Brain Teasers for Dogs

Christina Sondermann

Brain Teasers for 

Dogs

Quick and easy homemade puzzle games

Quiller

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Contents 4 Welcome to the brain teaser workshop!

6 Why brain teasers are good for your dog!

8 10 12 16 18

Challenging the brain makes one feel good!

Get the brain into gear Puzzle boxes – instruction manual Bonus: Food or toy?

Test: What sort of puzzle-solver is your dog?

24 Hide and seek puzzles using covers 26 30 32 34 38 42 46 48 50

A lesson on cover games Be creative with your covers Giant covers Cover board games Building towers with covers Stacking the covers Covers turned upside down The ultimate cover challenge Bonus: Puzzle games as a science

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52 Using paws and jaws to extract rewards

54 Dog pipeline 56 Biscuit drawer 60 Food downpipe 64 Sandbagger 68 Hide and seek 70 Mouse hole 72 Hou(n)dini 76 The dog fishing line 80 Bonus: Using bought brain teasers

82 Brain teasers for lateral thinkers

84 88 90 94 96 100

Spin the bottle Crisp machine Safe breaker Open sesame!

The fence experiment Bonus: Diploma in brain teaser invention!

102 Brain teasers ‌ in everyday life!

108 About the author

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Welcome!

Welcome to the brain teaser workshop!

This book contains a variety of original games, in which your dog will have to apply paws, nose and lots of gumption.

Your four-legged friend’s brain will certainly be challenged. In order to receive a treat or his favourite toy, he will first have to crack various puzzles: operate a downpipe, try his luck with a board game, reel in a dog fishing line or – literally – think outside the box.

You already have all the necessary equipment for infinite puzzle fun at home. It lies dormant in the form of everyday household objects in the kitchen, cellar, garage and attic – waiting to be used as brain teaser equipment.

There is no need to buy anything special, hardly any need to make anything (there are things even people with limited DIY skills can easily put together) and you can throw yourself straight into the fun.

It makes no difference whether you and your dog have any previous experience nor does it matter if you think of your four-legged friend as intelligent or not. It is also irrelevent whether you are both young or old, big or small, physically fit or less mobile.

If you are completely new to it all, then you will not only learn many new games, but you will also receive stepby-step instructions for each game.

And if you are both old hands and have already tried a lot, then view this book as creativity training. Let yourself be surprised by how easily you can, with just the smallest variation to wellknown ideas, offer your experienced player new challenges – and you will soon be creating all sorts of new brain teasers and brain challenges for your dog.

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This media remains the property of Quiller Publishing

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Why

brain teasers are good for your dog!

8 10 12 16 18

Challenging the brain makes one feel good!

Get the brain into gear Puzzle boxes – instruction manual Bonus: Food or toy?

Test: What type of puzzle-solver is your dog?

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Challenge

Challenging the brain makes one feel good!

Did you buy this book, because you and your dog want to have fun with activities? There are lots of reasons to play puzzle games.

Activities with gumption It isn’t a secret that intellectual stimulus and mental work are among the things that contribute to a happy dog’s life.

Puzzle games are a building block to

enrich your dog’s daily routine in a simple way. It is good to know that just a few minutes of mental exercise can make him unbelievably tired.

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Challenging the brain makes one feel good!

Brain teasers are a popular sport!

Irrespective of your dog’s breed and individual differences, puzzle games are counted amongst those activities that enthuse all dogs without exception. On the one hand it is in the dog’s nature to acquire food with skilful use of the nose or paw. On the other hand, very independent dogs or those that are supposedly difficult to motivate thrive while playing puzzle games.

Doing puzzles and problem solving perfectly match their natural disposition. There have also been experiments that show that these dogs prefer to work out how to get a piece of food out of brain teaser apparatus than to just take it!

challenges), stamina (to persevere, and not get frustrated or depressed, even if the desired result doesn’t happen straight away), resilience (to endure trials, failure and even heart-stopping moments).

