Keeping your dog mentally stimulated is important to prevent boredom and misbehavior.
Ever heard the saying “The idle mind is the devil’s playground”? Well it perfectly applies here.
When your dog’s mind doesn’t have something to do, it will FIND something to do.
And if you’re not careful, your dog’s idle mind may turn your backyard into the devil’s playground with the path of destruction he leaves behind.
(Use “brain games” to keep your dog entertained while at work)
If you don’t pay attention to your dog’s mind, he will get bored, misbehave, and his mental health can quickly deteriorate.
So it’s important to know how to mentally stimulate your dog.
In this article, I go through 5 ways to keep your dog mentally stimulated, tap into his brainpower, and turn him into a genius!
What Will I Learn?
1. Get off the Beaten Path
Literally. Take your dog on new walking routes to switch things up.
See, if you only walk your dog on the same path every day, he’ll miss opportunities
to experience something new… and new experiences get him THINKING.
Now don’t limit this philosophy to walks. Apply it to all areas of your dog’s life.
Allow him to see new experiences that stimulate his brainpower and keep his mind sharp.
You can…
- Teach him a new skill
- Let him sniff new places
- Take part in a new doggy sport
- Introduce new and exciting things to his environment
In essence, give him plenty of opportunities to use his brain.
Next…
2. Hide Your Dog’s Toys
Another way to mentally stimulate your dog is with toys.
If your dog has toys, then he’s probably pretty attached to them.
Why not use this as an opportunity to put his brain to work?
See, a dog can be very determined to when it comes to getting what it wants… so if you hide one of his toys, he’ll engage his brain in order to get it back.
For example: Hide the toy under a laundry basket (and make sure he sees you hide it there)… then sit back and watch him use his problem-solving skills to try and get it.
When he solves the puzzle, praise him (as a reward) just as he grabs the toy. Here you are rewarding his problem-solving effort.
Now if your dog struggles or starts getting frustrated, take a step back and make the exercise easier, then gradually increase the difficulty over time.
If you “baby-step” the problem-solving, you can even get the dog solving more complex puzzles.
3. Increase Your Dog’s Vocabulary
Find ways to introduce new words or “commands”.
New words provide yet another opportunity to engage the dog brain.
Let’s say you already take your dog out for potty. You have that inbuilt routine already, so now you can start saying “let’s go potty” just before opening the door to let your dog out.
Do this enough, and soon your dog will come running over to be let out whenever you say “let’s go potty”.
Dogs are fast to associate a particular word with an action.
They are quick to anticipate what is supposed to happen next, so you could see results very quickly!
4. Never Stop Training (Even if the Dog Gets Old)
When your dog reaches his golden years, it’s easy to slack off and stop training him.
However, “if you don’t use it, you lose it” especially applies to senior dogs.
Yes, even old dogs can learn new tricks, (they’ll just take a little longer to learn them).
Be patient and you’ll be surprised at what happens when you mentally stimulate your dog. Don’t let Rover’s brain go to rust.
A dog’s brain will never lose its ability to learn new things as long as you give it a chance.
5. Use “Brain Training For Dogs”
The brain is like a muscle that needs to be challenged in order to grow.
Which is why the best way to mentally stimulate your dog is by teaching him “brain games”.
Brain games teach your dog new skills, increase its intelligence, and provide an outlet for his energy.
The “Brain Training For Dogs” course contains 21 awesome brain games, including…
- Treasure hunts
- Hide and seek
- Playing the piano (YES!)
- and much more
This course takes you by the hand, and shows you step-by-step how to turn your dog into a well-behaved and obedient genius!
Get Brain Training for Dogs Today