all, Puppies, Leadership and Dominance in Dog Training, Guy Fawkes and similar stressors for dogs, Separation Anxiety, 'Walking the Dog' and all associated..., Dog 'Ownership' Helpful Tips, Preventing 'Fixation'/'Obsession', With Cats..., General Training, 'Obedience' Type Command Instruction, Safety Around Dogs, A Good Dog Behavioural Consultant/Dog Behaviourist, , The problem with gadgets in effective dog training, Stress in Dogs, Reactionary Behaviour, Aggression, Embarrassing antics our dogs get up to..., 'Tis the Season', Visitors and your Dog, Vocalization, Strangers, Issues with Food, Cars/Vehicles and your Dog, Why does my dog?
Mental Stimulation Ideas for Dogs
04.05.25
Dog Behaviour. Rainy day fun for your dog. Indoor mental stimulation ideas for your dog.
Wet weather limiting things for your pooch?*It has been shown that pent-up energy of any form (physical, mental or chemical/dietary) increases a dog's tension and anxiety levels, so why not look at some mental stimulation for your beloved companion!- Scatter or hide your dogs food about the place for them to snuffle for - this is brilliant for canines with their super sense of smell.- You could play Hide and Seek/train with your dog (with training being built into your day as well - asking for commands as part of feed time for example).This is mentally enriching for your pooch, a fun way to work on ‘obedience' commands and brilliant for your relationship. I truly enjoy playing Hide and Seek or ‘Sit, Stay, Come’ with our dogs Trev and Lily. I go off and hide (after back tracking in different rooms/area's to confuse them with my scent) then call them to “Come!” I praise and sometimes reward them with a tasty treat upon their return. The look on their faces when they find me is priceless. Our kids join in with this game too, its a family affair. You can also play -- Box SearchUsing a variety of boxes -• While your dog isn’t looking, put a treat in one of the boxes• As they find the treat, offer praise and a few bonus treats• Put a fresh treat in the same box and rearrange the boxes• Encourage your dog to find the treat box again- The cup game• Grab three cups, possibly you may need to look at ones that are a little more substantial, like plastic cups or flowerpots.• Start with one cup and put a treat under it while your dog is watching. When they nose at the cup or paw at it, praise them and lift the cup to let them get the treat.• After a few repetitions, bring in a second cup, but don’t put anything under it. Show your dog that you are putting a treat under one cup with the empty cup next to it. When they sniff or paw at the cup with the treat under it, praise them and lift the cup to allow them to get the treat.If your dog paws at the empty cup, lift it and show them there isn’t anything there. Then, lift the cup with the treat and show them this, but don’t allow them to get the treat. Put the cup back down and repeat, praising as your dog selects the right cup.The better your dog gets, the more cups you can add in. Start moving the cups around like a magician in demonstration that your dog is using their nose to find the treats, not just memorizing the location, Selina McIntyre, Dog behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. For more dog behavioural and training tips, advice and suggestions, why not check out my book in association with HarperCollins, ‘Big Dog, Small Dog - Make your dog happier by being understood’ thank you 🐾
12.10.24Dog Behaviour. Mental Stimulation for your dog. The walk from your dogs perspective.Have you ever really, thought about the walk from your dogs perspective?The picture of smells, sounds and sights that may be of interest to them (obviously all the while, our senses for the most part being less developed than dogs).What I’m really talking about is, I think sometimes owners forget that ‘the world’ is pretty interesting and more so, it is pretty interesting to a dog, because they're likely to be confined away from this ‘world’ (in the backyard for example) the majority of the time. So the 'big wide world' is enriching!I know I say, “Do not be dictated to on a walk” but I do also make the walk about both Trev, Lily and myself.When walking on the lead -I have a few regular walks I do with the dogs. From this, I have worked out areas where they're a lot more eager to ’sniff/mark’ (certain power poles etc.) I then, depending on their behaviour (on the lead) let them undertake some sniffing, from stop (I count here as one) to finish, I count to five, then I have actually found that they'll very readily move on (this approach also worked with the dogs I walked, when I had a dog walking business some 20 odd years ago too!) Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. For more dog behavioural & training tips, advice and suggestions, why not check out my book in association with HarperCollins 'Big Dog, Small Dog - Make your dog happier by being understood.'
10.08.24
Dog Behaviour. Mental stimulation for dogs. Feeding dogs for enrichment.
How does this Dog Behaviourist feed her dogs?Always with enrichment. We don't own feed bowls. *Pent-up energy of any form, including mental energy, has been linked to tension and anxiety in dogs, so it is well worth enriching your dogs life with mentally stimulating tasks. We split our dogs daily feed portion up and alternate between all of the methods below for feeding – after all, variety is the spice of life!- Scatter feeding outside on the lawn (especially great when I'm running late in the mornings but also brilliant to stimulate a canine's amazing sense of smell). - Placing biscuits in maze like dishes to be pushed and licked out (ours is a Trixie feeder but other brands are available).- Stuffing lamb mince into Trev and Lily’s Kong’s and freezing them (these also get trapped inside diluted meaty stock stock ice blocks in Summer with some veges.)- The biscuits in Wobble Toys, wobbled and rolled around the room.- Biscuits hidden in snuffle mats. Trev and Lily search and snuffle their way around their mats to find the hidden biscuits buried under the fabric flaps.- A biscuit portion could be in a feed ball (from experience make sure you get a sturdy one here and that biscuits flow easily around in it – so possibly a slightly bigger size one than you think, once dogs learn about a feed ball, boy do they LOVE IT!)- We're more likely to use on the weekend, when there's more time, a ‘pull-out’ Hol-ee Ball. Cut up a old rag into strips (just smaller than the width of the holes) and roll up some of your dogs biscuits into each rag strip. Your dog then pulls and tears out the fabric from the holes to get to the biscuits, Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. For more dog behavioural and training tips, advice and suggestions, why not check out my book in association with HarperCollins, ‘Big Dog, Small Dog - Make your dog happier by being understood’ thank you 🐾
23.09.23Dog Behaviour. Dog Training. Do small dogs need to go for walks?The Walk -The walk is an amazing form of mental stimulation, this off property experience cant be beat! Associated with this, pent up energy of mental or physical forms has been linked to tension and anxiety in dogs. Then there is more stimulation (different sights, smells etc.) when you break up the day with two walks and this also burns more energy, than a single big less intense one.The walk with you can be primal bonding time, where you demonstrate you have what it takes to confidently lead, ‘Out in the big wide world.’ We can compare the walk to, going off ‘On the hunt.’Throwing a ball does not calm the mind of a dog, these activities hype the dog up (they are adrenaline fuelled) and we are wanting a calmer, more stable energy. Most certainly do these activities but they should not really make up the bulk of your dogs exercise regime.I would suggest, even for a small dog such as a Yorkshire Terrier (adult) he or she should be getting two, twenty minute walks per day.Remember, most dogs are confined to increasingly small property sizes and the walk breaks up a long day of monotony for many, Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant and Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. For more dog behavioural and training advice, tips and suggestions, why not check out my book with Harpercollins, 'Big Dog, Small Dog - Make your dog happier by being understood,' thank you 🙂Selina McIntyre, a qualified Dog Behaviourist & Dog Trainer in the Hamilton, Waikato, Tauranga and Rotorua areas of NZ since 2004.
© Dogs Best Friend Limited N.Z. 2025.
Selina McIntyre of Dogs Best Friend, a qualified Dog Behaviourist & Dog Trainer in the Hamilton, Waikato, Tauranga and Rotorua areas of NZ since 2004.