Hi everyone,
Just like for many of you out there our dog -a bernese mountain dog of 5/6 months old- sometimes has to stay home alone. Luckily i work close to home and can come visit her during breaktime at noon but still... (We're talking about +- 5 hours of alone time at most).
I don't want her to get too bored while we're gone so we have a some toys and puzzles, a few diy because i like making stuff for her (plus it's cheaper) but here's the thing...
Those little fuzzballs are smart...
Most puzzles or toys she figures out in no-time.
A couple of the toys:
- muffin tray and (halved) tennis ball puzzle
- cut open tennis ball with treats inside
- treats wrapped in a towel, stuffed inside an open ball
- treats in a box with other stuff to search for
- a sniffing mat
- pcv-pipe puzzle
- a store-bought slider puzzle
- ...
In any case i have a few things where i could use your help/input:
1) most of these use treats as motivation. Are there any other ways of toys to attract her interest that aren't food-based?
She usually figures out a puzzle in about 5-10 minutes (on a slow day)...
2) Could i figure out a way to restrict her acces to different puzzles based on the time? (One immediately when i leave, a second, third... one later) so she spreads them out more.
3) Any other puzzle and toy-ideas are also most welcome, especially those that might keep her engaged a little longer
Greets en thx for reading,
Ward
Just like for many of you out there our dog -a bernese mountain dog of 5/6 months old- sometimes has to stay home alone. Luckily i work close to home and can come visit her during breaktime at noon but still... (We're talking about +- 5 hours of alone time at most).
I don't want her to get too bored while we're gone so we have a some toys and puzzles, a few diy because i like making stuff for her (plus it's cheaper) but here's the thing...
Those little fuzzballs are smart...
Most puzzles or toys she figures out in no-time.
A couple of the toys:
- muffin tray and (halved) tennis ball puzzle
- cut open tennis ball with treats inside
- treats wrapped in a towel, stuffed inside an open ball
- treats in a box with other stuff to search for
- a sniffing mat
- pcv-pipe puzzle
- a store-bought slider puzzle
- ...
In any case i have a few things where i could use your help/input:
1) most of these use treats as motivation. Are there any other ways of toys to attract her interest that aren't food-based?
She usually figures out a puzzle in about 5-10 minutes (on a slow day)...
2) Could i figure out a way to restrict her acces to different puzzles based on the time? (One immediately when i leave, a second, third... one later) so she spreads them out more.
3) Any other puzzle and toy-ideas are also most welcome, especially those that might keep her engaged a little longer
Greets en thx for reading,
Ward