10 Fun Brain Games for Dogs

It’s the end of the Christmas season, and things are starting to slow down. Your dog may feel bored if you have fewer activities scheduled and the weather keeps you indoors. Brain Games are a fun way to relieve boredom, increase focus, and prevent behavioural problems in your dog. It’s also a great way to bond and spend time with your dog. In this blog we will discuss 10 Fun Brain Games for Dogs.

10 Fun Brain Games for Dogs:

1. Food Dispensing Toy

Food distributing toys are another entertaining mental game for dogs. Any toy that contains food and needs your dog to work to find out how to get the food is a food dispensing toy. You just load a food dispensing toy with goodies and encourage your dog to play with it. As soon as your dog begins to move the toy around, it will begin distributing rewards.

Food dispensing toys are an excellent method to provide additional mental activity for your dog. They also allow your dog to employ their natural scavenging talents in a fun and difficult way, just like other food-related games. Our dogs spend a lot of time hunting and foraging for food in the wild, so the thought of having to work for their food appeals to them. Food-dispensing toys are a simple approach to mimic those tendencies.

2. The Which Hand Game

Any dog may learn the which hand game rather quickly. Simply conceal one of your dog’s favourite goodies in your left or right hand. Then show your dog both of your closed hands. Allow your dog to smell both of your hands and try to figure out which one contains the treat. It’s up to your dog to guess which hand they put their nose on first. Release the reward if they get it right.

3. The Shell Game

Another basic dog brain game is the shell game. It’s the game where a goodie is concealed inside one cup (or shell) and then shifted around. You’ve undoubtedly seen it before. The shell game will provide your children with lots of cerebral stimulation by allowing them to practise problem-solving abilities.

4. Dog Puzzles

Puzzles are one of my favourite cognitive activities for dogs. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all need your dog to figure out how to acquire the reward (treat). They give your dog with lots of mental stimulation and help reduce boredom, much like other food-related activities.

Dog puzzles are available in a variety of forms and sizes at most pet supply stores. Some of them are fairly difficult, while others are relatively simple. Some may keep Laika occupied for several minutes, while others will just take a few seconds.

5. The Toy Name Game

The name game is another entertaining mental game for dogs, and the ideal way to play it is using your dog’s toys. Do you have a name for your dog’s toys yet? If that’s the case, you’re already ahead of the game. Begin by playing with your dog and one particular toy, naming it as you go. Your dog will associate that spoken name with the chosen toy after some practise and praise. Once your dog has mastered the name of that particular item, you can put their talents to the test by having them pick it from among their other toys. You may move on to teaching your dog the name of another toy once they’ve learned the name of one.

Dogs can learn an average of 165 words each day, so your dog has the ability to learn the names of a variety of toys. My dog knows the names of roughly 30 toys, and selecting specific ones from a pile is a terrific method to improve her problem-solving abilities. Chaser the Border Collie, who is seen in the video below, is an exceptional example who remembers the names of over 1000 toys.

6. Obstacle Course

This is a wonderful indoor or outdoor game to play with your dog! In your garden, the park, or even your living room, mix it up.

Fill a kiddie pool with water or sand to make a familiar site feel new and interesting; add some boxes to create tunnels, platforms, and obstacles; or do anything else to make a familiar environment feel fresh and exciting. Allow your dog to investigate their new surroundings on their own, or use kibble to teach them how to navigate the obstacle course.

7. Hide & Seek

Hide and seek is without a doubt one of my dog Laika’s favourite games. It’s a psychologically engaging and amusing interactive game that you may play with your dog. If your dog doesn’t know how to stay, you can enlist the aid of a friend by having them distract your dog while you go hide.

8. Hot & Cold Game

You’ll use your words and voice tone to help your dog uncover concealed goodies and toys when playing the hot and cold game. Simply hide a reward and use a calm tone while your dog is far away and a more exciting tone when they are getting closer while they seek for it. It’s an excellent game for honing your listening and problem-solving abilities.

9. Muffin Tin Memory Game

Some of the finest dog brain games may be built using common household materials! This simple DIY brain game for dogs will put your dog’s memory to the test.

·         Using a 12- or 6-cup muffin tray, bake the muffins.

·         Fill the muffin cups with treats or kibble and cover them with tennis balls.

Allow your dog to go to work! Their nose will aid in the discovery of kibbles, but it will require some thinking to understand out how to dig the tennis balls out, as well as memory abilities to recall where they have already looked as the tennis balls begin to move about!

10. Stuffed Kong

Using a plush Kong is one of my favourite dog brain games. I like them since they’re a quick and easy method to keep my dog entertained and cognitively active for a long time. You may add some goodies in there to give your dog something to work for, or freeze it overnight if you want something more tough.

Dogs enjoy stuffed Kongs because they are both entertaining and psychologically engaging. Kongs are fantastic since they’re dishwasher safe (and hence simple to clean) and quite durable. My dog hasn’t been able to make a dent in ours despite having owned it for years. Using a plush Kong to keep your dog occupied while you’re at work is also a good idea. Place your filled Kong in the freezer overnight and then give it to your dog as you leave in the morning. For most dogs, a frozen Kong will last at least 30 minutes, and much longer if it’s entirely loaded.

You can’t go wrong with a plush Kong if you want to keep your dog occupied and cognitively active with no effort. I hope this blog helpful for you and you will pick something from this blog 10 Fun Brain Games for Dogs.