Mental stimulation is a definite must for dogs and puppies. It basically helps make sure every dog can live their best life, and have lots of tail-wagging fun…it’s quite a lot already, right? But with all the Kongs, puzzle toys and brain games available for indulging your puppy in mental stimulation, it can feel a little overwhelming.
But today’s your lucky day. We’ve assembled a golden list of recommendations on how you can mentally stimulate your puppy or dog and prevent boredom every day. We’ll even go a little further and explain why mental stimulation is important, and suggest some good games for you to try.
Now that you’re here, we can already tell you’d love a training programme to teach your pup what’s what. Think no further and download the Zigzag puppy training app. Completely personalized, our step-by-step programme is designed to your puppy’s age, stage of development and their breed type. We also have a team of professional dog trainers and behaviourists who will be happy to help you through any hurdles, as well as Ziggy Ai – our Ai powered, Zigzag approved virtual assistant.
The Importance of Keeping Your Puppy Mentally Stimulated
Keeping your dog mentally active is essential for their health and cognitive development. Puppies are like little sponges; ready to soak up any stimulation we throw at them.
Here’s why keeping your puppy mentally stimulated is important:
- Brain games and mental stimulation prevent boredom and destructive behaviour. Puppies that receive the right mental stimulation are less likely to develop problematic behaviours like excessive chewing, barking, digging, etc.
- Mental stimulation helps them learn good behaviour and gives them an outlet for built-up energy.
- Mentally stimulating activities like games, new tricks, and socialization with other dogs sets puppies up for success by increasing their confidence. Eventually, this makes it easier for them to properly interact with people, other pets, and new environments.
- Mentally stimulating a puppy is often a team effort. Meaning: it requires interaction from you as well as your puppy. You’ll quickly find out that this shared experience brings your puppy-human bond closer together..
- It’s important for brain development. Just like with human babies, puppies need mental stimulation to help their brains develop well. As adults, this will help them keep their brains sharp..
Certain breeds of dogs bred to work such as Border Collies, Poodles, and Labradors will frequently go ‘self employed’ (a.k.a getting into mischief when you’re not watching) when not given mental stimulation. Therefore, it’s very important to give these dogs a highly stimulating environment that targets their brilliant brains.
If you have a dog who likes to dig up your flower beds or dig their beds, let’s first not get amped up about this. Instead, let’s trust mental stimulation to work its magic and help both of you out.
Best Mental Stimulation For Dogs
There are several ways you can mentally stimulate a dog; either through actively training your dog to learn new skills, or with calmer problem-solving tasks and puzzles that get some kind of reinforcement.
- Scentwork
A dog’s most powerful sense is their sense of smell. Activate their seeking system by getting them to work their nose. This is the ultimate form of mental stimulation, and they’ll actually find it very rewarding even without a food treat at the end. .
- Learning self control
Self-control and coping with frustration is part of an animal’s day to day life. But with our dogs, sometimes it needs some extra effort. Self-control exercises like ‘leave it’ will help them think about how to interact with the world around them.
- Going for sniffy walks
Sniffy walks allow your dog to explore the world around them, without the pressure of needing to get anywhere or go to any place in a hurry. ‘Sniffy walks’ simply mean walking them slowly to let them sniff as much as they want.
- Problem solving brain games
Outward Hound and Nina Ottosson games are wonderful for teaching dogs to use their brain to do all kinds of things: from opening levers, lifting flaps or pulling boxes open to find food. You can also sit and help your dog with them to begin with – it’ll be a good moment for bonding and relationship building too.
- Learning tricks
Teaching new behaviours through positive reinforcement is great fun for you and your dog. It’s all about learning new ways of moving to get reward in return.
We’ve got plenty of good trick ideas with step-by-step instructions for you to try in our articles on how to teach a dog to play dead or how to teach a dog to spin. Go on, try them out!
Mental Stimulation Games
It’s no secret that dogs love to play. This is great news since games are mentally stimulating by default, which make them great ways of getting their brains up and running !
Here’s some mental stimulation games you can play with your dog:
The Hide and Seek Game
Hiding one of your dog’s favourite toys and having them search for it, taps into their searching instincts and encourages them to use their talented nose to find things. Start with easy hiding spots first to build their confidence, and make it a little harder for them over time to keep them sharp and on their toes.
Shell Game
Yep, we’re referring to that fun game that hustlers play at the side of the street. Place a treat under one of three cups and shuffle them around to get your dog to sniff out which cup has the treat. This game works their memory and problem-solving skills AND they get a treat at the end, what’s not to love?
Find the Treats
This is just like hide-and-seek, but with food treats instead. This is especially a good idea if your puppy doesn’t get that excited by toys, and is more motivated by food. Hide small treats around a room and let your dog seek them out using their powerful sense of smell. To make it more challenging, hide the treats in harder-to-find spots, like under a cushion or in a plant pot.
Our article on 50+ training games has plenty more to try. We’re sure you’ll find at least one to both of your liking…there’s literally more than we can count. While you’re at it, download the Zigzag app to get your dog’s training in line with positive reinforcement. It’ll surprise you quickly they pick everything up!
The Zigzag app gives you a step by step training programme to take your puppy from zero to hero. Of course, you can count on the support from our team of professional dog trainers to help you every step of the way. You can always give them a shout 24/7 via our in-app chat – they’ll love to hear about your journey and give you a helping hand.
FAQs:
How much mental stimulation does a dog need?
It will vary depending on the breed, but a part of your dog’s day should involve playing games, training or enrichment activities.. Remember, something as simple as a sniffy walk is already a great way to get some of that mental stimulation going, so just let them take their time when you’re out on the street.
Are snuffle mats good for dogs?
Yes! Snuffle mats are excellent for encouraging foraging behavior and activating your dog’s scavenging instincts.
Do dogs get bored of the same walk?
Sometimes. You probably would as well if you walked the same route over and over. You can always make their walks more interesting with some variety, like adding games or training, or simply by letting them sniff more. They are a little like toddlers, so a little creativity can go a long way to make it fun. And of course, going on different walking routes every now and then will always be highly appreciated by your dog.
What happens if a dog isn’t mentally stimulated?
When dogs are bored, they’ll look for stimulation on their own. This isn’t such great news, as they will often chew things they shouldn’t, bark more and look for things they can do…that can sometimes lead to trouble. Sadly, dogs can also become depressed or anxious if not given enough stimulation.
Are lick mats mentally stimulating?
Yes, dogs enjoy licking. It’s actually self-soothing and is generally a calming activity for dogs.
