One of my top priorities in life is family time, which includes our pets! We may have only 1 dog and 1 cat; we love both equally.  The difference is the cat only wants to sleep and eat, so instead we focus our energy on the dog . She loves to just be in our presence and needs the occasional acknowledgement with a pet or rub. 

You can just assume she is another one of our kids. A unique story of my daughter and our dog is their names. My daughter is Cora and the dog was named Nora by my fiance, and we reference them as the Cora-Nora duo. The crazy part is we didn’t plan the names. I met my fiance 3 years ago and it was one of these conversations on our first date as ‘what was your dog’s name again?” Umm no that is too similar to my kid’s name!! Now the names are interchangeable depending who is in trouble. Also, when you call out one of their names, they both come charging at us. They are both equally excited to greet one another and be around one another, so it just makes sense that Nora is one of the family members.

Even though there are many activities that our dog can not participate in with us. we find many other ways to include her in our lives. It can be as simple as jumping in the car with me in the morning to drop the kids off to school. 

1.) Running Errands with our Dog

Since Nora loves a good car ride, she gets to also run errands with me. There are plenty of places I can take her to such as the bank or any sort of drive thru (we made it through a car wash once too!). The bank is a favorite and she makes her presence known for upon a potential treat from the teller.

2.) Pet Friendly Stores for the Dog

There are many stores that welcome K-9’s. The best ones are home improvement and pet stores. She loves the extra attention she gets from fellow shoppers (I do take caution to avoid the shoppers that are not the dog lovers). 

Outdoor malls are another option. It may take two to accomplish this fun day,  since the dog isn’t actually allowed inside the stores. It is still nice to enjoy the afternoon out while popping into a few stores among good company. 

 

3.) Festival/Events for your Pet

Every town has weekend festivals to go and experience.  Ninety percent of the time they are outdoors and are pet friendly. No one can say no to an outdoor festival with local vendors to wander among as your pet also gets to take in all the sights and sounds around them.

 

4.) A Meal Date with your Dog

I know of at least 5 places in our town that we can dine with our dog. We have an amazing local breakfast place that we can sit outside with our dog. She gets a water bowl with a side of bacon and we get an egg scramble, it is perfect.

Many bars have outside seating, in which you can have a drink while your dog relaxing with you. My favorite experience is the ice cream shops that have dog options. Yes they do!! Our pup loves the ice cream, which is one thing in common she shares with my daughter who loves everything frozen.

5.) Bring your Dog on Vacation

Every summer we go to the beach and the dog goes with us. Actually we have been on many trips that she has come along on. We have plenty of family and friends that would happily take Nora in, but we would miss her too much! I think my daughter loves it the most when we are relaxing on the beach and Nora is right beside her. There are so many options out there now to take your animal along with you. 

6.) Take your Dog to the Ballpark

We recently just experienced this with Nora. Every year we would show up to the game at our local stadium (Tampa Bay Rays) and realize it was dog day and we didn’t have the dog!! Finally, we made an effort to plan for it. It was so much fun! Our dog was completely exhausted the rest of the day from it, but I think she loved all the meet and greet she got to do.

 

7.) Dog Park Day

The dog park is the easiest way to have some fun with your dog and really tire her out easily. They are easy to find in your town and usually the always have a big dog and small dog section, so there isn’t too much rough housing. I have even seen some parks with agility courses and little pools for the dogs to splash around in. 

 

8.) Bring your Dog to the Beach

Our dog loves the beach!! Once we let her loose she darts off. It is something about the open air and freedom! She isn’t the biggest fan of the water, but instead so loves to run endless loops and dig without anyone yelling at her. 

9.) Set up a Doggie Playdate

I have many friends with dogs and luckily our pup is very easy going and doesn’t mind who she gets to play with. I know some dogs are picky or can try to be aggressive, but ours is just down to play and roll around. We have one neighbor with a lab who my dog has played with since they first brought their puppy home and they are best friends!! If we drive in the car and head down their street, she starts to wine and wiggle around because she knows where her friend is at. 

 

10.) Give your dog classes

This is one option we have not done yet! I know many people who have taken their dog to obedience school, but that isn’t the only option. Our local “dog resort” also has agility classes and “dock jumping” classes. We really wanted to do the dock jumping classes, but we have given up on our dog liking water.  Our hound dog would rather roll in mud then doggy paddle around, and we just aren’t going to change that.

 

I hope this list of doggie activities gives you inspiration to spend more time with your own dog. Every town has events and locations that are dog friendly, all you have to do is a little bit of research. Trust me, your dog will thank you!!