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Is your dog bored with his toys or maybe just bored from being a stay-at-home dog while you are working? You already know keeping your dog physically fit is important. However, it is equally as important to mentally stimulate your dog for his or her overall well-being.
When a dog is not mentally challenged, they are more than likely bored. Even though dog boredom is difficult to assess empirically, there are many studies that do suggest boredom is closely related to problematic behavior.
Why is it Important to Mentally Stimulate Your Dog?
Now that we’ve established that dogs require mental stimulation just as much as physical stimulation, let’s explore why it is important to mentally stimulate your dog. Pet Behaviorists say that 10 minutes of mental stimulation equals 45 minutes of active play.
The lack of mentally stimulating a dog can cause negative effects such as undesirable behavior, mental disorders, stress, and anxiety, to mention a few. Based on many studies over the past several years, experts have found that there is a correlation between the lack of stimulation of different sensory receptors and several mental illnesses in dogs, such as depression or severe anxiety.
Above all, the main reason it’s important to mentally stimulate your dog is because your dog is much happier and healthier if he gets to use his brain. Doing so, you can avoid unwanted chewing, barking, hyperactivity and even obesity.
10 Reasons to Mentally Stimulate Your Dog
- It’s necessary for happiness.
- It’s a brain workout.
- It lowers stress.
- You and your dog will build a deeper bond.
- It keeps older dogs mentally healthy.
- Destructive behavior is minimized.
- It lowers aggression.
- Hyperactivity is decreased.
- It alleviates boredom.
- Young puppers learn good habits.
Mental Stimulation Activities
A brain game is a fun method to enrich your dog’s life; it gives them something meaningful to do. Teaching your dog new tricks or simple commands can be a viable method for mental stimulation. You might find this article, 8 Coolest Dog Tricks That You Haven’t Tried Yet, helpful.
Mental stimulation can come from several things such as:
- interactive toys
- puzzle feeders
- agility training
- obedience training
- going to a dog park
- playing a game to figure out an action in order to get a treat reward
Create an Easy DIY Game
There are plenty of stimulating games on the internet and in pet stores for purchase, however you can also create a fun game to mentally stimulate your dog. See if your dog can resist this game. The muffin tin game is awesome for puppies, adult dogs, and senior dogs. Your dog’s senses of smell and sight will be challenged with this brain-teasing game as he or she tries to find hidden treats.
The Muffin Tin Game
What You’ll Need
- a 6-or-12-cup baking tin for regular-size muffins
- 6 or 12 tennis balls
- tasty, smelly treats, cut into small pieces (something irresistible such as a favorite treat or cheese; any of our Dog Chef recipes would work great)
** For small dogs, you can use a mini muffin tin with mini tennis balls. Bella, my 10-year-old Morkie is small so the mini tin and balls worked great for her.
How to Set Up the Game
- Put your muffin tin on your kitchen counter top or somewhere your dog can’t see what you are doing.
- After that, put a treat in each circular indentation of the muffin tin.
- Then, place the game on the floor for your dog to explore. (You might have to show your dog what is under one of the balls and then encourage him or her to find the treats.)
- Be sure to praise your dog like crazy when he finds one of the treats.
- Keep encouraging your dog if he doesn’t catch on at first. You will have to provide fresh treats for the scent until your dog catches on.
- After your dog catches on to the game, make the game a little more challenging by putting a treat in only a few of the circular indentations of the muffin tin. Your dog will have to rely on his sniffer to figure out where the hidden treats are.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, build in equal amounts of mental and physical fitness to your dog’s day. Have fun letting your dog play this boredom buster game.
Let us know if this game helped to mentally stimulate your dog. We would love to hear if you have another version of this game. You can let us know in the comments below.
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