Experts call such stimulation of physical health ‘empowerment’ .

Anti-ageing for grey matter The dog brain, like the human brain, is adaptable up until old age – and capable of being trained, like a muscle. ‘Use it or lose it’ or ‘Who rests, rusts’ is the motto here.

Only those who challenge themselves mentally regularly stay mentally fit – and can, as a result, gain a cognitive cushion (effectively brain mass in reserve).

According to current findings this can also delay the onset of dementia – a good reason to offer your dog regular puzzle fun up until old age.

A dog that can solve puzzles is psychologically healthy For the fun of it!

Who would have thought it: your dog playfully solves brain teasers – and as a result becomes more self-confident, even-tempered and dependable in everyday life! After every challenge he overcomes, he learns: ‘Whatever happens – I can do this!’

Incidentally, playing puzzle games trains important characteristics for surviving in everyday life, like the ability to solve problems (to react intellectually and flexibly towards everyday

Speaking of fun, the mastered challenges will stimulate your dog and will give him many moments of happiness. And even if your four-legged friend solves the puzzles independently, these puzzle games are real communal experiences, which will bring you both even closer. You, as his trainer, are in the middle of the activity – you delight in his success, are proud of him and celebrate his cleverness.

Furthermore, your dog knows exactly to whom he owes this puzzling fun – you!

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10

Brain into gear

Get the brain into gear

Brain teasers need to be ‘something new’ – when it comes to dogs that’s quite easy – and can be readily put into practice with household objects.

For us, it is simply an upside-down carton – for the dog, it is a completely new mechanism!

The brain: fit for new things!

Don’t worry: you don’t need to be a brain expert in order to throw yourself into, and enjoy, this puzzle fun. But you do need to understand the basic concepts of how to make these games and puzzles fresh and exciting and to keep updating them so your dog remains challenged. Brain teasers are about the new and the different that the dog has to process and solve, rather than something they already know well, which would be processed routinely.

Need an example? If you have a driver’s licence, do you remember how demanding and complex it was to learn how to drive?

It took peak mental performance to concentrate on how to operate the clutch or put the car into gear. After a driving lesson, the brain was fried. And what is it like now? Presumably, you now drive using the proverbial ‘autopilot’. You hardly need to think about the sequence, as everything happens automatically. It would, however, be extremely easy to make driving a car into a brainteaser again, at least for some time.

For example, imagine if you had to sit at the wheel of a car designed for driving on the other side of the road.

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Get the brain into gear

It is similar in dogs’ brain teasers: brain jogging takes place, as long as your dog still enjoys doing puzzles. Once the mechanism of a game is solved, then it gives many dogs pleasure to reach the treat the easy way, through repetition of the learned trick.

But then it is no longer a brain teaser!

To get the dog brain back into gear, you would have to either change something in the original game or play a new game.

Or, until now, exclusively you have practised ‘Sit!’ with your dog. Now another family member tries the exercise – but the dog doesn’t seem to understand what is going on.

Notice: New + different = Brain teasers!

Brain trainer in the household

With dogs everything can be made new!

The good news is that presenting new and different things to dogs is a lot easier than for humans! That’s because dogs are sticklers for detail. They are world champions in linking the smallest intricacies – and are unbelievably bad at generalising. You have certainly already experienced exactly what this means in everyday life with your dog.

Do you know the feeling? You’ve practised a new trick at home and now want to show it off on the dog training ground – but there your dog acts as if you are asking him to do something completely unknown. However, all you did was to change the practice environment.

If even a small detail changes vis-àvis the learnt (often, the environment, the participating person, the person’s posture), this can trigger a lack of understanding, at least temporarily.

The things we groan about in everyday training are perfect for puzzle fun.

You already know that stimulating your dog’s brain regularly with new things is important, but not difficult. And it doesn‘t have to be expensive! Everyday – and household – objects make ideal equipment. Cups, buckets, cartons, cardboard tubes and even furniture, in all kinds of shapes and sizes, are available, versatile and colourful, and together can be combined to make new challenges.

