How can I stimulate my terrier??

[pandoraphile]

I have a wonderful 6yo Patterdale x JR terrier. He's loved, petted, walked twice a day but he's such a clever boy I'd like to find something for him to DO. Something that will challenge him. Any ideas??

I do agility with mine. One for fun one fairly serious. It's great.

My JRT cross has had great fun doing flyball and agility at a couple of local shows but we've never been near enough to a proper club to take it up.

You could also have a look at some more enrichment activities - there's a brilliant Facebook group called Canine Enrichment.

Ah thanks for these suggestions. Agility sounds great!

Agility can be good fun to do. I am doing 'competitive' agility even though we won't compete as it teaches you the techniques rather than just doing it iykwim. Those techniques can also be practiced at home or in the garden so you can do a short session at home to help tire them out mentally.

The other thing I have been doing with my dog is a few 1-1 sessions with a trainer simply to learn new tricks for us to practice and do at home.

He can be tricky around other dogs though..... would that matter doing agility?

What do you mean by 'tricky around other dogs'?

Snappy? Rubbish recall?

What about puzzle/brain games? You can buy them from Pets at Home or on Amazon!

For some reason he can get very aggressive around other dogs. Not always but there's no discernible pattern as to why he does it. Most of the time he's fine but I keep a very close eye on him around other dogs.

Recall is excellent.

I've never heard of puzzle/brain games?!

I've never heard of puzzle/brain games?!

Think of them as the difference between the cryptic crossword and a run on a treadmill. All dogs need both mental and physical exercise, and the puzzle games are like crosswords for dogs, usually involving getting food out

Some examples include

• Nina Ottosson range of toys
• Certain Kong branded toys e.g. classic Kong, Wobbler, Gyro
• Snuffle mat (homemade)
• Toilet roll tubes, treat inside, ends folded over so the dog has to work to get them out

There are lots of examples in the Canine Enrichment facebook group - both store bought and home made

You could put him in charge of Brexit

Alternatively we do a treasure hunt where we hide bits of stinky treats around the room - under cushions, on top of side tables, behind doors. Our two absolutely love searching for them and working out how to get them.

These are supposed to be very good ...

www.rufflesnufflemats.com/

My terrier though would probably flip it over so that all the treats fall out so are "found", terriers are clever like that

The Canine Enrichment FB group is absolutely packed with excellent ideas for mental stimulation. There are also books like Brain Games for Dogs or Beyond the Bowl.

Kikopup on YouTube has loads of trick training videos which are really good.

Being a terrier (and if you've got the space) he'd probably love a flirt pole. As well as being amazing fun, particularly with prey driven dogs, they can be an awesome tool for teaching increased impulse control as seen in and . They can be overstimulating for some dogs though, which is something to be aware of if you try one out.

If you do want to do agility then you could always look at private lessons. I had a few of those at first and they weren't that expensive.

I have to say we had a 'snappy' dog at our group lessons for a bit and it was very stressful trying to make sure he didn't snap at our dogs when we were waiting for our turn so would recommend individual rather than group from my own experience.

Different walks. My dog gets a lot out of going new places and we try to do that once a week.

I freeze meat scraps in water for her and she has to work out how to get them out.

Brain training. At the moment we are working on her staying still when i throw a treat 2 metres in front of her. She can get it when I say go

ChAsing balls and sticks.

A treat under a cup and she learns to knock the cup over to get the treat. Use the same cup each time and when she gets the hang of it place it somewhere outside while she isn’t looking to make her hunt for it.

Socialising is very stimulating. Are there any dogs you know she does get along with and could have play dates with?