Mental Exercise for Dogs

What is exercise?

According to the Meriam Webster Dictionary one definition of exercise is to use repeatedly in order to strengthen or develop.  Physical exercise means repeatedly using muscles to build them up or develop them and mental exercise is using the brain repeatedly to build up or develop it.

The side effect of both physical and mental exercises for dogs is being “tired” which normally also translates into a dog that is less likely to do bad behaviors.

Many people try to physically exercise their dogs each day to make them “tired” and thus better behaved.  This however is not what happens and if we go back to the definition we can see why.  People that physically exercise their dogs to the point of being “tired” are actually “strengthening and developing” their muscles and endurance.  Thus, each day it takes a little more to “tire” the dog out and eventually you will end up with a marathon runner so to speak.

So, what is the key to having a happy “tired” dog yet one that does not require 8 hours of running a day?  The key is a balance between physical exercise and mental exercise as both “tire” the dog out but in different ways.

I am not going to go into detail here on the physical aspects of exercise but please reference the article titled “Physical Exercise for Dogs”.   That article does go over many factors related to physical exercises and what might be an appropriate amount of exercise per day for your dog.

This article will mostly delve into the “mental exercise” aspect that is most often overlooked but is as equally important.

Mental exercises can also help those owners that have some physical disabilities, high energy dogs, very smart dogs, or are working on a time constraints due to work or other situations.  Mental exercises can help bridge the gap and balance the dog’s life, so they are less likely to revert to bad behaviors.

Things to think about when working with mental exercises with your dog

Is your dog food motivated? If not, we can work on getting them there because a large portion of the mental activities are food based.

How “lazy” or “motivated” is your dog?  Does your dog get frustrated easily and just give up?  If so, we can initially work around that to build up your dog’s ability to work through some of that frustration.

How interactive do you want to be, or can you be?  There are many activities that can be done with your dog.  Some require no interaction on your part while others are very interactive and are actual ways to build a bond with your dog.  How much time do you have?  And maybe some days the answer is none while other days you have lots of time to work with your dog.  There are activities for both, and they will be discussed to some extent here.

What are Mental Exercises for Dogs?

So, I am going to categorize the mental exercises into two categories those that require the human to not only be present but also be physically and mentally interacting with the dogs those will be the “Human Interactive Exercises”.

The second category will be the mental exercises that require no human interaction and don’t even need humans present for the dog to still be able to do them.  These will be labeled “Non-Human Interactive Toys”.

For either of these please keep in mind some different factors before starting them.

First, is the age of your dog and although mental games can and should be played will all dogs puppies have a very short attention span so some of these activities might not be for them until they are older.

Second, is the more food motivated your dog is the better for all the activities human or non-human involved.  If your puppy or dog is not very food motivated, I would suggest the following things to make them more interested in the treats you are using.

  1. First, do your mental exercises before feeding times or during them when the dog or puppy is already expecting to get food.
  2. Second, is if you are using their regular kibble as a reward add a few special treats mixed into this.
  3. If you are only using treats mix up the treats within your hand. Many dogs and puppies have preferences and if you find one great.  Sometimes mixing it up though keeps the dogs guessing and they are more interested in them.
  4. As a last resort you can use things like small pieces of cheese, hot dog, chicken and so on. You will see later that these will not be good choices for the non-human interactive toys but can be used for the human interactive toys.

“Human Interactive Exercises”

These are things you can do with your dog that requires not only for you to be present but play an active role with the dogs.

  1. Regular Obedience-Yes this is a mental exercise for the dogs and works their brains. Dogs that are worked in regular obedience even for short periods of time will be more “tired” than those that are not, and generally better behaved.  You don’t have to put a lot of time into this every day and my suggestion is to do lots of very short frequent “sessions” through out the day.  These sessions can consist of just making them sit and wait for food, sitting and waiting before going outdoors, and other quick small tasks.   If you personally do not have time for this, I would suggest looking into something like a board and train program where the trainers do all the initial “hard” work and then all you have to do is keep up with the maintenance.
  1. Trick Training-this is something I highly suggest to lots of people especially families with children. This is a great way to engage children in a constructive manner with the dogs of the household.  Have the kids look up how to train a “trick” on You Tube (supervise if needed) and then have that kid spend 15-20 minutes a day working with the dog.  DO NOT use any regular obedience commands like sit, down, or come.  The children learn the process of training as well as having a sense of accomplishment when the dog succeeds.  And if the dog doesn’t learn the behavior they were shooting for or they give up it is not a big deal as it is not one of the major obedience commands the dog needs.  Have each child get their own separate time each day or per week so that it is fair for everyone.

