# mental stimulation



## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I try to do a lot of mental stimulation, as I have a very busy dog :smile:. Left to his own devices, I'm sure his ways of exercising his brain would not be the ones I would choose.

Mine break down into training, nosework, and puzzles.

I train SOMETHING every day. Not for hours at a time, but five minutes here, five minutes there, etc. Sometimes training for formal obedience, sometimes trick training, sometimes pure shaping with a clicker. If we go for an hour walk, I will do several short, sharp training sessions mixed in with throwing a ball. If we go for a 3 hour hike, I will mix in training recalls, training stays, heelwork, etc. with throwing sticks. 

"Find it" is a fantastic game, and my poodle really likes to use his nose. I can put him on a stay in the kitchen, out of sight, then hide something under a sofa cushion or inside a closed cupboard (that can be nosed open), and he will find it. I've been careful to work up to this level, giving him lots of opportunities to succeed, and to prove to him that persistence will pay off. I play this with food dispensing toys too, sometimes.

Puzzles ... Nina Ottossen toys, kibble in an empty water bottle, a cardboard box filled with twists of newspaper with a bit of kibble in each twist, a stuffed Kong inside an old sock inside a cardboard box, etc. I have gradually made these types of puzzles harder and harder. 

Sometimes he gets his dinner in a bowl, sometimes he gets the wet in a Kong and the kibble scattered widely across the floor. 

I add stuff all the time ... it is just something I'm aware of most of the time, i.e. how can I make his life interesting.


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