Dogs & Mental Stimulation
Dogs strive for mental and physical stimulation. Adding more mentally stimulating activities to your dog’s routine will yield many benefits. The best thing about mental stimulation is that it enriches a dog’s life by giving them something meaningful to do. In addition, mental stimulation decreases boredom which will help prevent destruction. Below is a list of ways to add more mental stimulation to your dog’s routine!
- Allow your dog to sniff when you are on a walk. Dogs love a good walk around the neighborhood! You can give them more mental stimulation by letting them stop and sniff around. Including sensory enrichment on your walks will give your dog much mental stimulation.
- Introduce a puzzle food dispenser. If you want to add more mental stimulation to your dog’s routine, you can change their feeding routine. Instead of handing over their food a few times a day, you can make a fun game out of it. You place your dog’s meals in the toy, and they must complete some sort of a puzzle for the food to come out of the hole. Talk about a reward!
- Teach your dog a new trick. There are many tricks that you can teach your dog. Teaching your dog a new trick or command is excellent for mental stimulation and boosts their confidence.
- Build an obstacle course. Teaching your dog how to navigate an obstacle course is an incredible physical and mental activity. You can get creative with your obstacle course by using alternatives around the house. Consider a hula hoop, cones, and a rope.
- Interactive play works wonders. Dogs love to play with us! Interactive play is one of the easiest ways to keep our dogs mentally stimulated. Interactive play is when you actively engage with your dog. Think about activities such as tug or hide and seek.
We hope you use some of our recommendations when adding additional mental activities for your four-legged friend. There are other things to consider, but we started with the basics! Go out and explore the many options with your furry friend.
