Mariah's been working on enrichment activities for some of the dogs here who need more outlets for their energy. One of them is blind Luke. As Mariah says, 15 minutes of mental exercise can be worth as much as an hour of physical exercise, and it doesn't take much to give those doggie brains a simple workout.
For instance, rather than just let Luke vacuum his food in 7 seconds, Mariah bought a "Molecuball" treat dispenser toy, filled it with his kibble, and turned him loose. Now he has to work to get his dinner, turning and flipping the ball until kibble comes out, making it a mentally stimulating game. I took the photo of Luke with his blue Molecuball in his crate this evening.
To show you how he does it, Mariah and I put Luke in another open crate with his Molecuball and shot about 40 seconds of video. (The squeaking sound in the background is one of the two ventilators on the Widget's House roof that needs to be replaced.) It may not look like much is going on, but it keeps this boy occupied and mentally focused ... for a while, at least!
Good boy Luke! Isn't that fun? Playing & eating, fun ontop of goodies.
I got one of those bees in a beehive toys for Tobias' convelescence. There are 3 bees with sqeekys inside them that fit into a beehive. All of them are furry & he love it. It's a bit different that the latex toys that he loves for me to throw high into the air so he can jump up & catch. He loves pulling the bees out of the hive & chewing on the entire thing to make the bees inside sqeek. The stimulating toys are great.
Hugs to all,
ginger & Tobias
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | August 24, 2006 at 01:36 AM
Excellent idea. I am going to try that with my big girl Rue. She is 90 lbs and eats her dinner in 7 seconds also!
Posted by: Karen SA/TX | August 23, 2006 at 06:16 PM
Excellent exercise for the mind and portion control too!
Good reminder for us readers:
keep our pets mentally stimulated.
Posted by: Leilani | August 23, 2006 at 12:10 PM