Short on time?
Work smarter not harder when working your dog.
Did you know that most dogs require mental stimulation daily in order to appropriately feel fulfilled? Giving our dogs regular opportunities to problem solve and be successful can build their confidence while also tiring them out.
Here are some of our favorite ways to work "smarter, not harder" when it's time to work our dogs!
1) Sniffing:
Go on a sniffari!
Bring your pup to a new to them location or take a different route and allow your pup all of the time they desire to sniff until their heart is content. If possible, put them on a long line or allow them to be off leash where allowed and safe to do so and allow them to sniff and move about freely. Research shows that about 20 minutes of sniffing is equivalent to 1 hour of physical activity for most dogs.
Snuffle Mat/ Activity Mat
Set up your pups favorite snuffle or activity mat to engage their senses and make them work for their food. We especially love setting up snuffle mats on crummy weather days.
2) Problem Solving
Puzzles
of all varieties can be found in most pet shops and online these days. From simple sliding movements to more complex, multi-step movements, dogs must problem solve and persist in order to find the hidden snacks within the puzzle. Puzzles require a lot of mental and emotional energy for pups and can leave them satiated after just a few rounds.
Bonus: Create Your Own Puzzle
Create a puzzle at home by using your shredable recyclables. Place some pieces of kibble and/or treats within a folded paper towel tube and place it inside of a brown paper bag with some kibble and instruct your pup to "Go Find." Allow them to shred and tear recyclables, always supervising to ensure safety and that nothing unsafe is being swallowed.
Have a head of lettuce or cabbage? Sprinkle kibble in between the layers, perhaps pushing a few treats deeper within the head and allow your pup to "Go Find." If they eat any of the lettuce and cabbage, don't fret! They're perfectly safe, but can be a little messy.
Training Exercises
Run through a few known cues with your pup, varying in order and speed in which you ask for them, treating and rewarding often. Example: "Penny: Sit. Yes! High Five? Yes! Spin? Yes! Middle? Yes! Down? Yes! Sit? Yes! Down? Yes!"
Change the order you ask for cues, change the speed you request cues, change your tone and volume, as all can add to the challenge of what your asking from your pup and allow them to work their minds while proofing their skills.
Capturing Behavior
Another option to work smarter, not harder while also training your dog is to simply pay your dog for behaviors you like and want to see repeated as you go throughout your day. Put their kibble and some high incentive snacks in your pocket and each time they look to you, walk loose leash, check in without being asked, make a good decision (like ignoring another dog walking by, ignoring a person trying to engage them, staying focused on you, etc.) Mark and Reward their behaviors you like and want to see repeated with "YES! Good ____ !" and a piece of kibble or treat.
This can be used to both teach/ capture new behaviors as well as to proof your training of known cues.
* Engaged Dogs highly recommends capturing behaviors you like and want to see repeated AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE as this helps increase your clear communication with your dog around your preferences while also helping them generalize and proof their skills in real time and in a variety of environments and scenarios.
Dogs are ALWAYS watching us and learning, whether we are intentionally teaching or not.
We might as well capitalize on this knowledge and work smarter, not harder in our training as well. *
3) Eating/ Licking/Rooting
LickiMats/ LickiBowls/Kongs/ Toppls/ Chew King/ Treat Toys/Puzzle Bowls
The variety of listed treat dispensing type toys above require dogs to lick at textured surfaces in order to get some sort of treat off of the surface.
Licking is very soothing for dogs and requires more energy than many humans realize. Consider smearing a small bit of peanut butter, wet food, kibble soaked in broth to make it spreadable, some sugar free plain yogurt, apple sauce, or any thing else your dog might enjoy.
To add challenge and novelty to this activity, consider freezing the mat/ bowl/ toy with your pups' special treat in it.
Play the 'Go Find' game
All Engaged Dogs know and love the Go Find game and several variations of it. From a simple scatter feed on the floor, to adding challenge by sprinkling kibble and treats in the grass/ low lying bushes/ a new novel area, we can increase the challenge and novelty of the game.
Need to stay inside but still want to play?
Sit in a spot in the middle of your home. Throw a piece of kibble a short distance away from you and tell your pup to "Go Find!" After they eat the kibble and look back to you, Mark their eye contact with YES! When they come to you for a reward, (because you used your Marker word of YES! and they equate this to "Yes I like that behavior and want to see it repeated. Food is on the way as payment for performing the preferred behavior.) give them a higher incentive treat, before then repeating the game.
To add challenge, throw the kibble further away from you and change where you throw it each repetition to get your dog really running around to fetch the kibble and returning to you quickly. To combine this game with building your recall, simply capture their return behavior with "Fido: Come!" as they look to you. Mark and Reward when they return to you with "YES! Good Come!" before repeating the game and throwing a piece of kibble away.
What are your favorite ways to work smarter, not harder when working your dog? Share with us in the comments or on social media!
Follow us on all platforms: @Engaged_Dogs
@SaraJaneGage
@LiveEngaged
@PennyGraceGage
@EngagedFitness
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