The most effective way to keep your PON well-exercised despite snow and freezing temperatures is taking a long walk. Bundle up (get hunting boots,etc.) and remind yourself that it is easier to go up against the elements than to buy a new couch later.Should your bored PON express  its displeasure with an extended gnawing session and If it’s been snowing frequently where you live, invest in some doggie booties and a rain jacket for your PON, to keep that long fur, wet dog smell to a minimum. Waterproof hunting boots, hunting jacket and an umbrella will keep you dry as well. Once you get past the initial unpleasantness, exercising with your PON in snowy conditions can be vital for both of you.

Indoor Activities

Naturally you can’t fully replace outdoor exercise with indoor game, but playing active games inside can keep a PON cooped up indoors from developing cabin fever, at least for a few days. As a bonus, enlisting family members to help play training games with your PON keeps them occupied and may prevent naughty behavior. 

Hide and Seek: You don’t really need to change the rules of this well known children’s game to play with your PON. The significant difference is that your PON is always “It.” You can have your PON stay in a down or sitting position while all family members hide, then have each person in turn call the PON. Alternately, have one person stay with the PON while the others hide. Once everyone has hidden, the PON's “helper” can direct the PON to search for each family member in turn, using the command “Find (Name)!”

Tag: As you can pretty much imagine, this works best with at least four family members. The humans play tag with the usual rules. There is only one difference: In order to tag someone, when the PON is “It,” he or she must be called by a family member and perform a particular behavior. The person who cued the PON then becomes “It,” and tags someone else, who then tags the PON to repeat until all players become bored with playing the game.

Canine detective: If your PON knows the names of several toys, this one is great fun ! Hide the toys that he or she can identify by name throughout the house. Cue your PON to bring you a particular one. If your PON is not good at scent tracking, you can incorporate elements of the game  “Hot and Cold”  by clicking when your PON gets close to the hidden toy. Your PON gets a treat when it finally finds the correct toy. Expect to offer lots of treats !

 Races: This only works if you have two compatible PONS and neither has food guarding issues. Get a clicker and treats that both recognize, and give some commands. Only the first PON to produce the appropriate behavior gets a click and treat. Individualize by saying the PON's name as you click. Alternately, use two clickers that make different sounds, or a digital clicker with different sound settings for each PON. This game gets frustrating for the slower PON after a while, but is a fun way to speed up response time in PON that lag or wait for a cue to be repeated.

About treats: Offer low calorie treats such as slices of bananas, apples,etc.