How to occupy your smart dog before he starts behaving badly

When you have a smart dog, physical activity: run, jump, swim, play …. whether in winter or summer, it is vital all year!

You have a smart dog and physical activity is essential for the well-being of your dog mentally and physically. When we talk about physical activity, it is not simply a walk on a leash. On average, a dog is 18 times stronger than a human being with physical exertion. Therefore, it is practically impossible to exhaust a healthy dog by making a minimum of sports daily, in the exception of special medical considerations. In addition, although certain precautions apply, particularly for very young puppies and older dogs, exercise is essential for all periods of the year, rain, shine or that it snow, and at least 30 minutes a day, every day.

Tip: During the walk or play period, ask your dog some tricks. Example: between two launched frisbee, ask your dog to perform three steps already learned (sit, down, up …), and then increase the difficulty level as and when it becomes too easy, your dog will get tired faster and get smarter!

Intellectual activity: look, think, discriminate objects, perform tricks …. work as a service dog, be partners…..

Intellectual activity is often used very little, but it is essential to keep the dog alert and awake. Every dog needs to think and use their cognitive abilities to learn new tricks to be able to understand the surrounding environment and to better adapt. Whether basic obedience or further (Agility, Freestyle …) training, all excuses are good to learn something new for your dog. Remember that learning is done only twice, although it should be strengthened thereafter, while a cons-conditioning requires more than 1200 times. In addition, the dog has association building between words and objects up to 300 words (checked and tested), and over 1000 supposedly. That leaves a wide range of choices.

Did you know that 5 minutes of learning and intellectual activate is equivalent to 50 minutes of physical activity? Provide both are necessary for a balanced dog.