Smart Dog

Smart dog—we like to think of our pet that way. As you know, some dog breeds are considered among the smartest: border collie, german shepherd, poodle, and others. So, maybe you have a different breed or a mixed breed. They’re smart, too! In fact, just about any dog can be trained to be smart.

Here are a few games we’ve played with our pets that help to make them a smart dog.

1. Throw and fetch is a simple yet fun game for most dogs. We’ve added an element to that, when playing with Amati, by pretending to throw the toy. While he runs in the direction that he thinks we are throwing it, we hide the toy somewhere around us. When Amati realizes that we haven’t thrown the toy, he comes back towards us. We might say, “Where is it?” while holding our hands up. Amati has learned that those words and the hands up mean that we’ve hidden the toy. He loves to search for it and will do so for a long time, sniffing and looking, sometimes standing on his hind legs to search all the possible hiding places. When he finds the toy, we all celebrate.

2. When Sierra was a young dog, we often took her to our music studio. When no one else was around, we would play hide and seek. One of us would run and hide in one of the rooms and then call Sierra. She knew it was a game and would enthusiastically join in, racing from one room to another until she found us.

These games employ the dog’s use of their sense of smell as well as recognition of hand signals and verbal clues. This kind of stimulation helps dogs to exercise their mental abilities and helps to make them a smart dog.

3. Our pets like treats, and they enjoy smart dog games. These brain games for dogs are not your ordinary treat-dispensing toys that only require one action, such as pushing a button or flipping a lid. These are puzzles that require two or more actions in order to access the treat, such as sliding, rotating, lifting and pulling. The puzzles stimulate your dog's brain, keep them entertained and reward them with a tasty snack.

Here are some examples of advanced puzzle dog toys.

- The Nina Ottosson Dog Twister: This toy has 8 pie-shaped compartments that hide treats under sliding blocks. Your dog must slide the blocks in the right direction to reveal the treats. To make it harder, you can lock some of the blocks with latches that your dog has to pull out first.

- The Trixie Chess Game: This advanced puzzle toy for dogs has four cones and various small hollows and drawers where you can hide treats. Your dog must use their nose and paws to lift the cones and open the drawers to find the treats. You can vary the difficulty by using different combinations of cones and drawers.

- The ZippyPaws Chipmunks Log: This is a plush tree trunk with three squeaky chipmunks inside. Your dog must pull out the chipmunks one by one. If you want to hide some treats inside, this will add to the excitement.

These are just some of the many advanced puzzle dog toys available on the market. They are great for keeping your dog mentally stimulated, physically active and happy. So, whether you play hide and seek or use our puzzle dog toys, you’ll help make your pet a smart dog.