Over hill and dale – exciting smells, fun and games

Travelling outside together, enjoying nature, discovering new ways … As a dog owner, you know how to enjoy time with your loyal companion. The four-legged dog walks do not always have to go around the block or into the park. If you have time and desire, you can take your dog with you to the forest adventure. Because for your dog, forest excursions are full of excitement and variety. Whether in spring, summer, autumn or winter: a walk in the forest with the dog is always nice. In spring you can watch nature awaken and the first buds sprout, in summer you can protect yourself and your fur nose from the great heat, in autumn you can watch the dance of the leaves and in winter the snow offers many exciting employment opportunities.

Use the forest as an activity

A walk in the forest is always exciting for your dog. There he experiences countless impressions and discovers an infinite number of smells. So that you can enjoy the time together, ask your four-legged friend to play and discover. It is much nicer if you walk through the forest with your dog than if you only run after him. Doesn’t he get involved in the beginning because everything else is more interesting? Don’t despair! Demand his attention again and again – at some point, he will be happy to be there and want to work or play with you.

Hide and seek game – attract attention

If your dog likes to run ahead without looking after you, you can use the forest to play hide-and-seek. Make sure the environment is safe and nobody is disturbed. Let your four-legged friend run a few meters ahead and then quickly (but quietly) hide behind a tree. Most dogs will quickly look for their owner or owner. The more you play the game, the more attentive your four-legged friend becomes. He will check on you from time to time and check whether you are still there. At some point, he will also listen to your steps. If they fall silent, he will turn to find out what’s going on.

Laying tracks – also pushing your nose

The nose is the most important sensory organ for dogs. At the same time, it is also very difficult for your four-legged friends to use their sense of smell. Therefore, foraging games or tracking are an ideal activity to mentally utilize your darling. And at the end of the walk, he will surely go to his basket tired. Of course, you first have to teach your dog what you want from him. The level of difficulty must also be increased slowly. It is best to let your dog sit in front of you, show him the treat and toss it on the floor next to him. But he can’t take it yet. Then point to the treat, say “search” and let it sniff it out. You can then praise him. If you practice it often enough, your dog will use the “Search” command to search for the treats thrown or hidden by you.

Agility course – train your sense of balance and skill

The forest is full of opportunities. On tree stumps, you can practice the “two paws” command, on tree trunks, on the other hand, train the sense of balance and walk up and down on it. Let your dog sit or lie down on the tree trunk. You will see that this is not always easy for your four-legged friend. You can also teach him the command “outside” or “rum”: you send him around a tree. Depending on the command, it must run around the tree on the left or right. You can also use benches (of course without getting them dirty). Here your dog can jump up or down on command. There are hardly any limits to the imagination and the forest really offers a wide variety of exercise options.

Discover 3 fun games for the next walk in the forest

Our tip: Teach your dog to walk under a tree trunk on the command “Down” (or any word). At the command “Hopp” he can jump over it.

With all the fun and games, here too, be considerate of people and animals! If you want to discover the forests with your dog, you should follow a few basic rules. In fact, there are also legal regulations on the subject of “walking the dog in the forest”. These vary depending on the federal state and in some cases provide clear rules of conduct. If you stick to it and take your environment into account, you can spend many great hours with your fur nose in the forest and experience nature together.

What dangers can lurk in the forest?

If you are travelling in the forest together, there are also one or the other, more or less dangerous situation. It can get hot when you meet wild boars. Especially when there are young animals, the animals often react with an attack. It is best to keep a cool head, call your dog to you, leash him and slowly move away from the group.

Of course, there are also step holes, slopes, sharp stones and branches or broken glass if necessary. Just pay attention to the environment in which you and your dog are travelling. This will help you minimize the risk of injury.

What to do if the dog likes to hunt?

If your dog likes to tear out and go hunting, it does not mean that you are not allowed into the forest. However, you should then put him on a leash to keep the wildlife safe. But of course, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun together. You can also carry out most of the activities together with a leash. And the leash itself can also be included in the game. For example, you can loosely stuff the end of the leash into your pocket. The exercise then is: walk on the leash or walk on foot without pulling the leash out of your pocket. A good exercise for leash and cohesion with your dog. With a towline, you can increase the radius in which your dog moves. Linen made of biomethane without a handle is best.

If you want, you can also do anti-hunting training with your dog – preferably with the support of a good dog trainer. Such is certainly exhausting and lengthy and not always successful depending on the breed, but you can certainly make some progress. A solid bond and solid basic education are essential here. In addition, you should always keep a close eye on the dog and know at the crucial moment (or shortly before) how you can cleverly keep him from his plans.

Together with your dog, you will discover many great paths and places in the forest. It is important: your dog should like to be on the go with you. No matter whether he has to be on a lead or not. Animate him to work with you and have fun. This strengthens the bond and helps to exercise it physically and mentally. But be careful: ticks are often lurking in the undergrowth. If your four-legged friend likes to roam around here, you should feel them carefully after the walk and best protect them from a tick bite. You can find out how to protect your dog from ticks in our guide.