Is your dog bored? Good socialising, regular exercise and daily mental stimulation are the ingredients for avoiding boredom. Displays of unwanted behaviours, such as destructive chewing, digging holes in the garden, and pulling washing off the line, can often be attributed to boredom or a lack of mental stimulation.

The Importance of Foraging Instincts

One of the best ways to alleviate boredom is by enhancing the dog’s natural foraging instinct. Unfortunately, by giving our dogs a well-presented bowl of food in the mornings and evenings, we have essentially taken away or reduced the need for them to work for their food, thereby eliminating much of the mental stimulation that searching for their food would provide.

Replace the Food Bowl with Brain Toys

Replacing your dog’s food bowl with a variety of suitable brain toys will enrich their daily routine enormously. They are great for keeping dogs stimulated and occupied while they figure out how to get the food out of the toy.

Numerous commercial brain toys are available on the market. Home-made brain toys have the added advantage of providing some enjoyable family fun time, as everyone conjures up and creates suitable alternatives to the food bowl.

DIY Brain Toy Ideas

You can use a plastic water or cold drink bottle with the labels removed and the cap securely fastened as an inexpensive brain toy. Cut a hole about the size of an R5 coin in the side of the bottle. Fill the bottle with treats or the dog’s regular food, and let him roll it around on the ground. The food falling out through the hole in the bottle is the dog’s reward.

Use a muffin baking tray as an effective toy for treats or as a food bowl. Place some food in each recess of the tray, cover each with a tennis ball (or half a ball), and let the dog figure out how to access the food.

The blanket sausage is a fun way for the dog to feed. Lay a small blanket or towel flat on the ground. Sprinkle a line of dog food down one side, then roll the edge of the blanket over it. Continue doing this until you have a rolled-up sausage of blanket and dog food, then give it to the dog, and he can decide how he will retrieve the food.

Chew Toys to Reduce Frustration

Chew toys are excellent for helping to avoid frustration and boredom. Stuffed Kongs, dried tracheas filled with treats and numerous similar chew toys are available from pet stores and supermarkets. The homemade ice cube chewy is an inexpensive and very effective toy to keep a dog occupied for long periods. Freeze some of their treats, such as chopped Vienna sausage, small pieces of chicken, or similar yummy treats in beef or chicken stock or water, and give the ice cubes to the dog to chew.

Safety First

When making homemade brain toys, always ensure there are no sharp edges that could injure the dog or any complex objects that could be swallowed.