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How do I activate my dog ​​mentally?

All dog owners are aware of the importance of exercising your dog. But almost no dog will be stimulated enough by just walking in the woods for approximately an hour every day. Mental stimulation is something that is at least as important, if not more important, for the dog to feel good in both body and mind. There are an infinite number of different ways that you can stimulate your dog mentally - below we will take up some examples:

Dog games 

There are endless dog games where the dog, for example, has to lift blocks, push something or spin on plates to get food or treats. These dog games are often available in different degrees of difficulty and are very good mental activation for your dog. Nina Ottosson makes many different activation games for dogs - see them HERE.

Activation Blankets

There are also so-called activation blankets that you can either hide sweets or food in which the dog can then search for. These blankets are often fluffy or have protruding pieces of fleece where the dog has to work with his sense of smell to find the treats. An activation blanket is also a very good aid if you have a dog that has a tendency to eat its food too fast!

Activation Bowls & Toys

There are also different types of bowls and toys that you can either feed food or treats in, which at the same time activate your dog. It can, for example, be a hollow ball that the dog must push in the right direction for the food / candy to fall out. Or a food bowl that is designed as a maze, which makes it trickier to get the food. You can also make your own activation toy from for example a plastic bottle - put some pieces of candy in the bottle and let the dog try getting them out.

Search!

Do you feel that you may not want to spend unnecessary money on various activation toys? Then a simple activation game is to teach the dog to search or look for different things. It could be looking for treats that you hid around your house, or why not a favorite toy? Dogs have an incredible sense of smell and appreciate being able to use their noses to find the right thing. Lay out a few pieces of candy in different places in a room - then ask the dog to search. The first few times you may need to guide your dog, but soon it will understand what you mean and manage on its own!

Contact Exercises

Contact exercises are also something that promotes the cooperation between you and your dog, while giving the dog mental stimulation. An example of a contact exercise can be holding a treat in the palm of your hand - if the dog tries to take the treat , you close your hand. Repeat until the dog chooses to seek eye contact with you - then you reward the dog! What we want to teach the dog is to look at you = candy. You can use this for several times a day in different situations to get your dog's attention!

Body Control

Another exercise that you can do with a dog is to practice body control. In fact, there are many dogs who are not aware that they have two hind legs - yes you heard right! Some dogs may therefore need to train hind leg control. If you have a low and stable stool at home, you can teach the dog to back up with its hind legs on the stool. Some dogs may find it a little strange or unpleasant, so be careful! When the dog has learned this, you can take it further and teach the dog to walk in a circle around the stool, with its hind legs still on it. This is then something you can take with you when you go out for a walk - balance on a fallen tree, jump up on a stump, put your paws on different objects and so on.

Hope you got some useful tips from us and that you make sure to activate both you and your dog mentally in the future! It is only your own imagination that puts a stop to it. And finally - do not get angry if the dog makes a mistake or may not understand. Test again and reward properly when the dog does the right thing.