Signs Your Dog Needs Mental Stimulation

Happy Friday Everyone,

There is one dog in the world that I can not stand, and it is my boyfriend’s dog. I am a forever dog lover, but this one I can not deal with (and Ian knows it). His name is Jack, he’s 3 years old, and the size of my cat. He never sits down and he always tries to eat food off of my plate and I want to punt him across the state.

I am convinced that Ian’s dog is so annoying because Jack needs more mental stimulation. Here are some of the signs that your dog needs more mental stimulation, so that he or she can stop annoying you:

CAN’T SETTLE

This is when your dog gets up from their resting or sitting position constantly and seemingly can’t get comfortable and relax. Even after a walk or physical exercise, this habit is common. Playing a game around the house or making your dog use your brain is a good solution for this.

CHEWS ON EVERYTHING

If your dog destroys anything around your house- from toys, to shoes, to blankets, this could be a sign that your dog is simply driving him or herself insane. Try hiding toys around the house or making an interactive game out of play time so that your dog doesn’t tear everything to shreds.

CHASING HIS OR HER TAIL

This can happen with any dog, of any age or breed. Sometimes it can just be a strange habit (maybe a sign of fleas of a tick), but it can also become an obsession for some dogs. This is the type of habit that can go away with working on getting rid of other bad habits; the habit should go away with time.

BARKING AT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING

Maybe your dog sees everything as a threat- meaning that he or she barks at absolutely anything that moves, or doesn’t move. It gets beyond annoying, but may be a sign that your dog could use some simple training with a professional, or at home.

DIGS HOLES INTO EVERYTHING

This applies to any dog that obsessively digs holes- whether it be outside in the yard or even into the couch which is extra irritating. This is a very obvious boredom behavior and your dog could potentially just need some play time and one-on-one attention.

SLEEPS A LOT

This is another boredom sign- kind of like how we sleep when we’re bored at college (whoops).

WHINES

Although there are many reasons that your dog may be whining, it could be that he or she is bored. The best thing to do in this situation is wait until the whining stops (so that you’re not reinforcing the behavior) and give him or her a toy and some attention.

These are just a few signs that your dog may need some more attention or activities so that he or she isn’t going insane while. Just like a small child needs time to play and spend time with people, so do our pets. Fun fact, Ian’s dog has every one of these signs and it’s extremely irritating when they all happen in the same day. Does your dog do any of these things, or maybe anything else?

3 comments

  1. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about dogs or pets in general needing mental stimulation just like we would. I’m going to have to rethink how I spend time with my dogs in the future to make sure they’re fully engaged.

  2. As I mentioned last week, my dog is a big dumb idiot. I never thought that he might need mental stimulation, because it honestly seems like there’s nothing there to stimulate. But, he does actually do a lot of these things. He sits inside and barks at the door, but when we put him outside he barks to be let back in. 95% of the time he is asleep on the kitchen floor (or sometimes on the couch where he’s not supposed to be). I’ll have to tell my dad to start training him and playing with him to get him brain going a little more.

  3. My dog definitely needs more mental stimulation. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt because she’s still a puppy, but sometimes I really want to punt her across the state just like you with Ian’s dog. The issue is, Bella is honestly just a really dumb dog. She lacks the mental capacity that I am used to with Sammy, and she is just all over the place all the time.

Leave a Reply to Abby Mapel Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *