What brain games do you do?

[Neverofficial]

9 month old cockapoo, lots of energy and not much of an off switch! Evenings can be tricky - keeps scrabbling at the garden door (not to toilet, just to run around), barks, wants all his toys but can't stay focused and is very restless. Sometimes humps his bed frantically or tries to shred it. Walks beautifully in the day but more prone to lead-biting or just generally being a dick on an evening walk especially now it's dark. Really needs to settle down and sleep but seems too alert! He's like a different dog all day long when he snoozes and is very chill but a switch flips after dinner and we have a prolonged witching hour.

I keep reading that you can't rely on physical exercise to tire a dog, but need brain games. He loves training sessions (doesn't transfer most of the skills into real life though! Recall certainly went out the window when adolescence hit) so I know he is keen to learn and engage, he does find it rewarding. He enjoys a snuffle mat or licky mat but they don't keep him occupied all that long and I don't want to keep loading them up with food over and over again.

So, excuse the stupid question but what kind of brain games does your dog like? I want to get him to calm down and focus on something and then be able to go to sleep.

When mine was young we would put treats in a box filled with newspaper and let him shred it. Luckily he didn't want to eat the cardboard or paper, but that might be a tricky game if yours fancies card as a snack!
We also used to hide around the house as a family with a little treat and call him to us. He absolutely loved that and it helped with recall when we were out.
Frozen Kongs and frozen stuffed hooves were good to keep him occupied and still in his pen. We also got him some rubber bones and I'd smear them with salmon oil or a little peanut butter to get him interested in chewing them. Once he started chewing he'd be quite happy to do it for around 15 minutes before passing out.
Sometimes it's really tempting to keep playing to tire them out in the evening, but we found it just made him more deranged! We quickly learnt to give him his toy and then just ignore him where possible. He calmed down in the evening from about 12 months so you might not have too much longer.

He just doesn’t sound physically tired

mine collapses late afternoon / early evening and just sleeps and dozes. He has two very long walks a day

Thanks @Myremoteislost I haven't tried frozen hooves! Fingers crossed for a 12 month calm down.

@Xannygum he gets two good walks a day with plenty of sniffing but I do keep him on the lead because he is too excitable around other dogs and has bad recall - both areas we are working on! So although he's out trotting around and sniffing everything, he isn't running off lead which would be more tiring.

If you’re honest? how long are the walks?

An hour in the morning, 30-45 mins late afternoon/evening. I love walking him and am looking forward to longer rambles in the future but am mindful of (though not slavishly adherent to) the guidance for puppies and their joints re over-walking. The hour walk is technically over what he should have in one go, but as we stop for a decent amount of sniffing I think it's fine. Previously under a different name I got really told off on this forum for walking him too much!

Google 101 things to do with a box, ( it doesn’t have to be a box though).

A really easy game is to shut him out of the room and hide a treat or toy, then let him in and tell him to “find it”. As he gets the hang of it you can choose more difficult hiding places and hide things in multiple places.

How busy is your house in the evening? We have two teens who play a lot of sport and DH or I might go out for a run or to meet a friend so it’s constant coming & going. Even if we’re not out, we’re moving from room to room. DPup is constantly alert, monitoring who is where even if he appears to be asleep. We now put him in his crate for a nap from 8:30 - 9:30 and he’ll have had one from about 6-7 too. He doesn’t go in the crate as much during the day as it’s just DH or I at home usually and he sleeps next to whichever of us is working from home. I’m often on hour long calls so he’ll get a good doze during each of those without any disturbances

Exactly the same @OranginacanonlybedrunkinFrance - two teens, pup alert all evening to the comings and goings (and when he does settle down, one of them inevitably comes in and fusses him and starts it all up again!) He started refusing the crate around six months and not a chance we could get him in it now. He doesn't like beds either, except for humping/chewing and likes to sleep on a hard floor. He's so happy to lie down and sleep all day between walks sometime in the room where I'm working or sometimes in the hall. Evenings just send him a bit loopy!

It’s entirely possible he’s bored and needs mental stimulation. But exciting him playing games or shoving him in front of a Kong isn’t the right way to do it. Never did a dog calm down or get properly mentally stimulated by being told to run around searching for food or toys whilst their human watched TV. They calm down either through being mentally stimulated in the right manner (I.e controlled) or being taught to settle.

I’d suggest a bit of both in your case. Teach him that evenings are for settling. No interaction or games once he’s had his last walk or meal, and lots of training during the day. And i do mean training - extended stays, down, recall, flying down, paw, shake, rollover etc. the best way to tire a dog is to train it.

Kongs and puzzle mats pump dogs full of food and quite frankly, anyone who says they’re using it to ‘stimulate’ or provide ‘mental enrichment’ has no idea what they’re doing, so ignore any advice about that. Most of the time it overstimulated the dog and doesn’t give them any proper mental stimulation. My boy is genuinely the least intelligent dog I’ve ever met. He solved a ‘puzzle feeder’ in five minutes and the next time I used it, he solved it in 1. That’s not mental stimulation. And if he can do it, the average dog should be more than capable of that. Dogs are so intelligent (cockers and poodles particularly) and people do them such a disservice by not working them properly

I have very high energy, high drive dogs, and I have never ever used boxes, puzzle matts, kongs or anything else to entertain them (outside of the one incident with my boy that was an unfettered disaster). There’s no need. Dogs need engagement and structure (training sessions), not to be encouraged to destroy things or go moseying around more than they already do. Instead, they each get 3/4 training sessions a day, learning new commands of working on old ones (my second eldest girl is 11 and I’ve just taught her to differentiate between left and right - on a walk I’ll yell ‘left’ and she runs left). That’s what tires a dog, not a Kong.

Ten years ago no one used any of these things, and by and large dogs then had far less behavioural issues than they do now. The only thing that’s changed is the use of these gimmicks as a way to for people to avoid avoid a really interacting with their dog (most of the time they don’t realise it).

I also see a lot of rescues that their owners say are ‘mental’ and ‘can’t settle.’ Bam. Kong removed. Puzzle Matt gone. Dog settles.

So my advice is engage with your dog during the day in a constructive way (training), then including on walks. Dog ownership is about interaction - and it’s so sad on Doghouse that so many people use things like kongs wrong or their first thought ‘give the dog this to do’ instead of ‘work with your dog.’

Then in the evening there’s nothing. He learns to settle. Most dogs pick it up quickly once they realise nothing fun will happen when they wank about

Thank you, that is so interesting to read @TheHungryHungryLandsharks because I was feeling guilty that the only enrichment I do with him is training sessions - lots of sit stay and down stay because those are where he's most successful, recall is a work in progress, but yes that's what I do and keep reading that he should be getting other forms of enrichment. Like you mention, I have been worried about overdoing things like kongs and licky mats because of all the food, though a licky mat is very useful when I'm brushing him definitely.

Puppy internet makes me really glad I didn't have Instagram/tiktok etc when my kids were babies - it's so intense on dog training that I can only imagine how fraught it must be for new mums. There is so much information out there and obviously not all of it is good. He does want to destroy and mosey around and I find the way you've explained that really clear and helpful. Particularly knowing that he is a mix of clever breeds, I do want to channel his drive constructively. Not sure he's up to learning left and right yet but that's something to aim for!

@Neverofficial oh agreed!! And too many people jump straight to games instead of channelling it into something constructive and there’s lots of demonising around ‘mental enrichment’ and if you say ‘I don’t want to encourage destruction’ people think you’re not doing it right, but you will always know your dog better than anyone else. So if you know your boy can be destructive, you probably don’t want to encourage that unless it’s in a really controlled and specific way. And ten+ years ago, we really didn’t do all these things and I do sometimes fear people make a bit of a rod for their own back (I know with my dogs, the more I ‘give’ them the more they want).

Do you train him on walks? I know you said recall is a work in progress, but things like making him sit mid walk or walking to heel for 5-10 meters can also be good ways of incorporating training. Doing it in increasingly stimulating environments is another way of challenging him. I just got back from holiday (so relatively new place for my dogs) and several days I took my youngest who’s only a year old out by herself. Just into the local high street. Made her do sit, stay, down, in pubs with lots of people moving around, in the high street itself. She slept like a baby. Nothing particularly exciting or new, but doing things in a new place and with new stimuli exhausted her.

As you sat, lots of judgment out there. People often act like if you’re not spending lots of gundog training, or training classes, or even equipment (kongs etc) that you’re failing in some way. Dog training absolutely does not need to be expensive or high-tech. The best thing any owner can do for their dog is engage with it in a way that builds that bond and in a way that channels their intelligence or innate ‘purpose’ (spaniels bred to flush, retrievers to retrieve) in a constructive way. It doesn’t need to be all the time, and ignoring your dog if it’s wanking around the house in the evening (and not giving into its demands) can sometimes be the best thing for it. So definitely try a bit more training during the day/ on walks and then slowly teach him how to clam down and settle 😊

But you’ve hit thank wanky has that all dogs hit - pushing boundaries, not listening, being a git.

He’ll calm down eventually. There’s a long running beyond adolescence thread you are more than welcome to join if you wish - we have a few people still in the adolescence phase but a few of us are just out of it, so lots of sympathy and commiserations and support there if you want it! We also celebrate our successes etc. I’m on it (had dogs for twenty years - currently have five), and have learnt some great and helpful things. And alternative perspectives are always very useful.

We did 'go left', 'go right' and 'go back' in gundog classes.

Have the dog in a sit, stay/wait in front of you. Throw a training dummy to the left. Left arm out to the side and say 'go left'. Dog retrieves dummy.
Right arm out for go right.
For 'go back', you use either arm out to the front.

You could use a toy if you don't have a dummy. My embarrassment of a gundog refused to retrieve anything to begin with, so I had to use treats for her to learn the commands.
I can now put her in a sit, stay, throw dummies out to the left and right and send her to fetch each one in turn.

As Landsharks says, it comes in handy on walks when we reach a fork in the path. She'll wait and look at me to tell her whether to go left or go right.
We also practise walking to heel, sit and stay/wait on walks. Especially after she's flushed and chased a rabbit or bird, as it helps her calm back down and re-engage her brain.

