Search games for dogs

 There is a huge variety of mind games for dogs. In this article, we will focus on the simplest games that are easy to organize at home.

Why does a dog need mind games?

Every dog ​​needs both physical and mental exercise. If we talk about physical activity, then the dog, regardless of its size, needs at least 2 hours of walking per day. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about the Yorkshire Terrier or the Irish Wolfhound, the phlegmatic Chow Chow or the choleric Terrier. If there is an opportunity to walk even more – wonderful! During the walk, the dog gets tired physically, receives impressions that the brain then processes – so that walks tire the brain to some extent. But, unfortunately, you will not be full by exercise alone. Let’s draw a parallel with people: if we run around playing football or go to the gym – it’s great, we get pleasure, we produce endorphins, we get tired, but this is not enough. If we go to the gym every day, most likely we will still get bored, we will want to read a book, go to a museum or chat with interesting people, or at least play Sudoku. Dogs, like humans, need mental stimulation. 

Some statistics: 15 minutes of mental load is equivalent to 1,5 hours of active walking.

 This does not mean that we can work out with the dog for 15 minutes, and then walk for only half an hour. The dog still needs to run and perform species-typical behavior: sniff, communicate with fellow tribesmen (unless, of course, your pet is trying to eat them). But if he tries to eat other dogs, I, as a specialist, believe that it is more honest with him to correct this behavior. Let not so that your dog plays with fellow tribesmen, but at least in order to minimize the constant stress that both of you are in while walking, looking for enemies. Unfortunately, our life is such that we often work 8-12 hours a day, therefore, we are absent from home until 14 pm. A difficult daily test for our pet: after all, the bladder is filled in 5 hours, and feces accumulate in 8 hours. Dogs older than 12 months (later in infantile breeds) can tolerate up to 12 hours. I will not dwell on those who walk their dog only once a day, and the dog is patient and does not go to the toilet at home. I believe that such cases should be equated with animal cruelty. Now I have stopped only on the physiological aspect. However, prolonged loneliness also affects the psychological state of our pet. Studies show that dogs with a normal nervous system can easily withstand loneliness that lasts up to 6 hours. Left without company for more than 6 hours, the dog begins to experience discomfort. By the way, in the Scandinavian countries there is a law: if your dog is left alone at home for more than 6 hours, you are obliged to hire a dog-sitter, or a dog sitter. In Belarus, the idea of ​​​​turning to dog-sitters and dog walkers (people who walk your dog in your absence), which is very cool. I myself, when I leave for field seminars, invite a dog walker to my dog ​​for walking, and on days when my husband works 12 hours, a dog sitter comes to Elbrus for 30 minutes in the afternoon – just to sit with him, play in educational games.

Dogs need mind games. But not all games are created equal 🙂

3 main ways to entertain your dog

With our busy schedule, we can’t always give the dog the opportunity to get enough experiences, but there are ways available to everyone that can be easy and fun to keep the dog at home.

1. Trick training. Firstly, it is fun and can be fun for both the owner and the dog. Secondly, the more a dog can do, the better. After all, when a dog collects pyramids or hugs a plush bunny, it’s cute. In addition, we can always boast of the dog’s skills in front of guests or, in extreme cases, in our unstable economic situation, show a performance in the square and collect supplies for a rainy day. 🙂 In the following articles, we will talk about how to teach your pet useful and interesting tricks.
2. Shaping – when a dog plays a guessing game. It is fun and does not require active action on the part of the owner.
3. Interactive games are all sorts of combinations of mazes and boxes that the dog must learn to open in order to earn a treat. Now the market offers a large number of production interactive games. The most famous companies that produce such games are: Trixie, Karlie, Nina Ottosson, Kong. Belarusian pet stores already offer a fairly large selection of such games. But such games can be made with your own hands from improvised materials. Interactive games also include search games. We will consider the ideas of homemade games below.

