Dogs love to play, and in fact most of them do so even when they are so old that it is difficult for them to move, despite which they do not hesitate to make an effort to play with their owners.
In addition to spending time with him with the typical ball, there are alternatives such as intelligence games , with which we can stimulate his brain and keep him busy.
What are intelligence games for dogs?
Until very recently, most dogs had a function such as guarding farms, leading the flock, hunting, rescuing people, etc., which have been relegated as these animals dedicated themselves exclusively to keeping us company. .
With these occupations, the dogs faced constant challenges, which caused their brains to start working in order to solve different challenges, thus creating very intelligent breeds such as sheepdogs.
Now there are hardly any animals that work daily, but at home we can do something and that is to pose these challenges in the form of intelligence games .
Best intelligence games
There are several intelligence games with which to test our dog, always knowing that the way their brain works has nothing to do with ours and that we should not get frustrated if they do not understand any of these practices.
No dog is the same and not all have the same abilities, so we will give them very simple challenges, increasing the difficulty very little by little, otherwise our best friend may lose interest completely.
hide and seek game
One of the easiest games that all dogs usually like. It consists of taking their favorite toy, or one of them, and hiding it without them seeing us doing it at home or on the street.
We can start in our home, since it will be easier for you to find it. First we hide it in places where we know that it will be discovered immediately, to vary the difficulty as the days go by.
Then we take him to the street, the park, the field or any place where it is safe for him to be loose and we do the same, making it more and more difficult for him.
In order to get him more interested, instead of a toy, we hide a kong full of wet food if we want the dog to start searching like crazy.
Follow the trail
The dog's most developed sense is smell, so we are going to use it to get to work.
You have to teach him a new smell until he assimilates it, something that has a characteristic aroma like a fruit or even a specialized air freshener that is sold for this type of activities.
Once he has smelled it several times, we hide it and tell him to look for it , helping him the first few times if necessary until he finds it, and rewarding him when he does, so it will not take him long to associate the search with something good. and will want to play at all hours.
Food dispensers
Here we will have a huge variety of dispensers and it is one of the best intelligence games to start practicing, because when associated with food the dog will not be reticent.
One of the simplest is the kong , a rubber toy that has holes through which we put granules and which we then cover with wet food or a special paste, so the dog must uncover it and then move the kong if he wants the granules get out of there, which may take a while.
We also have other more complex games, such as the feeders that give food if you press a button that lights up, or the bell like the one in hotel receptions, that our pets ring if they want to feed.
Obedience
This type of game is the most useful of all, because in addition to having fun, we can teach our dog something that will be helpful and that will make our daily lives much easier, such as sitting, lying down, or even fun tricks like to shake hands
It is always easier to do it when they are puppies, as they learn much better, but as adults they can also be taught with a little more patience and knowing that it will take more time.
Our great ally will be positive reinforcement, giving him treats , small pieces of sausage or even some pellets when he does well. In fact, with adult dogs we can wait to practice these tricks a little before feeding them, when we know they are hungry.
This will help us to be more attentive to the treats and to make more of an effort to do well, enjoying every granule we give them as a reward.
Puzzles
If we go to a pet store we will see that there are several types of puzzles for dogs, very simple and similar to those made by very young children.
They do not have to place hundreds of pieces, like in humans, but these are simple challenges, but they are not always easy for dogs who have never had to solve one.
Among them, the most typical is the shapes that have to fit into place, taking them with your mouth and putting them in the correct hole . Others bring a series of lids that they must open or slide and inside they find food.
We can buy a pair and leave them with them in order to see how they do, helping them the first few times with the idea that they don't get tired if they can't solve it at first.
Catch objects on the fly
One of the simplest intelligence games for dogs is to catch objects on the fly, since a ball or even a stick is enough.
You will have to calculate the trajectory, know when to jump, synchronize your entire body with the moment of capturing the object and you will also get a lot of exercise, which is very good for animals prone to obesity, such as Labradors.
It is possible to complicate it a little more, and always practicing first with balls and sticks, buying a fresbee , one of those flying discs with which we can do tricks and our dog will have a lot of fun.
Of course, here you have to know when to end the game, because some dogs go crazy with these objects and never want to stop picking them up in the air to bring them to our feet.
In this way, it is best to establish a period, a few minutes, so that at the end we stop playing immediately.
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