How to Stimulate Your Dog's Intelligence

Written and verified by the lawyer Francisco María García

Last update: 27 December, 2022

If you live in an apartment or a very small space, your dog may start to become a kind of terrace dog. He won’t be very happy. Because of this, you’ll need to stimulate your dog’s intelligence.

If he’s locked up for more than eight hours a day, whether in an outside patio area or inside, your pet will lack a lot of important things.

This can all lead to hyperactivity and behavioral problems, among other things. That’s because he has nowhere to play games, have fun, and explore.

Your dog needs to interact with other dogs, beyond sporadic encounters in the park when he has to stay on his leash. 

Games to boost a dog’s intelligence

Using different games will get our pet to exercise his mind while having fun. With these exercises, you’ll also be able to increase your pet’s problem-solving abilities. It doesn’t matter if he’s a puppy or an adult.

The first aspect to keep in mind when playing with your dog is that you should be in control. Regardless of the game, you’re in charge of when you play, when you finish, and how you play the game.

Stimulating your dog’s intelligence is also an excellent way to keep him from getting bored. If this happens, he may start to develop unwanted behaviors like excessive barking, causing damage in the home, etc.

Just like people, dogs need to work their minds. Therefore, walks and social relationships with other animals and people are essential to keep him from getting bored. This will prevent behavioral problems that jealousy and anxiety could be causing.

Interesting intelligence-boosting games

• An great game is called hiding place. Take your dog’s favorite food and hide it somewhere in your home. Have him search the house for it. This can be a very entertaining and good activity for him.
• Telling him to start doing different actions is another fun game that will stimulate his mind. First, give him an order, then tell him to change what he’s doing.
• Being able to differentiate between scents will also help exercise your dog’s mind. This is another great way to enhance your dog’s intelligence.
• Test his developed sense of smell. This is a fun and stimulating game to further develop his sense of smell. Additionally, you can introduce the animal to new smells, making them fairly intense the first few times. There are many products at the store that you can use for this, like commercial air fresheners, fruits, etc.

Toys and food

• You can buy dog toys that let you hide their favorite treats inside them. They’re like a puzzle that your puppy will have to look for, move, lift compartments with its nose, and move pieces around with its legs.
• Food dispensers also stimulate your dog’s intelligence. For example, there are balls that will release your dog’s food. Additionally, these dispensers are meant to teach your dog to enjoy playing the game by himself.

Improve his intelligence when he’s a puppy

You have to start socializing dogs from the time they’re puppies. That way, he’ll become familiar with different environments and situations. For example, with the city and the countryside.

He should also meet different types of people: children, elderly people, as well as other dogs and other animals. He should be exposed to different noises, smells, etc.

From the beginning, when he can first start to walk independently, you’ll need to take him for frequent walks to different places.

It’s important to let him explore. Try to take him to places with visual, auditory and odor stimuli. 

Puppies tend to sleep a lot throughout the day. They’ll take a nap, sleep all night, rest and fall back asleep again.

Puppies can sleep and rest up to 18-20 hours a day.

When the puppy wakes up, it’s time to play, explore the world, make friends and do mental exercises. You’ll want to stimulate the puppy and develop his intelligence.

Puppies will learn useful behavioral patterns while exercising their intelligence. This will also increase their learning abilities.