How to Stimulate Your Dog's Senses
Your dog’s senses are incredible. From a sense of smell thousands of times more acute than a human’s to amazing hearing and a tongue that wants to taste everything, your dog is well-equipped to enjoy the world. It’s common for some owners to worry that their dogs aren’t being stimulated enough in their day to day lives, which can lead to boredom and dissatisfaction.
Serving the Palm Beach County Area, Debra’s Dog Den helps busy owners make sure their dogs are happy both physically and mentally. There’s a lot you can do to help stimulate your dog’s senses, too! Here are a few ideas to help you get started.
Hide and Seek with Treats
Remember how fun Easter egg hunts were when you were young? Your dog loves them too! You can replicate these “hunts” by hiding a treat in a spot around your home and encourage your dog to go searching for it. Toys like treat balls can also help with this, but the hide and seek aspect of searching for treats is especially rewarding for dogs.
Create a Sense Garden
These are little patches where you can grow plants that have strong scents and are particularly interesting for dogs to inspect day to day. They often include rests for dogs or little areas intended for bathroom use. Many types of grasses are very interesting to dogs, as are scented plants like valerian and hops, but you can freely experiment! Your dog will want to stop by and see what’s happening every day! With a little imagination, an indoor version of a sense garden is also possible. Just be careful to do your research and only plants things that won't cause harm to your dog if ingested.
New Animal Scents
Do you have any friends with dogs, cats, or any other pets? Ask them if you can rub a towel or a new dog toy on their pet (in a friendly way) to pick up some of their scent. Then bring it home to your dog for a totally new smelling adventure! Your dog will love to explore the new scent, even if his instinct is to replace it as soon as possible!
Remember, Debra can help make sure that your dog is well-cared for even when you sometimes can’t be there, from dog sitter services to walks and much more! If you are in the Palm Beach area, contact us today to find out how we can help.