Keeping your Dog Mentally and Intellectually Active

Keeping your Dog Mentally and Intellectually Active

All animals have brains which require regular stimulation to stay sharp and health. Humans do things like finish crossword puzzles, read a book, or engage in conversation. What about your dog? Besides regular physical exercise to stay in shape, it also requires its intellectual component to remain active as much as possible. To do so, you should you should give your dog some special mental exercises to perform, no matter what age the dog is.

One of the reasons why you would want a mentally sharp and intelligent dog is so it can better handle itself and behave in various situations. The smarter the animal is, the less likely it will get in any serious trouble. Also more intelligent dogs make better pets and companions. Don't forget about all the tricks you can teach it too.

The first point to remember is that with most physical type of exercises there is an aspect of mental. The reason is most physical exercises go hand in hand with mental stimulation, such as alertness. A dog playing catch, for example, is on its toes and alert to see where the ball will be going in order to properly fetch it. However, as much fun as a game of catch is, it isn't enough to properly train the dog's mind. You'll need to perform more complex mental exercises.

Try to pick out dog supplies like toys which are great at motivating mental activity and also the dog play with them both indoors and outdoors. Some of the more popular supplies are puzzles that require the animal to figure out in order to retrieve some sort of prize, usually a treat of some sort. These types of toys work by getting the dog to think a certain way in order to receive its reward. You'd be surprised how quickly your dog can figure some of these puzzles out when properly motivated.

There are other games out there you can have your dog do everyday to better develop its mind. My personal favorite is a good game of chase. While you may think that it only requires some running around, the truth is it is an easy and fun way to teach the dog how to follow you. Start by taking a toy or blanket that the dog greatly values and run away with the dog giving chase. Let the dog catch you and then chase it as it runs with its toy or blanket. The dog mentally develops strategies to catch you and exercises its brain in the process.

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