Mental stimulation activities and games promote the cognitive health of our furry friends and help prevent them from developing destructive behaviors. In today’s article, we’ll show you simple homemade games to stimulate your dog’s mind using items and materials you already have at home.
Index:
- Why is it important to stimulate your dog’s mind?
- Interactive games for dogs: homemade treat dispensers
- Homemade games to stimulate the sense of smell: the hidden treasure
- Mental games for dogs with balls and muffin trays
Why is it important to stimulate your dog’s mind?
Dogs are very intelligent animals that need both mental and physical exercises. Boredom in dogs not only causes frustration and a lack of enthusiasm, but it can also lead to aggressive and destructive behaviors, such as excessive barking or chewing on furniture. A simple and inexpensive way to entertain your dog is by creating homemade and interactive games. Besides saving money and reusing materials you already have at home, homemade games for dogs allow you to adapt the toy to the size and specific preferences of your furry friend. Below we’ll show you how to make some simple toys that will help stimulate your dog’s mind and keep them busy while you’re at home.
Interactive games for dogs: homemade treat dispensers
Cardboard tubes from toilet paper or paper towel rolls can become excellent homemade treat dispensers. A very simple way to reuse these tubes and turn them into interactive games is to fill them with a soft snack suitable for dogs, such as cream cheese or peanut butter (without salt or added sugar).
This way, your four-legged companion will have to figure out how to lick the food without the tube rolling away or collapsing. To increase the difficulty, you can fold the two ends of the tube before giving it to your dog. And if you want the game to last longer, you can try freezing the dispenser filled with the treat.
It’s very important to choose a healthy reward and always monitor the number of snacks you give to your furry friend.
Remember that treats should not exceed 10% of the total daily calories.
If a paper roll is too small for your pet or if you prefer to use harder treats, you can use an empty cardboard box to adapt this game, following these instructions:
- Make some holes in the box, slightly larger than the size of the treats.
- Place the edible rewards inside and close the box by securing the lid with adhesive tape.
- Your faithful companion will have to move the container around to make the treats fall through the holes.
- To modify the challenge and increase the difficulty, you can change the size of the box. Keep in mind that these homemade games are designed for indoor play and under supervision. Since these dispensers are disposable, you should watch that your dog doesn’t eat the cardboard pieces that may come off during play.
Homemade games to stimulate the sense of smell: the hidden treasure
Another way to stimulate your dog’s mind is through scent games. You only need a set of empty containers, such as yogurt cups or shoeboxes. Spread the containers on the floor and place some smelly treats inside them. Then, let your dog sniff all the containers in search of the hidden treasure. At first, you can make the task easier for your dog by making some holes in the top of the containers. As your furry friend gets the hang of the game, you can increase the level of difficulty by placing only one treat in one of the containers and distributing them in different places in the room. Keep in mind that the more containers your pet has to search through, the greater the challenge will be.
Mental games for dogs with balls and muffin trays
Mental games for dogs promote the cognitive health of our furry friends. With several muffin trays and a few balls, you can create an interactive game that will keep your faithful companion mentally active during long play sessions. If your dog is medium or large, you can use tennis balls and standard muffin trays or individual molds. If your dog is a small or toy breed, it’s better to use ping pong balls and mini muffin trays.
However, to avoid choking risks, don’t use balls that are too small for your pet’s size.
When you have the materials ready, follow these steps:
- Place the muffin trays in a line in a spot accessible to your dog.
- Put a treat in each of the molds.
- Let your four-legged friend grab the snacks with their mouth or paws.
- When your dog understands that there are tasty rewards inside the molds, cover all the molds with the balls.
- Your dog will have to remove each ball to reach the edible rewards underneath. If you want to increase the difficulty of this interactive game, place treats only in some molds and cover all the molds with balls. Your furry friend will then have to use their sense of smell to discover where the treats are hidden.
Homemade games are a simple and inexpensive way to stimulate your dog’s mind. With materials we all usually have at home, you can create simple games to keep your furry friend busy. These interactive games not only entertain your dog but also help prevent behavioral problems such as chewing on furniture and excessive barking.
