Tuesday I talked about exercising your dog before you go for a walk, either physically or mentally.
Today I’d like to dive more into some of the things you can teach your dog to practice indoors (for my northerners and for my southerners in the summer!).
We so often underestimate the power of mental stimulation when it comes to our dogs. The thing is, many dogs could run all day- hello working dogs!- but when you introduce mental stimulation, it taxes their brain in a different way. It no longer is mindless exercise.
So let’s take this time to check in on your basic obedience. Can your dog sit without coercion? Lay down from a standing position? Stay when told and truly not come until you ask? All of these behaviors are things you could work on really refining prior to your walk and in hand they will help when you come across distractions on your walk as well.
If you have the basics down, level them up. Ask your dog to stay on his bed while you walk into another room, or circle around him. Ask her to go from a down to a sit and then back down again.
If you’re ready to introduce some new and fun tasks teach them to jump over your leg and go under. Start low to the ground crouching, stick your leg out and ask them to go over. Then, circle them back under. You do this by luring them with a treat at first. If you have a big dog, up the challenge by doing it while standing!
For those of you with yards, set up an at home agility course. I do this all the time- get a broomstick and two chairs, a pallet with some plywood on it, and electrical fence poles that stake easily into the ground. Start teaching your dog how to jump, place and weave to wear them out physically and mentally. This is also a great confidence builder for shy dogs!
‘Leave It’ is another multipurpose behavior to teach and for some dogs can be very mentally taxing. Start with a treat in your hand, show it to your dog and close your hand. Tell them ‘leave it’ and if they are sniffing and licking at your hand don’t reward them until the second they sit back. In the beginning reward the first second they ignore your hand by marking with a ‘yes’ and rewarding with a different treat, from your other hand. Progress from your hand to leaving the treat on the floor, and then dropping it from the air, walking away, etc. With each increased level of challenge, your dog’s brain has to work harder.
These are just a few quick examples to work your dog’s brain in preparation for the walk. You can check out my YouTube channel for more examples of fun things to teach your dog. Not only will it help with your walk, but also to just continue nurturing that bond we are working to really grow.
