket.

They won’t be able to eat any candy, but there are plenty of dog-friendly treats that they can have instead. You can make a few at home or share with other canines that you meet while outside.

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6. Host a Canine Halloween Party

Even if you only have furry, four-legged children rather than tiny two-legged humans, you can still enjoy a Halloween celebration. Decorate your house, host your own Halloween party with dog-friendly snacks, and dress up in matching costumes.

You can invite your dog’s canine friends and run a costume party or keep the party as a family-only event. You might prefer a smaller party that includes just you, your dog, a blanket, and your favorite Halloween movie.

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7. Do a Horror Movie Marathon

Halloween might be an expected part of fall, but it’s not the only reason that you might want to break out the horror movies. Fall can get chilly, and your evening walk is likely to be much earlier to take advantage of the remaining sunlight. With the dark evenings, though, you and your dog likely have a great deal of free time on your hands.

A movie marathon with your favorite horror films is a great excuse to grab a blanket and your favorite drink to fend off the chill in the air. Your puppy can join you on the couch for a cozy cuddle session.

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8. Make Pumpkin Puppy Treats

Your dog might not be able to partake in all the regular candy that we usually enjoy during the fall season, but there are a few fall treats that they can share with you. Pumpkin, whether you carve your own or buy it canned, is a tasty and healthy treat for your dog. It’s also one of the best foods to help you get into the fall season.

Pumpkin is also a natural remedy for many stomach upsets because it’s easy to digest and full of vitamins and minerals.

Remember to only buy unsweetened canned pumpkin without any additional flavors to make sure the treat is as dog friendly as possible. Don’t feed your dog the raw pumpkin that you scoop out during pumpkin carving.

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9. Pick Apples

One favorite thing for many fall lovers is apple picking. Many apple orchards, like corn mazes, are dog friendly, so your four-legged friend can accompany you on your apple-picking adventure. Harvesting apples also gives you plenty of fresh fruit to make applesauce, apple pies, or other apple treats for Thanksgiving.

Apple is safe for dogs too. It’s full of vitamins and minerals, and many dogs love the fresh crunch of the fruit. Cut the apple into cubes or more slices, but be sure to remove the core and seeds before giving it to your dog.

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10. Plan a Puppy Play Date

A significant benefit of fall is the cool temperatures. While finding a cool enough day for a puppy play date in summer can be a challenge, fall gives you plenty of opportunities to spend the day at the park. Invite your dog’s best canine friend and their family, pack a fall-themed picnic, and get away from work for a bit with doggy tag and fetch.

If you have enough space at home, you don’t even need to leave the house. Invite over a few puppy friends, and let them play in the yard or chow down on homemade doggy treats.

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11. Play in a Leaf Pile

By the middle of fall, the ground is riddled with a crisp blanket of freshly fallen leaves. They rustle and crackle and make for interesting adventures whenever they get piled up. Eventually, these fallen leaves will need to be gathered up, but yard work doesn’t need to be a chore.

When you head outside to rake up the leaves, let your dog join in the fun too. They’ll adore chasing after stray leaves and bouncing around in the pile to listen to the rustling or find their wayward ball.

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12. Do a Spa Day

During all these fall adventures, your dog is bound to get mucky, especially on rainy days, when the leafy blanket becomes more mud than leaves. During inclement weather,  when your dog just refuses to stay clean, take a break for a spa day.

It’s the perfect time to catch up on any grooming tasks that you’ve been neglecting, like thoroughly brushing their fur or trimming their claws. A spa day doesn’t need to be handled by a professional groomer either; you can treat your dog to a day of pampering in the comfort of your home.

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13. Take a Walk to the Pet Store

If you want to go shopping with your dog, pet stores are among the best, dog-friendly places to check out. Fall also gives you the prime opportunity to walk to your local store if you live close enough. Wait for a nice day, pack water and a bowl for your dog, and take a stroll through the city.

Encourage your dog to pick out a new toy or spoil them with a new, fall-themed collar. You might even meet a cute puppy or two being socialized by their owner.

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14. Visit a Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin patches are staples of fall and plenty of them welcome dogs too. If you still need to pick out the perfect pumpkin for Halloween or you simply want to make fresh pumpkin treats, a pumpkin patch should be on your to-do list. It’s a great way to support your local farmers too.

Your dog might not be able to help you with the carving or baking treats, but they can still join in the fun by sniffing out the perfect pumpkin.

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15. Work on a Puzzle

Rainy days can be gloomy for everyone, your dog included. There are plenty of activities that you can do while stuck indoors, though, including breaking out that puzzle that’s been in the closet for years.

While you work on your doggy-themed fall puzzle, remember to give your dog a challenge of their own. Fill a puzzle toy with their favorite treats, or hide a few snacks around the house. The game of hide-and-seek with all these treats will encourage your dog to use their nose to sniff each tasty morsel out and keep their brains active.

Conclusion

Fall means bright colors, crisp leaves, short days, and cool weather. It’s the perfect time to try dog-friendly activities like baking dog-safe treats for Halloween or picking apples for Thanksgiving desserts. Or, get out of the house by visiting a corn maze or pumpkin patch, and show off your matching DIY fall bandannas or cozy sweaters.

Whatever you and your puppy get up to this fall, remember to pack pumpkin treats and have fun!

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Featured Image Credit: Jumpstory

The post 15 Fun Things to Do With Your Dog This Fall (2023 Guide) appeared first on Pet Keen.