And once you are really ‘played out’ you can just change them back to their original purpose. But rest assured – it could take longer than you think.

A desired side effect of this book is that not only your dog, but also you, become more and more creative, see a game in more and more things, and welltrodden games get new brainteaser kudos with a few small changes.

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Puzzle boxes

Puzzle boxes – instruction manual Read and get going is the motto! Skim these tips now – and study them in more detail if you have any questions while playing.

Which games do I start with?

You can play your way through the book as you feel like it and work out what you enjoy. Should particular previous knowledge be helpful for a game, this will be noted in the game instructions.

Mostly, however, this is not the case. If Looks complicated, but it is possible for your dog to solve it without any previous experience!

you find a game idea interesting, but have doubts whether your dog will be able to crack the technique – perhaps, because he ‘never does anything with his muzzle’ or ‘never does anything with his paw’, don’t worry! If your dog knows ‘there is food (or a toy) and the chances of getting to it are good’ then he will use his tools automatically. You will find out how to reassure your dog, in the instructions.

Puzzle over it or stepby-step Whatever the game, for the base variant there are always detailed step-by-step instructions. As a result, brain teaser beginners can also celebrate success straight away. However, if your dog is already a puzzle expert, do let him puzzle without a step-by-step setup. If he doesn’t manage to crack the game mechanism through his own thinking and trying, you can still go ahead stepby-step. You will find out what type of puzzle-solver your dog is and what size steps you need to take in the puzzle test on page 18!

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Puzzle boxes – instruction manual

When in doubt follow the fiver rule In case you are asking yourself how quickly you can progress, if you follow the instructions step-by-step you can’t go wrong with the fiver rule: you complete each step 5 times one after the other.

›› When 4–5 of these are successes, you can move on to the next step. ›› If you only count 3 successes, start 5 further attempts in this step and then re-evaluate. ›› If you only achieve 0–2 successes you must go back at least one step.

but what if at this point he is not able to crack the technique of a game with the help of these tools? Could you not help him on to the right wavelength with a familiar signal (for example ‘Take it’ or ‘Paw’)? Of course you could. However, then the puzzle effect would also be lost and you would take away all your dog’s brainwork.

For this reason, resist the temptation and let your dog think for himself.

Remember: Brain teasers usually have more than one solution.

Let yourself be surprised which technique your dog develops – and whether he solves the problem, for example, with his muzzle or paw.

Remember: only move on when the previous step works effortlessly.

In one sitting or in stages?

How exactly should you praise and reward?

Whether you play a game from the first to the last step in one sitting depends on how much of a challenge it is for your dog. You don’t need to invent a new game every time as your dog will already have learnt some of the stages.

Don’t worry, the importance of timing in dog training is allowed for in the games almost automatically! Whenever your dog is successful, he will straight away have the reward in front of his nose.

Accurate ‘highlighting’ or familiarity with clickers is therefore not necessary.

Feel free to acknowledge your dog’s successful attempts with lots of heartfelt praise. If you genuinely take delight in every challenge your dog accomplishes, no matter how big or small, then that is perfect.

Assistance through commands?

Your dog can already take things into his muzzle ‘on command’ or give his paw –

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Why brain teasers are good for your dog!

Thoughtful refills If you and your dog play using the stepby-step manual, then you will usually complete several repetitions in quick succession. For every repetition, refill the game with new food or toys. The less you interrupt the flow of the game, the quicker your dog learns.

Is your dog very fidgety and impatient when you ‘refill’? If he already knows a reliable ‘stay’ signal you can ask him to wait with that. If he isn’t quite at that level, quickly pick the game up – and therefore out of the dog’s reach – to refill it.

Avoid putting your boisterous fourlegged friend in his place with a stop

signal. The dog could otherwise think that the entire game is forbidden – and then he won’t join in with anything anymore! If you just ensure that with very boisterous dogs, you only put the game down when all four paws are on the ground or your dog even sits without being asked, everything will proceed more calmly almost automatically.

