Training Adventure Dogs

As a professional trainer, one of the things I am always advocating for daily balanced exercise. This means meeting your dog’s daily MENTAL and PHYSICAL exercise needs. More often than not, dog owners make a sincere effort to meet their dog’s physical exercise needs through daily walks, a game of fetch, playtime with another dog, etc. However, not nearly as many dog owners understand the importance of daily mental exercise.

Why does every dog need balanced daily exercise?

There are two things I always highlight to answer this question… first, if you only ever focus on physical exercise, then you will essentially just build an athlete because all you are doing is building endurance in your dog’s physical fitness which can quickly become a losing battle. So many clients will say things like, “we spend an hour at the dog park and my dog still isn’t tired” or “my dog can play fetch all day” and those are easy signs that their dog is not getting balanced exercise.

Second, dogs were bred for jobs – hunting, herding, tracking, etc… they crave mental exercise! If you are experiencing unwanted behaviors such as fence fighting, barking out the windows, counter surfing, destructive chewing, shadow chasing, etc. a large contributing factor is boredom. Boredom is a result of unbalanced exercise or that the dog is simply not getting their daily exercise needs met.

So, I would like to share easy and effective ways to implement daily mental exercise!

Every dog gets fed daily, so why not make the most out of your dog’s meals and utilize it to meet your dog’s mental exercise needs? It’s a win-win! If your dog is currently “free fed” meaning that they have access to food all day or if you are currently feeding at set meal times out of a bowl… I challenge you to put that bowl away and replace meal times with one of the following 5 ways… so that you can make your dog’s food – FUN!

A pro tip, if your dog has been fed through a bowl consistently, they will most likely be reluctant to “working” for the food – it is imperative that you don’t give in or give up, when your dog is bored or hungry enough, they will engage with the toys or activity that will lead to their meal. On the flip side, it is also important to set your dog up for success. If this is brand new to you and your dog, make it easy at first to make it fun. Later, you can always add in more challenging toys or activities! Below, I will list the ideas in order of easiest to most challenging.

1. Training Sessions! This is a great way to build food motivation and to make food fun for every dog! This doesn’t mean you need to do obedience or even tricks… you can simply toss a kibble or two away from you on the ground, let your dog go get it then recall them to you and reward them! Repeat until the meal is done.
   • Added challenge: after rewarding your dog for recalling back to you – ask for a Sit, Down, or a trick and reward that – then toss another kibble away from you!

1. Dry Food Toy! These are great brain games because they reward your dog constantly simply for engaging with the toy. I personally prefer quiet toys (made of soft rubber) but whatever floats your boat! You don’t even need to purchase toys, you can DIY your own food puzzles and toys
   • DIY Food Puzzle: Take a cupcake sheet, put your dog’s kibble in all 12 molds and cover with chuck it and/or tennis balls. Put on the ground and let your dog figure out how to get their food
   • Added challenge: split your dog’s meal up into multiple toys!

1. Frozen Toys! These are great for busy households because you can prep a week’s worth of “meals” at once and then just grab one out of the freezer at your convenience, this is definitely one of my personal favorites
   • Added challenge: having a variety of types of toys versus just one kind of toy. If your dog is a safe chewer, you can also put a bullystick, duck foot, or trachea down the middle of the toy before you freeze it

1. Search Games! There are all kinds of search games for any breed with any skill level – all that matters is that it challenges your dog to use their nose to find their food.

1. Indoor Obstacle Fun! This is a more challenging but a super fun and effective way to combine some physical activity with meal time to challenge your dog’s brain. You will create 1-4 obstacles in the house that are safe and stable for the dog so that no one gets hurt or scared. Reward for trying , for getting through each obstacle and/or toss food on or under the object(s). Just have fun with it!

The bottom line is that we all have to feed our dogs every day, so we might as well make the most out of it! Comment below and share your ideas for making food fun for your dog(s)!

We have an inspiring sticker for Meeting your dog’s Needs. Check it out on our sticker shop!