Start to walk back towards the spot you dropped the item encouraging your dog to “find it” If your dog needs help, subtly kick or point to the item and make a fuss of your dog when they find it. An example scent work game is putting a piece of fabric with oil in a ball with a hole (like the chuckit ball). Hopefully, you have come across so new ideas for ways to keep your dog occupied, provide so mental stimulation and burn off a little extra energy in this list of 50 Boredom Busters and Games for Dogs.

From a fun game of hide and seek to stuffing a Kong, here’s 33 simple ways to keep your dog busy indoors. I play hide and seek with mine now: they wait in the bathroom while I hide bits of treats around the living room. If you’re a dog owner, you’ve probably heard the phrase “a tired dog is a happy dog,” alluding to the idea that a well-exercised dog won’t cause destruction.If your dog’s toys are kept in a container you can give them a lot of mental stimulation by teaching them to put their toys away. Impawtant Note: For dogs with aches and pains, you should keep the retrieving distance short and stay aware of your woof’s energy levels – don’t push them too hard. As they get better at the game you can spread out more to make it more challenging and burn off some energy. I found this article looking for ways to teach my 11-month-old Pup how to entertain himself for a couple of hours.

To play, you’ll need to teach your dog the difference between “red light,” or stop, and “green light,” or go.Not only does play increase the bond between pet and owner, but mental and physical exercise also relieves one of the biggest causes of problem behaviors in dogs-boredom. You can do activities that cater to their specific breed, like hunting games, herding, or scentwork, or you can use puzzle toys and objects you have at home to create easy and fun activities for your pup. She has an ACL injury and I thought this would keep her entertained for a while since her activity is limited. Start playing by dropping treats into each muffin cup, covering them with tennis balls, and handing the tin off to Fido! I put treats in a pair of old socks, fold it like you would for your socks, and stick more treats in it.

But our dogs were bred to work alongside us, and a lot of our dogs are missing out on some mentally stimulating activities. Avoid jumps for young puppies, but other than that you can use your imagination to create an incredibly sensory experience for your pet.Just as toys can teach toddlers eye-hand coordination, they can teach dogs eye-paw (or eye-mouth) coordination.