Independently – but not alone!

Just like most bought ‘intelligent’ dog games, brain teasers made from household objects should not be put down, so that you leave your Einstein

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Puzzle boxes – instruction manual

alone with them. The danger that he will take the ‘direct path’ and take it apart, leaving only the key components instead of working out the delicate mechanism, is too great – especially if your brain teaser equipment is made up of cups, biscuit wrappers or crisp tins. Your presence is important, not only for supervision, but, of course, to encourage. Often, you can help your dog to figure out the mechanism of the game even better by purposefully placing or holding the equipment.

Brain teasers are best in small doses Thinking is tiring! When your dog is fully concentrated and on task and constantly puzzles and tries things, then a few minutes are enough to exhaust him.

Your game sessions should not last any longer. If your dog is in an overexcited mood afterwards and has difficulty calming down, give him something to chew on (for example, a filled toy or a dry chewing product) or let him sniff out a handful of widely scattered food after doing a brain teaser. Both promote relaxation.

You and your dog decide, as the whim takes you, how often you do the puzzles.

If you are both in the game craze and have the time, then playing twice a day for a few minutes is fine. And if you

are only in the mood for playing every few days or once a month, then that is equally good!

With everything that you are offering your dog, always consider that to be balanced, he needs not only a healthy mix of mental and physical exercise, but also hourlong phases of relaxation! At 15–20 hours a day, a dog’s requirement for rest and sleep is much higher than that of humans.

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Bonus

Food or toy?

When doing brain teasers it’s all about your dog developing strategies to reach an unreachable motivation product on the first go. That can be food or a favourite toy.

Why food is often the first choice In many cases using food is appropriate.

Little pieces of food are much smaller than toys – and therefore better to tuck into the brain teaser equipment.

In addition, food interrupts the concentration on the game distinctly less than toys that have to be ‘played with’ and then taken away again before you can go on. Especially when you are proceeding with the step-by-step setup and are completing each attempt quickly one after the other, then it works much better with food than with toys. To work for a part of the daily ration through solving problems is also a very natural occupation, which all dogs benefit from.

And when is a toy appropriate?

Is your dog an absolute toy fan and did you also identify him as an advanced expert in the puzzle test (see page 18)?

Then you will do less of the step-by-step

setup and instead will let your dog do more work and trying out. In this case it makes sense to once in a while tuck a toy instead of food into a brain teaser, in a hard to reach place for the dog. That requires much more brainwork than chasing a toy that has been thrown.

Don’t worry about your dog getting fat!

Those doing the brain teasers in the step-by-step setup, with repetition in quick succession, can easily accrue ten pieces of food per minute. Therefore, five minutes of brain teasers means 50 pieces of food! Those feeding dried food have it easy and simply use part of the daily ration. Those who feed wet, raw, fresh and/or homemade food will need special training bites. Break up your treats into pea-size pieces. That is more than enough and won’t affect their waist! On top of this there are various dog biscuit recipes, which you can cut to size with a pizza cutter during the baking process. Here is a recipe for a treat you can easily make yourself:

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Food or toy?

Tasty homebaked treats You will need:

›› 125g Pâté ›› 1 Egg ›› 450 g Plain flour ›› 150 g Pureed carrots (alternatively, a jar of carrot baby food)

›› 50 ml Oil ›› 50 ml Water Method:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and knead with a mixer. The dough should be sticky. If necessary, add water or flour while kneading.

2. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

3. Roll the dough out onto the baking tray to a thickness of 0.5 cm.

4. Bake at 175°C (fan). Take the baking tray out of the oven after 5–8 minutes and cut the dough sheet with a pizza cutter to the desired size. This way, you will easily be able to create bitesize pieces.

5. Put the baking tray back into the oven and bake for a further 22–25 minutes.

6. Let the biscuits cool in the oven so that they become hard and non-perishable.

Using a pizza cutter, you will be able to cut the dough into small, bite-size pieces.

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