Dogs are considered man’s best friend for various reasons. They are typically extremely loyal, they’re fun while adventuring outdoors, and they’re good at keeping their human companions company when nobody else is around. Dogs also happen to be highly observant. So, does your dog know when you are sick? It turns out that they might indeed know such a thing! Here’s how.

A Dog’s Nose Can Tell Them About Your Health

A dog’s nose has about 300 million olfactory receptors, which is much more than the 6 million or so that we humans have. Dogs can also process smells better than we can. So, while we can’t smell when a person’s odors change due to a change in volatile organic compounds within the body, a dog likely can.

For instance, a diabetic human’s bodily compounds change when their blood sugar levels rise or fall. A dog that is trained to do so can smell the change in compounds and alert their companion of blood sugar irregularities. Some dogs also seem to be able to detect cancer through smell, either of the breath, skin tissue, or urine.

So, it makes sense that a dog could detect when you are sick, even with a cold, as your organic compounds will change and produce a different smell than would be produced when you are in good health. However, a dog must know how a person should normally smell in order to detect a change in their body chemistry.

Therefore, your dog might be able to detect when you are sick, but chances are that they would not be able to detect an illness in someone whom they have never met or don’t know well. The exception would be dogs that are trained to detect the specific scents that certain cancers or other illnesses produce. In this case, they should be able to detect cancer or illness in anyone’s saliva or urine sample that they sniff.

It’s Not Just About a Dog’s Nose

Most dogs are good at understanding their companion’s body language and changes in behavior. They also know every aspect of their companion’s daily routine and use that routine to give themselves confidence that everything is going smoothly.

If you are not feeling well, you might rest or blow your nose more than usual. You may groan when getting up to make food or complete other tasks. You might even be a bit grumpy with everyone around you. You might drink more liquids to stay hydrated. Whatever the changes in your behavior, chances are that your dog will notice these things and understand that something is wrong — either you’re ill, depressed, or anxious.

How Dogs Might Respond If They Realize That Their Companion Is Sick

All dogs are different, so their response to detecting illness in their human companion can vary. Most dogs will stick closer to their companion’s side throughout the day, as if watching over them. They might pace back and forth nearby during a nap or movie-watching session. Your dog’s reaction might be subtle and hard to identify if they are already naturally cuddly and interactive with you.

A Quick Recap

Research seems to show that dogs can detect when their human companions are sick. Trained dogs do a better job of doing so, however, and untrained dogs may not obviously react to their detection of an illness. It comes down to the dog, their instincts, and their ability to communicate their concerns with those around them. It’s not a good idea to rely on a dog to detect when you are ill, as they may not alert you about it. Whenever you feel that something might be wrong, it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment with your doctor.

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Featured Image Credit: Aleksey Boyko, Shutterstock

The post Do Dogs Know When You’re Sick? The Interesting Answer! appeared first on Pet Keen.

If you have ever spent any amount of time with a dog, you know that they can be quite silly and excitable during playtime. When given the chance, dogs tend to lighten the mood in any social situation. So, it might make you wonder whether dogs actually have a sense of humor. Do they find things funny like we do? Can they play pranks on people? Do they enjoy the silliness of the games that they play? Or do they just seem to be happy and excited whenever they’re active? For one thing, dogs do have a good time when they play and interact with people and other dogs. They know what’s fun and what isn’t. Dogs also seem to display a sense of humor — or at least some of them do. While there is no solid scientific proof of such a claim, there are theories that point to the idea that dogs have a sense of humor in their own way. Here’s what you should know.

It’s All About Playfulness

It’s thought that dogs were bred to maintain a juvenile mind and thinking process, so they tend to retain a youthful sense of playfulness throughout their lives. This playfulness is considered comparable to that of a human’s sense of humor. In other words, when a dog is being playful, they are displaying their sense of humor — in theory.

Charles Darwin was the first person known to observe a dog’s sense of humor. He wrote about his observations in a book entitled, “The Descent of a Man,” which was published in 1871. He offers an example of a game of “keep away” being a display of a dog’s sense of humor.

Can Dogs Laugh?

Researchers at UCLA in California suggest that animals can laugh, though not necessarily in the same way that we humans do. These researchers found that at least 65 species of animals utilize what they refer to as vocal play. The phenomenon has been observed in dogs, cows, seals, and even mongooses. Dogs usually laugh by making sounds through forced panting while they play.

This may happen when they are trying to entice you to play a game of fetch or when they are trying to play a prank on you (like keeping a toy away from you, for example). A laughing dog may reveal their tongue and display a tilted “smile” that stretches across their face. It isn’t always obvious when a dog laughs, but when your dog is playful, grinning, and making noises while panting, they’re likely laughing.

Can Dogs Recognize When Humans Laugh?

Dogs can understand vocal and visual cues, and they pay close attention to our body language and tone. They watch our facial expressions and even keep an eye on our posture. So, they certainly can tell when we are laughing — or crying, for that matter. They understand what it means when you’re joyful and express that joy through laughter. They will likely respond with a wagging tail and playful panting (their version of laughing). If you are upset and crying, you’ll probably get a response of whining or whimpering.

In Conclusion

Researchers, experts, and even Darwin agree that dogs seem to have a sense of humor. From acting playful when a companion gets home to hiding a slipper in a corner as a joke, many dogs find a variety of ways to display their humor. It’s up to us to keep an open mind and pay attention to our furry family members if we want to catch it!

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Featured Image Credit: Jumpstory

The post Do Dogs Have a Good Sense of Humor? The Interesting Answer! appeared first on Pet Keen.