The phenomenon of puppy daycare has caught on. You find tons of daycares in cities around the U.S. The purpose of such facilities is to allow dog owners to go to work and do other daily activities knowing that their puppy is in good hands.
While daycares may provide surveillance and care for your dog while you are away, they may also have negative effects on them, such as:
- Being around too many dogs can stress a puppy out. Socializing with other dogs is good, however, for a puppy that isn’t typically around other dogs all the time, the presence of so many is stressful.
- Puppies require maternal sensitivity and attention as they develop. Most puppy daycares provide neither. The facilities are overcrowded which limits one-on-one time spent with caregivers, resulting in developing insecurity within the puppy.
- Dogs brought up in daycare tend to have behavioral issues such as impulsiveness and aggression.
Puppies require quality time rather than quantity. Now, there are amazing daycares out there that ensure comfort and quality time for your puppies. But you have to do thorough research before you find them.
So, if you are wary of your puppy developing behavioral problems at daycare, you can help their development with brain games for puppies. There are games specifically designed to play with your puppy that ensure you spend quality time with them, helping them with mental and physical development.
Games to play with puppies that go to puppy daycare
You should play the following games with your puppy to encourage their development.
Find the treat
This particular game helps your dog scavenge through your home giving them a chance to get acquainted with it while also getting a treat in the process. To play you need to:
- Grab treats in front of your puppy and have him/her stay in position.
- Drop a few treats in front of the puppy and hide the rest around the home.
- Encourage your puppy to eat the treat and go with them to find the others you’ve hidden.
As your puppy progresses in the game, you can hide the treats in more challenging places. The game helps develop their mental and physical skills.
Food dispensing toy
Food dispensing toys are all the rave. Dogs love them and owners have a way for their puppy to stay active while they are away. These toys provide mental stimulation to dogs as they have to scavenge their way to a treat and the best part is you don’t need to be around them. It gives them a chance to develop instincts and have a yummy treat at the same time.
Puzzles
There are puzzles designed specifically for dogs. They come in different difficulties, shapes, and sizes and are a popular brain game for puppies. They mentally stimulate your puppy and keep them entertained for some time. You don’t necessarily have to be with them as they work the puzzles. So, you can leave it out and let them enjoy it while you are gone.
Parkour
Puppies need both mental and physical stimulation for development. Parkour gives them a chance to develop both their mind and body. You can incorporate it into your daily walks, be it out in the park or neighborhood. Look for small obstacles for your puppy to jump over or run around. As he or she grows, you can look for more challenging obstacles, this way they don’t get bored of going through the same routine every day.
Hide and seek
There will be days when you won’t be able to take your dog out. Hide and seek is perfect for such days. It takes a bit of training for your puppy to understand the game, so be patient with them. Have them sit and stay in one place and have another family member go hide. Then, encourage the puppy to go find them.
If it is just you and your puppy then you can play hide and seek with a toy. Hide the toy and have your puppy find it. Make sure you pick different hiding spots each time.
Final thought
Keeping your puppy active and mentally stimulated is important for their growth. You need to dedicate time every day to play brain games with your puppy. It will keep them entertained and happy while encouraging their development. For puppies that go to puppy daycare brain games can help counter behavioral issues learned from the facility. Which ensures they only pick up good habits from puppy daycare.