Enriching Your Doodle’s Senses
Enriching your Doodle’s mental stimulation is just as important as exercise for his body. If your Doodle spends the day sleeping, he’s probably bored rather than tired.
If your Doodle is food motivated, a food dispensing toy like the Busy Buddy Twist ‘N Treat is a great way to keep him occupied. You can put his breakfast inside, and he benefits from the mental challenge of getting it out and, at the same time, the physical activity involved in rolling the toy around. Tula enjoys this sort of activity. It keeps her easily entertained, especially if I break up one of her cookies and toss it in the mix.
Winston isn’t interested in food enough to work for breakfast. So I have a couple of puzzle toys for him.
It’s essential to allow your dog to smell the roses on his walks too. I use one type of collar when the walk is all about business, and I switch to a different kind of collar when we’re taking a leisurely sniff stroll. Switching collars is a lesson I adapted from a horse breeder in California. She would put one halter on her stallion when it was time for a ride or grooming. It was a slightly different halter when it was breeding time – he was never confused. I applied the same technique with the dogs for walks. They seem to feel comfortable because they know what type of activity we will have right from the start.
Teaching new tricks is a great way to keep their minds stimulated. Remember to keep it fun. Begin each lesson with guaranteed success, so he’s feeling motivated. Take each new trick slowly, break complex maneuvers down into tiny steps so he can follow along without frustration. Finally, end with guaranteed success – he’ll sense your approval for a task well done.
- One last thing that will keep your Doodle happy is music. Studies have shown that classical music relaxes dogs, while heavy metal makes them anxious. They like what your parents and grandparents enjoy. Before they leave me, they hear various music accompanied by an out-of-tune sing-along. I’ll try to keep the stress level down.
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