Length of walk - I followed the 5 minutes of walking + 5 minutes of sniffing guidance. So by 6 months old, my puppy was going for one hour off lead walks in the woods, twice a day.

And I agree. Licky mats are great as a distraction whilst grooming. Back in the dark ages, I used to have to smear Primula cheese all over the kitchen cupboard doors instead.

I have a crazy rescue cockapoo and agree with TheHungryHungryLandsharks in regards to snuffle mat & co. They are just pacifiers for dogs & do more harm than good.
The way I resolved it was through finding the right type of training for the dog, mine just needed a job. I do Agility and trick training with mine, it's calmed her right down. She used to jump around, always turbo charged and generally a pain in the butt ... and that's with having had a decent walk & play time with other dogs.

Just remember, your dog is a mix of an intelligent and energetic dog breed you need to accommodate this. Find something fun to do with your dog ... YouTube has lots of videos for teaching tricks or find a trainer / club and do some doggy sports.

The same with our Weimaraner, he always stops if there’s a fork on the track and I just point.
we always vary our walks even though they are often in the same fields so he has to look at me for confirmation of which way we are going today.
also we shake it up a couple of times a week and walk him by a busy road down to the park where he’s always on lead, again so he doesn’t expect every walk to be the same.
Most importantly every walk is a training walk, he’s 3 1/2 and not perfect in all areas.
it can take me 10-20 minutes to walk along the bridle way to the fields depending on how receptive he is.
it’s a five minute walk with out the dog.
And he doesn’t get let off lead in field if he has been an arsehole on the bridle way, thankfully getting increasingly less as he has finally started to act like a dog with a brain 😂

Cockers are bred to use their noses, so try things on walks like throwing a tennis ball into grass and getting him to find it. Start off with him seeing it and make it easy, and build up to 'blinds': where you send him into cover to find something. If he'll bring it back to you, tell hi how clever he is and let him play the game again.

Get him to retrieve anything from gundog dummies to your keys. Gradually make it all more complex.

As PPs have said, work on sits and stays - a long stay can tire a dog out more than the same amount of time hooning round the playing fields. Remember the '3Ds' - distance, duration and distraction. Begin with a short stay with you veery close for a few seconds in a boring environment. Then move that same stay to somewhere a little more exciting. Once he's nailed that, move away a few paces. Then make him wait a little longer before you go back to him. You can have a surprising amount of fun with your dog doing stuff like this.

Get yourself a biothane longline (which won't hold water and will be easy to wipe clean) if you're anywhere where his recall will be poor. You can always let it trail - you have the option of stepping on it as it trails along the ground. Just be careful of a longline in thick cover or similar - they can get snagged.

I have two hunt-point-retrieve dogs from working lines, and I still do this sort of thing with them several times a week. It keeps them happy and fulfilled.

@Neverofficialjust a practical thing we do in the evenings - when one of the teens takes themselves off to actually do some homework, they take the dog with them. He quickly realises nothing interesting is happening and then settles down, like he does on the days DH or I are working from home. If that’s not an option, we sometimes put him on a long lead and use it as a tether. Again, when he’s realised he’s not got the option of always being where the action is, he’ll settle.

Bit of a wildcard and my dog wasnt restless when i got this but just sharing something that I discovered with mine

I got her a little viewing platform high enough to see out the window to the street with some little steps to climb up. She is up there so much just watching the comings and goings. Suppose it's like her TV or reading a book?!

Going against some on the snuffle mat. We use it to feed our terrier. She wolfs down her bowl food so we put 50% of kibble in the snuffle mat which slows her eating and provides mental game.
Other than that it’s all walks and training.
Shes 8 months now and really chilled.

We play find it, with treats hidden round the room... that's his favourite.
We also have a few of those puzzles where you have to flip levels/open drawers etc to get treats out. I let him choose which puzzle he wants. He always has an opinion.

I brought something like this and set up courses in my lounge or garden.

That’s progressed to doing proper agility lessons and o practice in the garden.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skylos-Agility-Equipment-Jump-Training/dp/B0GZP7M1GF/ref=mpsa11sspa?crid=25JVZ9U408PO4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.VUsNeNmC1jSNhHzZbrKkgR2u1B6NmniIj-ZShZMvjb9D8Q83CIrymNwN0xYcgd3YjQuT5K0BMC8E7phmTp7EdjFdMfTehScZqEY3hapZQGpQDEkovZCedMpk7QtV4R4gorBJtaJOpqrgqXUlrrCn7UYdzWHdvwgcKsHg3nnH9hNkxn-cweVYBYy2U-BHJK5j6a0S9P-2gTdPl1G6w.O1plLQfsVea1Y1F9UqIGvSXQicnxpXQ5ceyFWPbfhZo&dibtag=se&keywords=amazon+agility&qid=1792150070&sprefix=amazon+agility%2Caps%2C290&sr=8-1-spons&aref=9gdhThq3Xf&spcsd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

I also go on YouTube and find ‘rally obedience’ cards and go through these with him.

Hide and seek with food.