6 Awesome Mental Exercises For Border Collies

Border Collies aren’t only strong and majestic, but they have such a huge amount of energy that requires training! Being intelligent dogs, this is a must to ensure that they respect you and their home. After all, you wouldn’t want a smart Border Collie who defies your commands!

Besides this, they also need mental stimulation to maintain their intelligence and understanding of commands. Similar to us humans, such games and learnings can hone our minds, resulting in better trains of thought. The best part is that, for dogs, you can stimulate their minds with games you’ll both find extremely fun!

But what are the different mental exercise for Border Collies you can do? Read on as I show you six of my pet’s favorite ones!

mental exercises for border collies
Border collie dog catching a plastic disc.

Six Mental Exercises For Border Collies

Border Collies, just like all dog breeds, require as many mental exercises as they do physical ones. However, now all pet owners know that, nor would they know what types of mental exercises for Border Collies they can do.

To help you out, here are the six best ones that help with your dog’s training:

1. For Social Enrichment

You can do social mental exercises by combining it with physical exercise as well! Allow your dog to improve their social behavior when interacting with different people, dogs, and other animals. You can do this by taking them to doggy daycare.

Or, you can also take them to new locations, like the pet store, local dog parks, or even the beaches! This helps build trust and self-confidence while developing communication skills. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with your pet making a lot of new friends along the way!

2. For Cognitive Enrichment

To enrich your dog’s cognitive aspect of life, then it’s time to start challenging his brain. You can try exercises which work his mind like interactive dog toys and puzzles, which are the best ways to keep your dog occupies. This goes especially for high-energy dogs like Border Collies, as these toys and puzzles work his mind AND expend their energies adequately.

Besides that, you can also teach them new tricks and commands, such as teaching them the names of toys or household items to bring to you.

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3. For Physical and Environmental Enrichment

Try doing exercises which enhances your Border Collie’s living area. You can do this by adding new items to your dog’s personal space to keep their lives a bit more interesting. This will have them explore and work their minds, trying to figure out what it is and how it works.

You can add safe items such as a mirror, digging pit, interactive toys, or other physical items they’ll investigate.

4. For Feeding Enrichment

Have your dog use all their senses and brain, which can encourage Border Collies to use their natural foraging, herding, and hunting skills. This is a great exercise to use while they’re eating.

Try to use a puzzle food-dispensing toy or to hide their food for them to find. You can even do the same with treats! It has your dog work for their food and enhances their sense of smell.

5. For Toy Enrichment

Border Collie dog playing with a toy ball
Border Collie dog playing with a toy ball.

As the name suggests, these are exercises which involve giving your dog toys which occupy and challenge them. They can also be toys that pique their curiosity and work on their senses. I recommend that you give them new toys now and then, which adds to their mental stimulation and sense of exploration.

I like giving my Border Collie herding balls to imitate the activity of herding sheep without any sheep around. I also give chew toys, puzzles, or self-moving toys safe for dogs to use.

6. For Sensory Enrichment

This is similar to food enrichment, but instead of just using their sense of sight and smell, they use ALL five senses! It’s great to work on their senses, which also plays a role in cognitive development. There are various games you can play together which work on their senses, especially those that involve nose work.

Have them find treats, retrieve hidden items, or even play hide and seek or go through obstacle courses!

See also: Eight Mind Games For German Shepherds You Should Try Now

There are even more fun mental games for Border Collies you can play together! Check out this cool video to learn what else you can do for your dog’s mental stimulation:

Wrapping It Up

Who says the only games you can play with your Border Collie are fetch and tug of war? With mental stimulation exercises and games, you can have fun while working their minds! It’s a win-win situation that improves their quality of life and thinking.

Hopefully, this list on the best mental exercises for Border Collies gave you an idea on what you can try with your pet! So don’t wait any longer and choose a game to play with your Border Collie now.

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