Mental Stimulation for Puppy?

[ChungkingPineapple]

I've noticed there are a lot of knowledgeable people on here, so I'm hoping someone will be able to advise me how to give my (almost) 6-month-old terrier some mental stimulation because I think he really needs it!

I've tried him with puzzle games and a snuffle mat but he solves the problem pretty fast and gets bored.

He gets two walks a day and can play football or whatever in the garden multiple times, but he's just so high energy. My last terrier was lazy from day one so I'm not great at coming up with ideas!

Do you do any classes with him? Scentwork, lifeskills, even agility is fine as long as it is skills based and age appropriate (so you'd need to find an experienced trainer). My terrier started at 8 months.

I find clicker training and in particular shaping tires her out the most. That involves problem solving and really taps into their skills as lone hunters.

Mine will walk all day now she's an older pup but bits of training have her snoozing upside down for hours! Plus she loves it - get the clicker out and she's off the chair and offering up all sorts of things to get that click and treat.

@Newpeep Thanks, some good advice. I do have some garden agility stuff we play with but nothing with a trainer as of yet. I was thinking that might be good because he is very agile.

I clicker train for a bit each day but he is the most stubborn dog and not very treat-motivated so it's a bit slow going. The main thing he likes is lots of human attention.

I would look at the following:

Settle training - this is so important and is invaluable as they get older and can come on outings etc. There's loads of guidance out there but it generally starts by teaching them to go to their bed/mat and then you work on building up the amount of time they spend there.

Tricks - they're not necessarily very useful but they're great at bulding a bond and tiring your dog out. KikoPup on YouTube is great for teaching everything from lie down to more complicated moves like play dead or jump through your arms.

If he likes snuffle mats you could increase the difficulty and hide treats around the garden or the house while he's shut away in another room. Get him to use his nose to find everything you've hidden. This is my beagles' favourite thing ever and it exhausts him way more than any work.

Natural, long-lasting chews are also good for stimulation and are good at tiring them out.

At that age on the go all the time is very normal. Ours started to calm down a bit at around 8 months but at 16 months is still a very busy dog but terriers should be. She does chill out very well between ‘stuff’ partly because we’ve rewarded it and partly because we’ve now got a good balance of exercise and mental stimulation. She can still get over tired though and when she does she struggles to settle herself down and a overtired terrier is a terrible terrier. That’s partly age though I think. She’s still very puppy like.

Id really limit football at that age as it can be detrimental mentally and physically and get him into some structured life skill type training with someone who understands terriers. They’re not stubborn but you need to find out what turns them on! They’ll give you ideas based on what he likes and how he responds.

Id second the settle training. I tried to keep up with my pup and couldnt and now have a 2year old who struggles to switch off

Thanks everyone. He does struggle to settle so that is a fantastic idea, I’m going to really focus hard on that I think.

I didn’t know football was a no-no at this age. Why is that?

I’d say in moderation at any age. Like ball chasing in general it gives them a high which can rev them up more and it’s heavy on their joints too. If he’s just playing with it himself then less of a big deal but long runs and twists and turns aren’t good.

I let mine have a ball in the house as she plays with it like a cat (it moves like prey) but we don’t play fetch and never will. I’ve seen too many injuries as a trainer.

A flirt pole is another good option. I’m not an advocate of enforced sleeping as I think it sets up frustration and terriers have poor tolerance anyway but you can encourage it with chews, lick mats and just plain rewarding calm moments.

Oh right, thanks. I’ll knock the football on the head. He does have a little soft indoor ball he’s happy to play with alone so that might be better?