Mental stimulation is just as necessary for dogs as physical exercise. Here’s everything you need to know.
As pet owners, we may only think about the physical exercise our pet is getting. While physical exercise is a pillar of pet ownership, mental stimulation for dogs is just as important.
Games and puzzles exercise dogs’ brains and require them to work through complex problems to find their reward — usually a treat. Dogs need enrichment for their overall health and well-being to prevent boredom, frustration, anxiety, and unhappiness.
Dogs need mental stimulation and are smarter than most people give them credit for. They learn verbal cues, social cues, and hand gestures, and they can feel emotions. Certain breeds — like German shepherds — are working breeds that are typically high-energy and need a lot of physical and mental exercise to keep them stimulated.
Mental stimulation has numerous advantages for dogs and their owners. Here are some of the key benefits:
Dogs thrive on mental as well as physical activity. Without enough enrichment, they can become anxious or invent their own “jobs,” which often show up as undesirable behaviors. High-drive working breeds are especially prone to boredom if they don’t have purposeful tasks or puzzles to solve.
Even if your dog gets plenty of walks, long hours alone or a lack of interactive play can leave them restless and frustrated. Providing them with cognitive activities that challenge their mind, training games, or scent-work activities can help. Watch for these common warning signs that your dog’s brain needs more to do:
Your dog may be experiencing a combination of boredom and separation anxiety, which can also cause some of these behaviors. Speak with your vet about whether or not their behavior is induced by separation anxiety. They can help you determine the best way to approach the situation.
Providing mental stimulation for your dog doesn’t have to break the bank or be fancy. Activities like playing ‘Find It’ or ‘Hide and Seek’, or taking them on scent walks cost nothing and can be enjoyed anywhere.
Alternatively, there’s a range of budget-friendly enrichment, puzzle, and chew toys to choose from. Whether you’re on a tighter budget or can be more flexible, your dog can still get the mental engagement they need without hurting your wallet.
Here are some ways you can provide mental stimulation for your dog.
Hide and seek is an easy and free way to keep your dog mentally engaged and excited. Just like the human version of hide and seek, dogs have to use their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to find you.
If you’re playing this by yourself with your dog, they’ll need to know “stay” so you can hide in another room. It may be easier if you have another person to help keep your dog in one spot while you hide. Call your dog and see if they can find you.
“Find it” is a great game to play with your dog, similar to hide-and-seek. Put your dog in their crate or a different room while you hide treats.
Hide treats (or toys) in places around your house and let your dog out, telling them to “find it.” Let your dog sniff your hand or give them a treat so they know what to look for. Start by hiding the treats in easy places. As you play it more, you can up the difficulty.
If you walk your dog on the same route every day, you’ll know when they get bored. Doing a scent walk or trying a new route is a great way to give them an exciting new routine. Scent walks allow your dog to sniff and explore wherever they want.
Sniffing walks can decrease stress, release dopamine, and keep them mentally stimulated. Try pairing a new route with a sniffing walk and change it up each day. This keeps things interesting for you and your dog.
👉 The length of the leash matters. In a field study of 61 dogs, those on longer leashes sniffed 2 to 3 times more than dogs on a shorter leash. This increase in sniffing led to a decrease in the dog’s pulse, even on longer walks.
Enrichment toys are a great way to keep your dog stimulated emotionally and keep their brains engaged. They help them stay calm, distract them from stress, provide them with a limited amount of treats, and keep them occupied.
Enrichment toys can include dog puzzle toys, snuffle mats, and interactive plush toys. Here are a few options:
Chewing is another excellent cognitively stimulating activity for your dog. Chewing gives them something to focus and concentrate on. It’s also a natural way to help alleviate stress, release dopamine, and create a calming feeling. Go for natural chews or bones that have some “give” to them to avoid any future dental problems, like chipped teeth.
Create your own obstacle course for your dog using objects you already have at home. Outside, you can use garbage pails, chairs, laundry baskets, towels, or other dog-safe objects to make it fun and challenging.
Setting up an obstacle course can help stimulate your dog’s mind and improve their agility. It’s also a great way to practice training and strengthen the bond between you and your dog while having fun.
Your dog needs 20 to 30 minutes of mental stimulation each day. Depending on your dog, you can split these into two sessions of 10 to 15 minutes each. Each dog is unique, so some will require more or less. Watch and see how your dog does and adjust from there.
Other factors affecting how much mental stimulation your dog needs include their breed and age.
Working and sporting breeds will need more mental stimulation than others, and the type of stimulation they need will vary. They may need more difficult and scent-driven brain games. This also applies to younger dogs.
On the other hand, dogs that are more relaxed or older may need less stimulation to be satisfied.
Dogs need mental stimulation to live happy and healthy lives. Without it, you risk having a dog that acts out, engages in poor behaviors, is destructive, aggressive, and even depressed. While mental engagement is just one aspect, it’s not a magic fix-all.
Your dog will still need physical exercise, interaction, and socialization, and may need training. Depending on your dog’s age, breed, and personality, they’ll need varying levels of mental stimulation. What may work for one dog may not work for another.
Mentally tiring a dog out will vary depending on your dog and their personality, but a few ways include playing “find it,” hide and seek, going on scent walks, or trying new routes. You can also try enrichment and interactive dog puzzle toys, chew toys, or creating an obstacle course.
You can try a variety of things to stimulate your dog mentally. Try hiding pieces of food, a treat, or a toy and telling them to “find it.” Go on a scent walk and let them sniff the entire time. Or try new brain games like enrichment toys, snuffle mats, or Kongs.
Yes! Playing gives your dog the attention and interaction they need while giving them mental stimulation.
“Find it,” scatter feeding — hiding their meal in a snuffle mat or throughout the house — slow feeder bowls, an obstacle course, or dog puzzle toys are all easy and simple mental stimulation games you can play with your dog.
Try tiring your dog out mentally before going to work. Hide their food around the house before leaving for work, so they have to search and find it.
