9 Ways to Boost Your Dog's Mind

If your dog is restless, you should exercise the pet's nervous system with physical and mental activity to calm it down. Mental stimulation will enrich your dog's life, as well as give him the opportunity to do something meaningful so that he feels you needs him. And because these activities ward off boredom, they also reduce the likelihood of dogs developing behavioral problems, such as excessive chewing or barking.

So, if you're looking for simple yet effective ways to train your dog's brain, here are 9 ways to give him the mental stimulation he requires.

1. Get your dog to get himself lunch.

Usually, domestic dogs do not get their own food: most dog owners simply place a bowl in front of the pet and let him eat unhindered. There would be nothing wrong with this, if it were not so far from the nature of the dog — the getter. So if you want to stimulate your pet's mental capacity, start by changing the feeding times, and instead of just giving him food, make the feeding a fun game.

For example, use a toy that needs to be stuffed with dog food. To get food, your pet will have to try — roll and tear it — to show its natural qualities.

2. Let the dog sniff.

The walk is one of the most exciting parts of a dog day. Give your pet a nose to explore the environment while walking. In this case, a walk for your dog will turn into an adventure, and new neural connections are formed in the gray matter of the pet, for storing information about new smells — this is a prerequisite for the development of cognitive abilities of all intelligent creatures on Earth.

3. Let the dog play with puzzle toys. 

Puzzle toys are an effective and easy way to develop your dog's cognitive abilities. Interactive toys such as jigsaw puzzles will give your pet a sense of being useful. Developing this feeling will help you deal with your pet's problematic behavior. 

Since puzzle toys activate the dog's instincts, their use gives dogs a sense of self-confidence. This can reduce the anxiety of dogs with attention deficit disorder.

4. Teach your dog new tricks. 

How many tricks does your dog know? To the list of basic commands "paw", "place", "no" and "to me", add a few new tricks.

Teach your dog new tricks and commands; novelty stimulates the dog's mental processes — this is especially beneficial for frightened dogs. Exercise will help increase your dog's confidence and strengthen the bond between you and your pet. Learning new commands will also teach your dog to concentrate on one subject and suppress his impulsive behavior.

Not sure where to start? One of the favorite dog tricks is weaving between the legs. While this trick looks complicated, it is actually one of the easiest tricks to learn.

5. Play games to train dog’s nose.

If your dog is already using his nose to find things, then help him hone his natural skills.

Hide its favorite treats, first within the same room, then throughout the house, and finally on the street. The logic of the game is such that starting with simple tasks, each next one should be more difficult than the previous one. Praise your pet for every success.

6. Teach your dog to bring items.

Does your dog know the names of toys? The first step is to make sure your dog knows the name of the item you want him to bring to you. Start with one toy: put, for example, a teddy bear in front of the dog and name the toy "bear." As soon as the dog touches the bear, reward the pet.

The second step is to teach the dog the command "fetch." Place a toy in front of you and tell the dog to fetch. As soon as the pet picks up the bear from the floor, gently take the toy away from and encourage it. By gradually increasing the distance between yourself and the bear, you must teach the dog to bring a toy to you from another room. When you get your dog to consistently execute a command with one toy, gradually add new ones.

7. Freedom of action.

By empowering your dogs to make their own decisions, you will help your pet increase its mental capacity.

It is about giving the dog freedom of action for a limited time in a confined space (this can be a room, a garden or a walking park). Start by placing boxes on the ground and, without prompting, let your dog explore and decide what to do with them. 

8. Obstacle course.

Teach your dog to overcome the obstacle course. Agility is a good psychological workout for four-legged friends. Any objects can be used as obstacles — boxes, wheels, bags, toys, furniture. Teach your dog to crawl under the covers, jump over chairs and dodge bags!

The advantage of such an activity is that the dog has the opportunity to show its natural and acquired qualities, as a result of which the entire cognitive process is activated in the pet — the ability to learn new things and cooperate (read — be useful) with its owner.

9. Communicate with your pet.

Dogs love to play with their owners, but apart from physical interactivity with the owner, dogs are no stranger to emotional involvement. In moments of rest, communication with a dog is the smallest, but disproportionately important, that an owner can do for his pet in order to activate its emotional intelligence. The latter is an indispensable part of solving problems such as impulsive behavior of dogs, self-doubt, fears and uncontrollable behavior.