Sarah_42 Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 I am wondering how you provide mental stimulation for your BC's. Do you play games? Practice a sport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC-Liz Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Training really and practice of that training. Whether you're a urban BC owner who trains their dogs to run an agility course or a rural BC owner who trains their dogs to heard livestock. I'm sure livestock is a better way to make your dog think but you gotta work with what you got. things I do now, usual tricks, sit, down, stay, paw, touch, shake, yada yada yada. One I really like is an extended stay. make them stay then walk away from them, even out of sight. We also play hide and seek. I like this one a lot because the dog has to figure out how to find you, whether by sound, sent or sight. You can do tougher tricks...this is where I fall short. For instance naming all the toys and having the dog retrieve a specific toy by its name, say from a bundle on other toys. Or hide and seek with a toy. Or scent training. One good way to make your dog think is to make the training harder with distractions. You could perhaps do your training outdoors or in a park where the dog has to work hard to focus on you. That's all I got, hopefully you'll get some more responses..I'm curious to see what others have to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 We do the regular silly tricks like spin, shake, high-five, backup etc., she is learning her "body parts" which is a variation of touch, so far we've mastered nose and chin, basic obedience, sit, down, wait, here, leave it, she is learning how to weave between my legs. Every meal she shows me where her food is (touches nose to closet door and slams [a bit excited] her paw on top of the container), she wakes up her "papa" when I tell her to. I have taught her the names to all her toys so she can find them to play. We usually have learning time once a day at least and we do classes once a week for "reactive dogs" with hopes to do agility. A couple times a week she gets her meals in a food dispensing ball and we have various other toys for her to figure out, which usually just ends up with her dropping them down the stairs for the lazy way to get all the stuff out! Oh, then there are the walks, that turn into learning sessions depending on how many dogs are out that day and off leash time that is recall practice time. And I talk to her like she's a human, so I'm sure the little hamsters upstairs are going a mile a minute when I do that!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 We've taught Scooter the names of his toys, then have him retrieve them. Also, while searching, sometimes we give him hints like "Upstairs" or "Downstairs" or "Dining room," and he knows the names and locations of all the rooms in the house and will go to the room we suggest. I hide his buddy, the squeaky furry squirrel, in a different place each night when he goes to sleep, then he has to find it in the morning. I know he's learning, because he'll return to other places I've hidden it. It's funny to watch him trotting through the house with that "searching" look, sticking his nose under the couch, etc. He loves this game! Sometimes I hide and he always finds me. He's very good at searching--I think he might have a future here. When we take our walks, simply changing the direction we take is enough to challenge his BC brain. They learn routines very easily, as you probably know, so I like to mix it up a little. Just about anything you do with your BC can stimulate his brain. It's amazing to watch. Oh, and talk to them. They understand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cool Dave Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 I'm old school I guess. Sassy just plays board games (easier ones like checkers), does crosswords, word jumbles, and the occasional mathematically based word problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 I'm old school I guess. Sassy just plays board games (easier ones like checkers), does crosswords, word jumbles, and the occasional mathematically based word problem. LOL! I am sufficiently humbled... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat's Dogs Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 This is what we do when we are bored. We also do stuff like hide and seek, finding toys by name ("go get your ____"), chewing kongs (or other interactive toys), agility, frisbee, get her to pose for pictures, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 If its Koda then its Frisbee...Plain and simply frisbee. If we are stuck inside then I get out the clicker and we work on the next trick that applies to disc doggin' and obedience. I work from the clicker and treats, then to the soft disc indoors to get him doing it in the "presence" of the frisbee and then move it outside. If its Zak then its basic obedience and tricks in general. He's too concerned about bugs to play disc with any seriousness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexie Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Molly is in training as a service dog and loves helping me and helping around the house. She's been doing the named toy and room retrieves and deliveries since we got her. A stuffed kong helps keep her happy once in a while. We play a custom variant of fetch, too, with lots of downs and stays and moving at different speeds. That keeps her thinking because she never knows what will happen. A couple short (5-10 min) training sessions a day is really the best thing. Right now we're working on making shoe removals quiet and IDing phone and crutches by name for retrieve. We're also training her look-at-me "watch" command a lot. If I have a toy, I have her making eye contact for about 45 secs now. I need to get her doing better when I don't have a toy she wants. Just look at my blog. It's filled with regular updates on her training sessions and play sessions and public access practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 We play alot of thinking games. Hide and seek, find a certain item, hot or cold-etc. I love to watch them think, and they really enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 Let's see . . . Clicker Training Freestyle Interactive Ball Games (find it, a game we play with two laundry baskets, pfffff, etc) A lot of different training exercises I'll probably think of more later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie H Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 This is what we do when we are bored. We also do stuff like hide and seek, finding toys by name ("go get your ____"), chewing kongs (or other interactive toys), agility, frisbee, get her to pose for pictures, etc... OMG! You are such a wonderful team!! The time you put in with her really shows through - she looks SO happy to work with you. Thanks for sharing the clip - it was quite inspiring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.