Congratulations! You’ve made it to week five of Fenrir’s 12 Week Plan. This week’s topic goes hand in hand with last week’s. Mental Stimulation plays a very big role in exercising your dog and tiring them out. It’s just as important as getting them out on walks and letting them run around the back yard.
Mental stimulation is anything that makes your dog think and use their brain. Think of things like crosswords or sudoku puzzles. They get you thinking and keep you sharp. Your dog needs activities like that as well. It will help keep them in great mental condition and help to keep them tired out, so they don’t make their own fun out of chewing on your slippers.
How does it work? It works for your dog the same way it works for you. Imagine you just picked up a new hobby. You’re still learning and not very good at it yet. It will take time and practice. These new experiences create new pathways between cells in the brain, and you become better and better at the hobby the more you do it, because more and more of those new pathways are created.
This week we’ll take a look at all the different forms of play that count towards mental stimulation. We’ve even provided you with a sheet that has one plan for every day this week that will help you keep on track and learn everything you need to know.
What Counts as Mental Stimulation?
The simple answer is: anything and everything that gets your dog mentally engaged in their play! The possibilities are truly endless. The only limit is your creativity. Is your dog food motivated? Make them work for their food with a foraging mat or something like the Fenrir Egg. Do they love to play? Teach them some new tricks. We’ll go over some of the more common forms below and even suggest some games you can play with household items.
Foraging Toys
Things like our Fenrir Foraging Mat are a great way to have your dog work for their food. Not only will they get their tasty kibble, but they’ll have to earn it. By making them snuffle and dig for their food, they have to think about it. They can’t just take a big bite and gulp it down. They may only get a piece or two and then they’ll need to hunt some more down. This is also great for dogs who eat too quickly as it will force them to slow down.
Puzzle Toys
Much like foraging toys, puzzle toys are a good way to have your dog work for their food or treats. You can stuff something like the Fenrir Hammer or the Dragon Egg to make a fun game. Place kibble or treats inside so they can spend some time knocking the toy around to make them fall out or stuff with soft food and freeze for delicious chew toys that will keep them focused for hours. This is another choice that is amazing for greedy eaters. You can also try something like the Fenrir Puzzle Bowl that makes them pick kibble out of a little maze.
Exploration
Let your dog take in new sights and smells while out on walks. It’s good for them and it puts their brain to work. All of those new experiences require their brain to process them. You’ve probably walked down your street a thousand times with your dog, but they still stop to sniff don’t they? They’re always finding something new.
Tricks and Training
You certainly can teach an old dog new tricks. It’ll keep them busy and teach them a new skill! Those new skills create those new pathways in the brain we talked about earlier. It’s all part of the process. So, once you’ve mastered the basics, expand your horizons. There are dozens of tricks to teach your dog aside from sit, stay, come, and roll over. You could even teach them how to play sports. Something like football (or soccer for those of us in the US) only requires the use of your feet, so your dog can play too.
You can also look into things like agility and obedience training that require your dog to learn commands and how to do something new. These types of training will mean teaching your dog to navigate new situations and respond to commands quickly. It’s the perfect opportunity to put their brain to work.
Nose Work
Your dog takes in a lot of information with their nose and that makes it the perfect opportunity for mental stimulation. It helps to have your dog master the “stay” command first. You have them sit somewhere they can’t see you and then hide a few treats around the house. They’ll have to sniff for them and work out where they are. You can start out easy and make it more difficult once your dog gets the hang of it. It’s a great way to get them thinking and to rely less on visual cues. That’s what really makes this a mental game for them.
Naming Toys
A good game of ‘go find it’ is the perfect way to keep your dog mentally sharp. You’ll tell them to go find a toy and they need to bring you the correct one. Before that though, they need to learn the names of all their toys. This is going to be a slow process for some as they need to learn new words and associations. It’s like learning a trick for the first time, they need to associate the name with the item. Set a toy in front of them and say what it is. When they touch it with their nose or pick it up, be sure to praise them.
Interactive Play
You are the biggest play asset that your dog has. Engage with your dog and get them focused on you and what you’re doing. You can play tug-o-war or even hide and seek. Any game where you’re also part of the fun counts. It’s a great bonding experience and will help to work on things like impulse control. If you’re not sure what tug toy would be best we recently released the Fenrir Jute Tugging Toy that is perfect for this activity.
Mental Stimulation at Home
While toys and dog sports such as agility and obstacle courses are great ways to keep your dog mentally active, they aren’t the only options. You can make your own toys and games at home. It’s much easier than you would think.
If you don’t have money to purchase items for a proper obstacle course you can use household items such as chairs, sheets, and cardboard boxes. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Just make sure the items are stable enough for your dog to safely get up on or crawl under.
Cardboard boxes can also be used for shaping games. These sorts of games encourage your dog to do something new on their own. They can jump in and out of the box. They can sit in the box. They can carry the box around. This increases their thinking and mental flexibility. The possibilities are truly endless.
You can also play the shell game with your dog. Get three identical items that your dog can’t see through. They can be small cups, containers, or whatever works for you. Let your dog watch you place a treat under one and then shuffle them around. This is a great way for your dog to work on their problem solving skills and their impulse control.
Foraging toys can also be made. They’re very simple. All you need is a tea towel. Lay it out flat and place a few treats in it. Fold it in half lengthwise and add a few more treats before folding it one more time. Then you can tie it into a few knots. Just make sure they’re not too loose or too tight. You want your dog to have to work to undo them, but they shouldn’t be so tight that your dog can’t get to the treats in the middle. Just make sure you don’t mind if the towels get ruined. Your dog may rip them while trying to get to the treats inside.
Conclusion
We hope you find this week’s topic to be a fun one. There are dozens of games to play with your dog and the possibilities are endless. You just need some imagination! Thinking up new games to play with your dog is good for your mental health too. It’ll have you creating new experiences for the both of you to enjoy together.
Does your dog have a favourite game? Have you come up with a new one? Make sure you share with us on our social media pages! We always look forward to hearing from you.