This is a blog of my experiences with dogs -- as an owner and as someone who worked with them professionally. Hopefully what I've learned from my experiences will also help you with caring for your own dog.
Here's another game I like to play with Leopold.
The premise is easy enough. I hide treats under and in things. Leopold uses his sniffer to find them!
I like to hide them in different ways to try and challenge Leopold mentally.
***WARNING*** this game is NOT for dogs that will eat pieces of fabric or paper or toys. Also, as always, its important to supervise your dog when playing with things they could potentially swallow (whether on accident or on purpose).
Here how I hid some of the treats:
in the nook of a toy monster ball
inside a paper tube
under a piece of fleece
between the layers of a folded over stuffingless polar bear
Winter is making my household lazy; the dogs have been napping more than usual. So this morning I decided it was time for some mind-stimulating games. Halo got to play with what I call the Big Orange Ball! (It's actually called a Tricky Treat Ball, by Omega Paw--convenient product link at end of post).
The ball design is quite clever. Not only does it have a hole on one side so that treats can fall out, but there is a tube that is recessed into the ball from the hole, making a sort of barrier that the treats have to first get around before they fall out. The result is that a dog has to work harder for treats to fall out because they don't fall out every time the ball is turned upside down.
Halo is very excited about her kibble, so I like to use that instead of treats. This morning I put her entire breakfast in the ball. At first, when its so full, many pieces of kibble fall out at a time, but once there are less pieces in the ball, they come out less and less often, and Halo has to work harder for her kibble! Leopold likes this game, as well, but gives up after it becomes too hard to get kibble or treats out. Halo, on the other hand, will continue rolling around the ball until the very last piece of kibble comes out--which sometimes takes her over an hour!
Here's Halo working on getting breakfast:
If you're looking for a great way to stimulate your dog's mind and/or want a way to slow down their eating, this big orange ball is a great option.
A quick tip on filling the ball: after dumping some kibble down the hole, cover the hole with your hand and shake the ball to get it to fill up around the tube on the inside. You can also put your thumb down the hole and shake to push the kibble in.
When Leopold was a puppy, he was full of energy and curiosity. If he
wasn’t busy with an activity I gave him, he’d find one of his own,
usually chewing on things he shouldn't. I tried to find things for him to do that
would keep him occupied (and out of trouble!), but also keep him
mentally stimulated. Now that Leopold is older, he’s learned not to get
into my stuff, which is great, but it means he gets bored and just
sleeps all day if I don’t give him something fun to do. And while I'd
love to spend the day playing with my dogs, I only have so much time
that I can give them. It’s nice to have activities I can offer my dog
that are fun and also keep them mentally engaged for a while.
Here’s one activity that I came up with. It involves a green stretchy, molecule-like ball, called a Hol-ee Roller,
3.5" (the balls come in other colors; it’s just known as “the
green ball” around our house). The ball is great for stuffing treats
into so that the dog has to figure out how to get the treats out.
I
find this particular ball design appealing because it’s so squishy and
is not likely to do much damage if the dog whips it around or drops it
down the stairs. It’s also very bouncy, which my dogs love. I’ve
experimented with stuffing different types of treats inside; most are
too easy to get out because they’re long and thin or too pliable. I’ve
discovered, however, that the Newman’s Own Organic treats fit perfectly
into the ball! The ball has enough stretch to get the treat through one
of the holes to the center, and the hart-shape of the treat makes it
impossible for it to fall out on its own. I also like the Newman's Own
brand treats (I get the turkey and sweet potato flavor) because they're
healthy and made with good ingredients while still being appealing to my
dogs.
Leopold
is a pretty smart guy and it didn’t take him long to figure out that he
had to squash his green ball with his foot or mouth to get to the treat
inside; though it takes him a while to work the treat out. He loves
playing with his green ball, and it makes me happy to see him being
active instead of just sleeping all day. Halo has yet
to
figure out how to get the treat out (she just throws it around and
chews on the ball, completely missing the treat), but she spends a lot
of time playing with it. And that’s what I want! If Halo is playing with
her green ball, she’s not getting into trouble.
Both Leopold and Halo love playing with their green ball! They get to have fun, and I get to feel good about keeping my dogs’ minds active.