Simple educational (search) games for dogs at home

• The simplest educational search game. Take a piece of treat, clamp it in a fist so that a small hole remains, and show the dog two fists. She must smell by smell which of the fists contains the delicacy. In the future, the sniffing of the cams can be “put” on the “Search” or “Sniff” command.
• When the dog has learned to choose the right cam, we complicate the task for her: we take disposable plastic cups (not transparent), make a small hole in the bottom and play thimbles. We put a treat under one of the cups, and let the dog determine under which of the cups it is hidden. The number of cups is gradually increased (starting with two).
• You can take an empty shoe box, fill it halfway with crumpled paper (ideally, take toilet paper, and the cheapest one without flavors) and throw a sack of food in there – let the dog get it. In the future, you can complicate the task: cover the box with a lid or make a lattice of fabric ribbons in the upper part so that the dog has to stick its muzzle in there and fight obstacles.
• Sometimes the owners complain that the dog literally sucks in food. In stores, you can buy special slow-feeders (slow feeders) – special labyrinth bowls where the right amount of food is thrown, but the dog is not able to swallow it instantly. As a result, what the dog usually eats in 3 seconds, she has to eat out within a few minutes. As such a slow feeder, you can use a plastic or rubber mat-lattice, which is usually placed under the mat at the front door: pour food into the holes of the mat – and voila.
• Candy game. We take squares of paper (you can use toilet paper again) and twist them into a feeder or several feeders. And we scatter these “sweets” around the room (you can put everything in a box, but be prepared for the fact that the paper will still be scattered around the room). The only “but”: I would advise using dry food, and not natural products – the “natural” gives juice that soaks the paper, a greedy dog ​​can swallow the “candy” along with the wrapper. On the other hand, even if the dog eats some pulp, it’s not a big deal. Interestingly, in this game, dogs are divided into 2 categories: some unwrap each “candy” with their paws and teeth, while others take a candy in their mouths, bite out a piece with a skillful movement and spit out a piece of paper. I call them “seeds”. And so they do it quickly and deftly it turns out that you are amazed. “Candy” I usually prescribe for dogs with separation anxiety or apartment wrecking: 10 “candies” the dog eats within 5 minutes, so you not only buy time, but also give the dog a good mental challenge. The dog will eat 30 pieces of food – and is already tired.
• You can collect toilet paper rolls, put them upright in a shoe box, and toss a handful of treats inside.

• Instead of toilet paper rolls, you can use wine corks, just ventilate them thoroughly first.
• You can put a treat in a toilet paper roll and seal the roll on both sides. It’s better to let the dog chew on bushings than linoleum or wallpaper!
• You can take a cardboard container from under the eggs, put a treat in each recess, and on top – a tennis ball or just paper crumpled into a ball. This is the simplest game for very timid dogs. In fact, all that is required of them is to shove the ball with their nose, and the reward is received. Then you can close the container – and let the dog chew it.
• Take the forms for baking cupcakes – a tray for several small niches – put goodies there and cover with the same balls.
• If the soul really needs a swing, you can install a children’s pool with plastic balls and throw goodies there too. Although it is not known what will be more important – a treat or balls. Well, since there are already balls for the pool, you can fill the container with them, and not the pool – the scope, of course, is more modest, but the dog will be happy to dig in the container, fishing out pieces of food between the balls.
• You can take a bamboo rug or a yoga mat, lay out a path of goodies (first – a feed every 5 – 10 cm), and then twist it. For starters, we show the dog one treat lying on the rug, it begins to spin the rug with its nose and self-reward. Then the distance between the pieces increases, and then the jackpot remains (a few pieces of goodies) at the very end. In parallel, you can teach the dog the command “Slave, spin the rug!” 🙂
• You can take old socks and put treats in them.
• You can use old jeans or T-shirts, towels – crumple them, put food in the folds, and let the dog figure it out.
• A great game that dogs love a lot: snuff mat. We take a grate for washing or, for large dogs, a mesh that is placed under the rug at the front door. We cut strips 2 cm wide from an old flannel shirt or fleece sweater, old jeans. And we impose knots on each lattice in the grid. On the reverse side, we get a kind of soft “hedgehog” of fabric strips, where we can throw a little feed. This will keep the dog busy for a long time. (You can search for “snuffle mat”).
• For especially fanatical owners who love to do something with their own hands, I recommend sewing developmental rugs with various pockets, fabric hedgehogs, etc. (You can search for “snuffle puzzle mat”).
• We throw a piece of food in front of the dog and say: “Look.” Then, gradually, the pieces are thrown farther, or hide, and the dog is seated for holding in another room. You can hide toys.
• You can play hide and seek – offer the dog to find a certain family member who, when discovered, gives the dog a treat.
• You can use small plastic bottles, for example, 0.33 liters. Pour the feed into the bottle, leaving the lid open. While the dog shakes the bottle, the feeders get enough sleep from time to time.
• Another option for playing with a bottle: cut a hole in the side plane of the bottle, with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the feeder. We fill the bottle with food, twist the lid, give it to the dog. While she rolls the bottle, the food spills out.
• You can drill a hole in a tennis ball (just be sure to rinse it from the inside before filling it with food): the dog rolls the ball and earns food.

Dogs get great pleasure from search games

 Such games not only amuse the dog, but also teach perseverance and help fight frustration. 

CAREFULLY! Be extremely careful when using toys whose parts can be harmful to your pet’s health if swallowed, such as plastic bottles, tennis balls, or cloth toys!

 Before leaving your dog alone with such toys, make sure that the dog will not try to swallow a piece of such a toy.