Sound dog games stimulate the dog’s intelligence while keeping his mind active
A dog with an active mind is a happier animal. Sound games not only help us to stimulate the dog’s intelligence. They are also a way to avoid canine boredom and, in this way, unwanted behaviours, such as destroying furniture at home, excessive barking or overly dependent animals. This article collects fun games to work the intelligence of the dog with sounds : listen to it and follow it, sound balls, music for the dog and learn to clicker.
Games with sounds to stimulate the dog’s mind
Using sound in a fun way, and with large doses of affection, can be an interesting game to activate the minds of our dogs. Dogs react to different sounds in a similar way to how music is able to provoke or enhance certain moods in dogs.
Humans pay attention to the dog’s bed, the type of leash with which we go to the dog park or the dog food that we offer to our furry companion. However, we tend to forget the importance of sound as part of the dog’s environment : noises and rattles have an impact on the dog and dogs respond to these sounds. While rapid and repeated rattles speed up canine activity, more melodic ones consisting of long notes can help calm dogs.
As for canine games, these can take into account the sounds and use them to stimulate the dog’s mind. Here are four fun and sound ideas to share with your furry friend.
1. Game with sound for dogs: “Listen to her and follow her”
Playfully stroking your dog and accompanying this contact with a noise is a good play stimulus for your dog. Try performing doggy strokes repeatedly on different parts of your friend’s body, always accompanied by the same noise.
It will take little time for the dog to identify the noise with the game of touch. Once you are sure that the dog has understood the activity, you can try to make the noise and wait a few seconds before touching it. The dog usually has fun while figuring out where the petting will come from each time.
2. Games with sound for dogs: balls
The sound balls, with bells, seeds or any other object that sounds inside, can be a fun game to share with your dog.
This alternative is fun and very useful to play with an old, blind dog. The game can be easier if we tie a sound object -a bell- with a rope to the shoe or leg. Our four-legged friend will clearly perceive when we are approaching and we will help him to recognize us.
3. Music for the dog
The sounds provide sensations to the dog and are a resource to calm a nervous puppy, which suffers when it is left alone at home. In the same way, hearing wolves howl or hearing wild whales in the sea is a stimulus for the dog’s brain.
The Internet helps to get some of these sounds. One tool is the Animal Sounds portal, which collects interesting animal sounds: from birds to lions, farm animals and other barking dogs.
4. Learn to clicker stroke
A sound instrument that is very useful for the puppy dog to learn simple guidelines is the clicker. The sound emitted by this canine education device will be the signal that marks the puppy that, if he obeys, he will get a good reward. And meanwhile, it will stimulate your intelligence.
The clicker is a very precise sound tool that we can use with dogs, as it allows us to just reward the behaviour we want.
