Info > Training > Challenging your dogs mind I


Description of problem:
My dog is extremely energetic, no matter how long our walks are, he doesn't get tired.

Reason for the behaviour:
Dogs are highly intelligent beings and they need mental stimulation to be happy. Here are a few activity exercises that are good for them without being stressful.
Exercises:

Problem Solving A wolf that wonders across the terrain, will sooner or later encounter a problem. The wolf will not have a nice, loving owner that will help it out, it has to manage on its own. The most common problem is to decide how to outmanoeuvre its prey. Another problem can be to negotiate the terrain. The wolf might want to cross a wild stream to get to a prey that he can feel the cent of on the other side. That would become a problem of getting around the object, in order to get to the other side. The conclusion would be that our dogs can never get enough of problem solving exercises. It is natural for them and it will make them grow into more self-confident dogs. As dog owners we have to learn not to rush to our dogs side and help them before they even get around to trying to solve their problems. If you have the time, try to let your dog solve the problem it self, like getting untangled from its lead or finding the hole in the fence where they got through to the other side. Or maybe get to that toy that fell between the stairs. In addition, we can give our dogs some extra, home made, problems.

Finding treats under a cloth
Take a clean old towel or cloth that you don¹t need anymore and put it on the floor with a treat underneath it at the very edge of the towel. This is to ensure that the dog will find the treat and that he/she won¹t give up and loose his self-confidence. Continue this training by putting the treat further and further in under the towel. When your dog can handle this, it is time to make the task a bit more tricky. Put the towel flat on the floor, put a treat at one of the corners, on top off it. Start rolling the towel up, diagonally, placing treats strategically along the rim of the roll. Stop when you have reached halfway and the towel is at its longest. Present the dog to the towel from the tip of the triangle that is left. Now let your dog sniff up the treats and roll the towel up. Some dogs don¹t understand the exercise and need your verbal support, so try to encourage him/her to continue sniffing. When your dog understands this exercise, you can roll the towel all the way to the other tip, leaving you with a towel full of treats (don¹t overdo it, even if you have a big towel, don¹t put more than about 15 treats in peanut size, in the towel). Let the dog figure out how to unroll the entire towel to get to the treats. When your dog knows this exercise, you can roll the entire towel up with treats in it, and try to make a knot out of the rolled towel. It shouldn¹t be a very tight knot to begin with, we still want the dog to manage the task.
Advanced
When your dog can handle the knotted towel, even when you have started tying the knot really tight, it is time for you to get inventive. Put the knotted towel with the treats in it in a box or a bucket or hide it somewhere in the house. Maybe you could put it underneath another towel or put it up in a tree in the garden, just high enough for your dog to reach. At this stage of the training it is up to you where you want to take the exercise!

Balancing The dog is a direct descendant to the wolf and wolfs travel great distances when they are out trekking. Up hills and down hills, over rocks, under branches and over streams. Just like the wolf, the dog has an amazing sense of balance. Exercising your dogs balance is really important and it is both a mental and physical exercise.

One word of warning before you start - be careful with this kind of exercise if your dog is still a puppy, under a year old, or if your dog has got any physical problems like hip dysplasia.

This is what you can do When you are out in the forest or a in a park with your dog, try to find a fallen tree, a slanting rock or a low park bench. Try to get your dog to climb up and balance on the object. But do it without any force, just coax your dog. I would use a treat or a favourite toy. If your dog seems reluctant, make sure you take it very slowly and praise your dog for putting one paw on the object. Keep training with getting that one paw up on the tree or rock. You will notice after a couple of training sessions that your dog will carefully try to put a second paw up. If he/she does give him/her masses of praise. Continue exercising until your dog is up on the tree or rock with all four legs. This may take a couple of weeks training, if your dog is reluctant, but keep trying, coaxing your dog to get up on the object. Never, never help the dog up physically that will not only destroy the exercise, it will also turn into a fragile situation that can make your dog insecure. Be careful Also be careful so you don¹t choose a tree that is wet and slippery or a rock that is too high. Safety should always come first. This should be a fun exercise for your dog, not a tedious task, so make it fun!

*Good luck with your training!*

Resource (where you can find more articles): www.dogbasics.co.uk/articles/activity.html