The only other thing I would suggest to not teach the dogs is Shake, Wave, or High Five. All these behaviors encourage the dogs to paw at people and once they get rewarded for it, they will start pawing at you or guests for attention.

  1. Dog Sports (Rally, Agility, Nosework…)-These are all fun activities that you can do with your dog that work their minds as well as their bodies. Some of these dog sports do not take much time to learn or do while others require more time, effort, money, and equipment.  However, if you are only doing this for fun with your dog and not competitively then you choose exactly how much you do and when.  Most of these disciplines have group classes that can be taken at different locations.  Since Covid in 2020 a lot of these courses have gone online allowing for more freedom on when you teach your dog.

Non-Human Interactive “Toys”

These are things you can do with your dogs that do not require for you to be present and overall, you play no active role with the dogs.

Anytime you give your dog a new item I suggest watching the dog to make sure that they are not able to break the toy into small pieces and or ingest any of it.  After that for all practical purposes these toys are meant for you to give to the dogs and not be involved with them.  In many cases we use these toys for the dogs when we go to work, have to leave them in their kennel for a period of time, or on days when the weather is bad, and you are not able to get them the physical exercise they need.

  1. Chew Toys-This can be things like Antlers, Water Buffalo Horns, Nylabones, Benebones, or any other chew toy that engages the dog for a period of time on their own.
  2. Kong Toys-Most people know about Kong toys but there are many ways to use them. First would be to put peanut butter or something similar and give to the dog as is.  Second would be to take the same peanut butter Kong and put it in the freezer until solid before giving to the dog.  Third would be putting other edible objects inside the Kong toys and freezing them.  I use things like canned dog food, small pieces of chicken or cheese, milk bones or a combination of a few items.

For those with dogs that have sensitive stomachs if you take their regular kibble, cover with hot water then put in the refrigerator overnight then the next morning take the softened kibble and stuff into a Kong toy and freeze that way.

  1. Snuffle Mats or Lick Mats-These are becoming more popular and for dogs that do not chew items these can be great. If your dog or puppy however starts chewing on the materials these are made from, I would not suggest using them.  Both mats the treats are put on them and the dog must hunt for them.  The snuffle mats are like the tie blankets and the Lick mats are rubber mats with small bumps or ridges on them.  In both cases the dogs are searching for the treats in the folds of material or ridges.
  2. Snuffle Mats can be used with most kibble and treats however if your snuffle mat is hard to clean, I would stay away from things like hot dogs, cheese, or chicken.
  3. Lick Mats can be used with more things like peanut butter, cheese whiz, or other things that can be smeared on them and for an extra challenge frozen before giving to the dog.
  1. Puzzle Toys-There are SO many different types of puzzle toys on the market right now that I will not be able to go through them all, but I will put a few tips when searching for ones for your dog.

First is puzzle toys are mentally engaging toys that require the dog to figure out how to get the food or treats out of the toy.  Again, if your dog is not food motivated follow the tips above to work on getting them more food motivated.  Also, most of these toys can be hard to clean so using things like hot dogs, pieces of chicken or cheese is not recommended unless the toy is easy to clean.

  1. Flat “Board” Puzzle Toys-These toys generally are flat and have several wells with coverings over them. The basis of this toy is that the dog figures out how to get the coverings off the wells and gets the treat that is inside.  These come in different levels of difficulty so get those that are appropriate for your dog’s needs.
  2. These are great for puppies or small breed dogs. I do not generally recommend these for large breed dogs as they figure out how to pick the toys up, shake them, and all the treats fall out.  If they don’t do that a lot of them will start chewing on the board itself to get to the treats which destroys the coverings for the wells and makes it not useable.
  1. Balls, Cubes, Rubber Balls or Any Shaped Item-There are tons of these on the market in every shape and size. All of them have some place where you can put food or treats that the dog must then figure out how to get out.  Many have different levels of difficulty so once again get the one most appropriate for your dog and their needs.

These can be used for all ages, breeds, and sizes because there are so many different ones on the market.

For those very destructive dogs I suggest the following two puzzle toys the “Tug a Jug” and the “Bob-a-Lot”

So, as you can see there are many different options when looking for “Mentally” engaging activities for your dog.  I highly suggest mixing up human interactive and non-human interactive mental exercises for the dogs.  If you use or do the same thing all the time these activities no longer become mentally challenging, and the dogs get bored with them.

Remember the object is that the dogs have fun with whatever you do with them!