7 Fall Excursions to Bring Your Dog On

Who doesn’t love fall? The temperatures cool down, the sun sets earlier in the day, the scent of pumpkin spice fills the air and you can start to take your dog more places without worrying they’ll overheat from heat exhaustion! As you think about new and exciting places you can take your dog this fall, here are some fun excursions you can do with your furry four-legged friend!

Challenge them with a corn maze. Corn mazes make the perfect activity to take your dog on this fall. Mazes are great challenges for dogs, as they use their heightened senses of smell and hearing to better navigate the maze. Make sure to pack a treat for them to munch on in celebration of completing the maze! Since your dog could potentially run off after catching a whiff of something while tracking through the maze with you, you should also consider outfitting them with a pet ID tag QR code. This tag will allow anyone to scan the QR code on the tag to access your contact information, medical needs and vaccination statuses. It’s much easier than trying to fit all that info via text on the back of a tag, and perfect for anyone who has a smartphone.

Visit your local pumpkin patch. A classic dog-and-owner-activity, visiting a pumpkin patch is a great idea for you and your pup. You can easily bring your dog to sniff around at all the different pumpkins, squash and gourds you typically find at pumpkin patches. Many pumpkin patches offer multiple activities all in one place, so you can do a variety of activities together without having to travel all over. Plus, taking your dog to a pumpkin patch is a great way to give them a fun and nutritional treat! Did you know that pumpkin has a lot of health benefits for dogs? That’s right! You can add pumpkin to your dogs’ food, cook and feed them pumpkin seeds as a treat or even give them slices of pumpkin to munch on instead of a bone, all while giving them a boost of nutrition. Besides, who doesn’t love the adorable pictures of dogs posing with pumpkins? It’ll definitely get you some extra likes on Instagram, for sure.

Play in the leaves. Sure, our parents warned us not to play in the piles of leaves on the side of the road when we were younger, but isn’t some of the fun of being an adult doing the things our parents told us not to do? The same goes for your dog — fall is the perfect time of year to let your dog have a little extra fun in the yard. Rake your leaves into large piles and let your dog run wild, diving into the leaf piles and rolling around in them. Sure, you’ll have to do some extra scrubbing at bath time and check them more in depth for ticks, but isn’t that just part of the fun? Nothing beats watching your dog run with a big smile on their face, popping out from a tall pile of leaves.

Dress them up for a photoshoot. Dogs … in Halloween costumes? Sign us up! It’s one of the most adorable things in the world to see a dog in a cute costume, dressed up as a witch, mummy or even a baseball player. With so many TV shows, movies and sports to draw inspiration from, you can find all the perfect accouterments for your dog’s costume online in a few simple clicks. Then, memorialize the experience by bringing them to a professional photographer, or have the photographer visit you at a park or another natural landscape! You can send the photos out to friends and family or post them on social for everyone to ooh and aah over.

Watch a movie marathon together. Whether you choose to binge fall romances or some hair-raising horror films, a movie night with your pup could be just what the doctor ordered for this season. There’s nothing better than curling up with a bowl of popcorn, a blanket and a pumpkin treat for your pup to munch on while you cuddle together and enjoy a film. Dogs are known to decrease stress and anxiety, which makes them the perfect companion for when you’re turning the volume down to avoid a jump scare.

Bake some dog-friendly pumpkin treats. There are lots of recipes out there for dog- and human-friendly treats you can bake together! While you’ll probably have to do all the baking, you can still enjoy the look on your dog’s face when you give them their treat. Plus, baking homemade treats will have your dog feeling healthier and more energetic to zoom around the park or backyard. If you find the right recipe, you’ll probably be able to enjoy the treat too!

Hike on a dog-friendly trail. As the leaves turn, they make for beautiful scenery. This is perfect for going on a dog-friendly hike with your pup! You both can enjoy the cooler temperatures while hiking and enjoy the fall foliage that comes with the change in season. If you go at the start of fall, then you’re ensured more shade coverage, making it the perfect weekend activity to do together. Bring a friend and their pup along for some group hiking fun! Make sure to invest in a silicone pet tag for your dog that’ll be easy to clean when returning from your hike together. It’s important that you give your dog a bath after your hike, even if they don’t end up muddy or dirty. Since they’ll have spent so much time outside, you can wash off any bugs and hunt for ticks to be safe.

Fall is a great season. The leaves change color, the temperatures cool down and you have more activities to do safely with your pup! As you take your dog out for more excursions, don’t forget to catalog all the memories by taking lots of pictures.