Does Anyone have any ideas for indoor mind stimulating games to play with Amber? She is super smart, figured out her roller ball in minutes, her other food toy she figured out in seconds. She has a game but as she knows how to get the treats it really doesn't keep her busy. I was think of trying some indoor nosework, but wonder if anyone else might have other games they play indoors. Thanks. Jodi

At my house, we play with a wobble board and a skate board inside and we do sit/stand/downs on them. We also have a single jump and play "one jump" games and have a small rectangle frame that we put on the ground and have the dogs drop in, only getting rewarded when they aren't touching the frame.

Because all of these items are so different, blasting through the collection wears their little brains out. It's mentally challenging for them to transition from object to object. Because all of the exercises also require control and balance, the effect is amplified.

Thanks for the ideas. I think Amber and I will have alot of fun playing these.

How about search games. Hiding a toy and having to find it, or you hiding and they have to find you. we also review our commands, really fast and run from out mat to our mark. We also go for rides in the car. How about puzzles? My dogs love puzzles.
Hope this helps. sharon

Ditto on the search games. We start with simple searches of toys but then make them progressively harder, using decoy toys, backtracking our paths with and without the toy to be searched for, and hiding them in increasingly difficult places in all levels of our house. Our dog loves the challenge and it gets her tired since she is using all her senses. At night, we have her search in our finished basement and leave it totally dark. She loves it.

Thanks, she loves puzzles but figures them out really fast, We do search, for me, but I hadn't thought of a toy... how do you get her to search for the toy? do you scent mark it in any way? This is something I'm sure she'd love to do as well.

Love the search games too.

I think almost any kind of interaction provides stimulation for the pups.

I'll be folding laundry and have them all in a down. I tend to "snap" the jeans and towels and both my young ones did a little nervous jump when they first heard this. A couple of marker sessions and it's a traditional game in our house now. They love laundry day and definitely know what jeans and towels look are. "Snap", YES!! Treat. Then it's time for the sit. As soon as towel or jeans comes out, and trust me, there's anticipation as I stick my head in the dryer to pull out the next item, they get rewarded and released from that command onto the next.

I incorporate them into almost everything I do around the house. I'll often send them outside when I'm vacuuming but a lot of times they’re right there helping and get vacuumed as well. A nice 'stand' as they get suctioned can be a lot of fun once they're used to it. Training that is a game in itself. Touch the vacuum, turn it off and on, etc.

Washing dishes gives me an opportunity to practice commands with my back turned to them. Nothing like looking out the kitchen window and having pups, with a dollop of soap suds on their head, doing stands and downs behind you.

I guess these are more mind games for me and I'm probably flying my freak flag way to high, but the pups are always engaged and playing right along. If one wants to drop out, fair enough, mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned. Happy, content pup laying off on the sidelines.

I think your imagination is the limit here.

 Quote: Jodi Moen

Thanks, she loves puzzles but figures them out really fast, We do search, for me, but I hadn't thought of a toy... how do you get her to search for the toy? do you scent mark it in any way?

Fairly simple. We put her in a sit, show her the toy to look for, then walk around the house with it and eventually hide it somewhere. She will track your path with and without the toy so it's fun crossing paths, backtracking, and anything else to throw her off. She will learn to ignore other toys placed around as decoys and only gets rewarded by bringing the toy you started with back to you. If she detects but can't reach a toy we've hidden, she'll just key on it, wherever it is, and just go into a sit and look at where she thinks it is, like in an upper cabinet or in a drawer. Either way, she gets a big celebration when she successfully finds it.

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Thanks, she loves puzzles but figures them out really fast, We do search, for me, but I hadn't thought of a toy... how do you get her to search for the toy? do you scent mark it in any way? This is something I'm sure she'd love to do as well.

I have Kenzi look for my keys sometimes. It's a unique object that I usually have nearby. And if I ever loose them outside someday it might come in handy I started out teaching her to target the keys in my hand then started setting them down on a chair or the floor when it clicked with her. When she was reliably targeting the keys when they were in variety of positions I started hiding them bit by bit.

that sounds so fun, can I play? Ha! Gives me some ideas for my pups. sharon