Mental Games for Your Pup

by | Jul 7, 2022 | Behavior, Outlet

post it note on cork board

8 Mental Games for your dog

Many dogs don’t get the mental stimulation they need. That’s why some dogs chew on things they wouldn’t normally. So I have put together 8 easy things you can do to help your dog use the brain they have. Most of these items you have laying around your house.

  • Hide and seek
  • Frozen Kong
  • Snuffle Mat
  • Rolled blanket/towel
  • Box game
  • PVC pipe game
  • Paper in a box game
  • Cupcake tin game

 

How to play:

Hide and seek: 

Put the dog somewhere in another room or maybe outside. Take some treats or toys and hide them around the house. This can be hidden in plain sight, your dog is still figuring out what you’re doing. As you play, you can make the hiding more of a challenge.

Frozen Stuffed Kong:

 Put goodies (peanut butter, yogurt, treats) inside the kong, freeze it, and give it to your dog when they need it.

Snuffle mat:

Buy or make your own, once it’s done you can put your dog’s food or treats in it and let your dog search for the goodies you put in there.

Rolled blanket/towel:

 Put a few treats or your dog’s food in the end and roll, place a few more pieces and roll more. Once your dog figures it out, roll in different directions and make it more difficult for your dog to find.

Box game: 

Use the boxes you have around your house, yes, we all have them, the ones you get your amazon orders in, they will be perfect. They can be any size, any shape your dog will play with them, I promise. Put some treats in them and set them out. You can put them in any direction, upside down, right side up, sideways. And let your dog figure out how to get what’s in there. It’s fun to watch them think. 

PVC pipe game: 

Get some PVC pipe, any size, make sure you can drill a few holes in it, and any shape. Your imagination will be what slows you down on this one. You’re going to build a puzzle out of it to get treats. You can make it spin or roll to get the goodies out of it. Make sure to cap the end! 

Paper in a box:

Using another one of those nice boxes you have laying around, take some old magazines or newspaper and crunch it up into balls, put it in the box, toss some treats in there and let them use their nose (the reason they have it) to find it in the box.

Cupcake Tin game: 

Using a cupcake tin, an old one that’s clean will do just fine. Put treats down in the holes, using the paper balls or anything else you want to use, cover the holes and let your dog figure out how to get to the treats. This is also a game you can increase the challenge, by making the covers fit down in deeper, as they play.

 

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