# How do I wear out a dog mentally?



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

I'm sorry Ginger broke her paw and glad to hear she is on the mend. Take a look at the AKC Trick Dog titles. These will give you some ideas to train her to do just for fun. 
http://images.akc.org/pdf/Trick_Dog_Title_App3.8.17FINAL_copy.pdf

If you scroll down, you'll find a list of possible tricks. There's also 101 things to do with a box. https://clickertraining.com/101-things-to-do-with-a-box

Those are the mental exercises I thought of so far, along with the basics of sit stay, down stay, stand stay.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I have a book called Brain Exercises. It has a ton of games you can play with your dog. The best thing I had that keeps Lucky entertained is actually having Kit, who is lower energy but perfect companion for him. Maybe if you have a neighbor with a well behaved dog. If they have similar energy they could have a romp together. 


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Your poor baby. Not fun to break a bone. Years ago our 10 week old kitten broke her leg and we were in the same predicament that you are in. It didn’t take long before she was running around normally. 

A snuffle mat is a good game. You can make them or buy a ready made one. 

Here’s a link with instructions to make and use one. https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/blog/diy-make-your-dog-or-cat-a-snuffle-matt/

You can also do training for”stay “. And “impulse control”. Look up videos for those.


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## doditwo (Nov 7, 2017)

If you don’t want to make a snuffle yourself there’s this one on Amazon.
It’s pretty nice but pricey at $54.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07B2XK9HL/ref=sspa_mw_detail_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1










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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I would do impulse control games like Susan Garrett's "It's Yer Choice" or any of its many variants. I would also do tricks. I think if you do as Click suggested and work off the AKC tricks lists you will find plenty of things that Ginger can do that will work her brain and make it easier for her to stay at an appropriate activity level during her rehab. Once she is ll better you will probably find that she is so good at the tricks that you might take that show on the road and go test for the TKN or even higher.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

you might want to take her out on a carry while you walk your other dog, my Beatrice had two knee surgeries and getting out to see the sights and sounds did wonders for her.


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## doditwo (Nov 7, 2017)

The Sniffiz Smelly Matty arrived this morning and I loaded it up. Mimi hasn’t stopped working on it, she’s been at it for an hour and has unglued herself from me since I put it down. Doesn’t even want to go outside.
Update: the mental effort of trying to get to the puzzles has completely tired her out and right now she’s taking a nap on top of it [emoji38] 

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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Sniffing and processing smells. That's how dogs exercise their brains without using their limbs. I've never heard of this smelly mat thing but it sounds perfect.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Countryboy said:


> Sniffing and processing smells. That's how dogs exercise their brains without using their limbs. I've never heard of this smelly mat thing but it sounds perfect.


Haha. The mat isn’t smelly, at least not when brand new or freshly washed. You hide treats in the crevices so the dog has to find and work to get the treats. Of course you start by dropping treats on the mat and as the dog understands the game you increase the difficulty. You can do something similar with grass, drop treats into tall grass. 

You can also take a beach towel, scatter some treats on top then roll it up. You then teach your dog to unroll the towel to get the treats.


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## doditwo (Nov 7, 2017)

One problem came up with the Smelly Matty last night. I caught Mimi eating a round piece of Velcro that she appeared to think was the most delicious treat.
With puppies there’s always something... sigh.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

doditwo said:


> One problem came up with the Smelly Matty last night. I caught Mimi eating a round piece of Velcro that she appeared to think was the most delicious treat.
> With puppies there’s always something... sigh.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Yup I prefer Nina ottoson’s wooden toys. They are virtually indestructible. I’ve had mine for 10 years. It works best for smaller dogs. 


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## jojogal001 (Feb 19, 2019)

I would say to teach her a job to do for you. When zekefur was little, everything I dropped he had to run to see what it was. So when I dropped something, I would teach him to pick it up and bring it to me and release into my hands. He’s now my service dog, at home only as I am disabled, and whenever something falls, he brings it right to me in my chair and puts it in my hands. It is such a wonderful thing and he enjoys it so much! I used to “drop” things all the time and he just loved helping me. Something falling doesn’t have to always be an accident!


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