{"id":14838,"date":"2023-05-02T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/?p=14838"},"modified":"2023-05-08T18:59:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T23:59:26","slug":"fun-ways-exercise-your-dogs-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/behavior\/psychology\/fun-ways-exercise-your-dogs-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun Ways to Exercise Your Dog\u2019s Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lot of focus is put on keeping your dog physically healthy. Things like making sure they get regular checkups<\/a>, keeping them up-to-date on vaccinations<\/a> and helping them maintain an ideal body condition<\/a> are common topics that your veterinarian (and Diamond Pet Foods!) will remind you about to help make sure your dog stays healthy.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s another part of your dog\u2019s body that needs care as well \u2014 their mind. Just as you would exercise their muscles, your dog\u2019s brain needs exercise, too. A whole month (May) is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of mental health<\/a> for people, and it\u2019s a good reminder that your dog\u2019s mental health is important, too.<\/p>\n

The Problem with Boredom<\/h2>\n

Being home alone for hours on end with nothing interesting to play with is likely to lead to a bored dog. If you\u2019ve ever been stuck in an airport by yourself waiting on a delayed flight, you understand how this feels. Bored dogs don\u2019t have a phone to scroll through while they wait, so they tend to find their own entertainment \u2014 which is fun for them, but not so great for you when you come home to your house covered in fluff and toilet paper.<\/p>\n

Naughty behaviors from a dog left alone shouldn\u2019t be ignored, because as well as being frustrating for you, it could mean that your dog has separation anxiety<\/a>, which can result in destructive behaviors or even aggression. Providing your dog with environmental enrichment can help stop your dog becoming bored and may help with separation anxiety.<\/p>\n

Enrichment Should Mimic Normal Behavior<\/h2>\n

The Indoor Pet Initiative at Ohio State University tells us that environmental or behavioral enrichment<\/a> reduces stress and promotes overall health by occupying time and increasing an animal\u2019s perception of control over their environment. In other words, enrichment helps prevent dogs from becoming bored and lets them have a say in what their day looks like.<\/p>\n

The Indoor Pet Initiative describes five categories that most environmental enrichment falls into: food-based, sensory (sight, smell, touch, hear, taste), novel objects, social and positive training. Enrichment activities should mimic the natural behaviors of dogs like stalking, hunting, catching prey, sniffing, digging, running and resting.<\/p>\n

Puzzling Out Brain Exercise<\/h2>\n

Food puzzles are a great way to get your dog to exercise their brain. They need to use their problem-solving skills, and it takes up time in their day since a short meal turns into a long game. You can also make them \u201chunt\u201d for their food by hiding the food puzzle instead of just handing it over. You can choose to put all of their daily food ration into a few different puzzles or you could do a small amount at a time. If your dog is up for the challenge, you can try puzzles that require multiple steps to be completed before the food is dispensed.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s best to take an allotment of their daily food and use that in the puzzle, so that they aren\u2019t consuming extra calories. If you do use treats, make sure you don\u2019t give your dog more than 10 percent of their daily calorie amount as treats<\/a>, otherwise they might end up adding on a few pounds of weight while they\u2019re exercising their brain.<\/p>\n

A Change of Scenery Scratches the Enrichment Itch<\/h2>\n

Most people get a little antsy and bored when they\u2019re stuck in the same house or apartment for days on end. It\u2019s the same situation for your dog. Taking them out and about so they can see new sights, smell new scents and find new friends is a great way to care for your dog\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t just take them on a walk down the same street every day \u2014 mix it up! Walk a different path, take a hike on a new trail or visit your local pet store and pick out a new toy \u2014 anything that doesn\u2019t make \u201cgoing out\u201d the same old routine. You could also arrange some off-leash play. It\u2019s great for socialization and gives your dog\u2019s sniffer a workout while they greet old and new friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re running out of new spots to visit or you live in an area that doesn\u2019t have a lot of walking options, you could try using a service like Sniffspot<\/a> to find a new place to explore. Sniffspot helps you find private spaces to rent that provide off-leash enrichment for your dog and can help minimize distractions or triggers. Sniffspot also makes it easy to have playdates and socialize your dog in a controlled, private spot.<\/p>\n

Does Your Dog Like Their Toys?<\/h2>\n

A variety of toys are a must for keeping your dog entertained \u2014 the same two or three toys all the time are probably going to lose their novelty pretty quick. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a good idea to have a basket full of toys (hidden away) that you can rotate through every few days. Different types of toys \u2014 squeaky, chewy, bouncy, smelly, plushy \u2014 can help keep the novelty of playing with toys going. Give your dog a few toys at a time and then replace them with another few from the toy basket after a few days. By the time you rotate back to the beginning, the original toys will feel almost new again for your dog.<\/p>\n

However, one question to ask yourself is: Does your dog play with all of their toys, or are there some that sit on the floor and don\u2019t move until you put them away? There\u2019s no point having those toys in your toy rotation since your dog obviously isn\u2019t interested in them. Instead, find the type of toys that your dog loves and fill the toy box with those.<\/p>\n

Teach Your Dog New Tricks<\/h2>\n

No matter your dog\u2019s age, you can get their mind working by teaching them some new tricks. Whether it\u2019s upping their fetch game<\/a> or learning some holiday-themed tricks<\/a> they can master now to show off later, there are plenty of new skills your dog can learn. Plus, every dog could probably do with a brush-up on basic commands<\/a> every now and then.<\/p>\n

You could also introduce your dog to a new activity like a backyard agility course or a water sport<\/a>. And living in a small space doesn\u2019t mean your dog has to miss out on trying a fun activity. For example, you could build an indoor obstacle course with objects you have around your apartment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are lots of ways to keep your dog\u2019s mind active and reduce the risk of boredom setting in. Some of them could be good for your mental health, too!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RELATED POST: The Five Most Common Reasons for Your Pet\u2019s Behavior<\/a><\/p>\n

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A lot of focus is put on keeping your dog physically healthy. Things like making sure they get regular checkups, keeping them up-to-date on vaccinations and helping them maintain an ideal body condition are common topics that your veterinarian (and Diamond Pet Foods!) will remind you about to help make sure your dog stays healthy. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":14841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Fun Ways to Exercise Your Dog\u2019s Brain","_seopress_titles_desc":"Monitoring your dog's mental health is just as important as their physical health. Learn new ways to exercise your dog's brain and keep them mentally sharp!","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[201,283],"tags":[134,10,866],"class_list":["post-14838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-behavior","category-psychology","tag-diamond-pet-foods","tag-dog","tag-dog-mental-health"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}