Yes, just like humans, dogs benefit from mental stimulation. As the AKC says a mentally stimulated dog is a happy dog. Here are the three best ways I’ve found to keep dogs mentally stimulated. Training without a doubt is one of the best ways to keep your dog mentally stimulated. A dog that gets regular training looks forward to training sessions as if they were a fun game. If you’re training your dog correctly that is exactly what your dog should think. Meeting new people and experiencing novel sights and sounds is what puppy socialization is all about. It sounds simple, but the list is endless. If you introduce your dog to the big scary world a little bit at a time when they are young, they are less likely to develop behavioral problems in adolescence and you’ll wear them out doing it. Sniffing and exploring every 2 inches of grass may seem extremely boring to you, but your dog loves it and catalogs all those smells. There are so many more possibilities so I will have to dedicate a blog post on the subject, but these three suggestions will get you started.
