Keeping your dog mentally stimulated is super important. When we ignore our dogs’ minds they can often become bored and misbehave. Also, their general mental health tends to deteriorate. To avoid this, here are 5 quick tips to challenge your pooch and turn them into the genius you know they are!
And don’t forget to grab your free copy of the Brain Training Airplane Game!
1) Take The Road Less Traveled
That’s right. Literally take your dog for a walk on new routes every now and then. By walking the same route every day your dog is missing opportunities to explore new things. And don’t limit this to just walking, expand it to all areas of your dog’s life. Teach your dog new skills or let them sniff new places. In a nutshell, make your dog’s environment full of new and exciting things, and offer them plenty of opportunities to use their brain.
2) Hide Your Dog’s Toys
Most dogs can be very determined when it comes to getting what they want, so why not use this to put their brains to work? If your pooch wants a toy, place it under a laundry basket or hide it under a blanket (just make sure they see you put it there… you don’t want to needlessly frustrate them). Then, sit back and watch them exercise their problem-solving skills to get it. When they solve the puzzle, praise them just as they reach for the toy.
If your dog gets frustrated or struggles, make it easier for them, and then gradually make it harder and harder over time.
3) Teach Your Dog New Words
Dogs are always ready to learn new words, so why not take the time to expand your dog’s vocabulary? You could start by just saying “let’s go potty” just before opening the door to let your dog out. After doing this enough times, your dog should come running over to be let out whenever you say “let’s go potty.” Dogs are pretty fast learners when it comes to associating actions with words. They’re also quick to anticipate what will happen next, so you should see some quick results.
4) Make Sure Old Dogs Learn New Tricks
Just because your dog is getting older doesn’t mean you should stop training them. “If you don’t use it, you lose it” applies to both humans as well as senior dogs. And yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Just be aware they may take a little bit longer to learn, so be patient and you’ll be happily surprised. A dog’s brain never loses its ability to learn new things. It’s up to you to give it the chance.
5) Play Brain Games With Your Dog
The brain is like a muscle – if you don’t exercise it, it won’t grow! The best way to make your dog smarter is by teaching them special “brain games” and “brain exercises.” These games are fun little games you can play with your dog to teach them new skills and increase their intelligence. Here’s a great “Brain Training for Dogs” course that contains 21 awesome brain games, including treasure hunts, hide and seek, playing the piano, and much more. Each game is broken down into a simple step-by-step process that will help you turn your dog into a well-behaved and obedient genius! Be sure to check it out here.
If you’re interested, here’s an example of one of the games, called the Airplane Game.
Note that you can also get a free copy of a nifty little e-book that contains details on this simple game you can play with your dog right away, as well as a special “smacking sound” you can use to get their dog’s attention when needed. Get your free copy by clicking here.
🙂 Love it!