Episode #258 Brain Games & Enrichment for Puppies — Mental Training Matters

If you’re raising a puppy right now—or planning to—you’re probably already thinking about walks, playtime, and basic training. And that’s great. Physical exercise absolutely matters.

But today, we’re talking about something that’s just as important—and often overlooked:

Mental exercise.

Because a tired puppy isn’t just one who’s walked a lot.
A tired puppy is one who’s thought, problem-solved, and learned.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Topic Set
• 0:54 Why Mental Exercise Matters
• 2:10 The Myth Of More Exercise
• 3:20 What Counts As Enrichment
• 4:13 Food Puzzles And Scatter Feeding
• 4:40 Problem-Solving And Free Shaping
• 5:15 Naming Toys And Calmer Greetings
• 6:01 Benefits: Calm, Focus, Adaptability
• 6:43 How Much And How Often
• 7:17 A Step-By-Step Free Shaping Game
• 9:05 Progressions And Confidence Building
• 9:28 Closing And Resources

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Today, we're talking about brain games, mental exercise. It's just as important as physical exercise for your dog. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter and Fella, the online puppy school. Here, we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy. From training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Hey everybody, welcome to the puppy training podcast. It is 2026. Can you believe it? And many of you are raising a brand new puppy or you have a new dog in your home, and we want to help you know what to do right away. So you're probably already thinking about walks and playtime and basic training, and that's all great. Physical exercise absolutely matters, but today we are talking about something that's just as important and often overlooked, which is mental exercise. Because a tired puppy isn't just one who's walked a lot, a tired puppy is one who's thought and problem solved and learned throughout the day. So training is really, really beneficial for these new dogs in our homes. Now, in recent years, trainers and researchers alike have been paying closer attention to canine cognition or how dogs think and how they learn and how they problem solve. And you may have seen stories in the media about so-called genius dogs, dogs who can learn the names of dozens, even hundreds of toys and retrieve them by name. While that might sound impressive or even extreme, it highlights something really important, and that's that dogs are capable of far more mental learning than we used to think. And when puppies don't get enough mental stimulation, that unused brain power often shows up as all of the unwanted behavior that we don't like, like destructive chewing, barking, difficulty settling, frustration-based behaviors, etc. And so mental enrichment isn't just extra, it's actually helping your puppy and doing some preventative training. Now let's clear up this common myth. More physical exercise does not automatically fix behavior problems. Sometimes clients will call us and say, I just, my puppy has so much energy, I just need to run them more, right? Or we need to go outside and play more or do more. And oftentimes those puppies, they don't need to do more. We need to maybe engage their brains a little more. So constantly increasing physical exercise without mental work can sometimes create puppies with higher stamina, right? We're training them to go longer and harder. Puppies who might struggle to relax or just settle because we don't spend time doing that. We're constantly trying to get their energy out. And we think that in our minds that that means running them, right? Or puppies who need more and more activity to feel satisfied. So now their threshold of what they actually need is growing, and we don't necessarily want that either. Now, mental training works differently. It teaches puppies how to focus, how to problem solve, how to regulate their emotions, meaning you're gonna get a dog that can settle, which most of us I know want, and they can engage calmly with their environment. So 10 minutes, even, just 10 minutes of thoughtful brain work can be more tiring than taking your puppy on a long walk. And this is good news because these young puppies that aren't fully vaccinated yet, I don't want you taking them on long walks around the neighborhood. We want to make sure they're fully vaccinated first. So let's do some brain work, right? Training, it's awesome. That's where we come in. We specialize in training. So what counts as mental enrichment? Mental enrichment is anything that asks your puppy to think, to choose, or solve, not just react. Now, puppies' brains, they don't know how to live in a human world. And so oftentimes they do just react to their environment. Um, especially as they hit that adolescent phase, they become a little more territorial and they hear something and they bark at it, or they see something and they bark at it, or uh somebody comes home and they're super excited, so they jump up to try to say hi. They're not, they don't know how we want them to behave, and so we have to show them. When we talk about mental enrichment, there are a few categories. So the first one would be food-based puzzle games. These don't have to be fancy. This can be scatter feeding in the grass, kibble that's wrapped in a towel. Uh, you can purchase puzzle feeders or snuffle mats. Instead of food appearing in their bowl, your puppy learns I can work things out, and that builds confidence and focus. So pick up your dog's food bowl, let's put that away for now, put their meals in an enrichment toy in a food-based puzzle game. All right, the next category would be problem-solving games. So these are simple challenges that are perfect for puppies. Maybe how to push a box, maybe to put their paw on something, maybe to flip a lid over, um, how to move an object to access food. The goal isn't speed, it's just curiosity. And if your puppy pauses, sniffs, and experiments, that's learning happening. We have a lesson on free shaping in our program. I love free shaping. It gets your dog to think and problem solve, and they get rewarded for each little step of success along the way. Super fun. All right, the next category would be name recognition and toy names. So teaching puppies names isn't just cute, it's a powerful mental training process. So we can start really small with one toy. Uh, when Bella gets excited as we come home and to greet us, I say, hey, go find your toy. And it's just called toy. And she just knows, oh, I'm gonna go find a toy, right? And it helps her stay calm. She can go pick up that toy and then she comes over to greet us. She keeps her paws on the ground, she circles, she says hi, but she's holding that toy in her mouth. And we've just simply taught her that toy means this object, you need to go get it. Um, it works great. So just start small. Pick one word, even if it's just toy, one clear name, and reward when they interact with that correct object. Over time, puppies learn that words have meaning, that listening matters, and that choices lead to rewards. So now here's where enrichment really shines. A puppy who regularly uses their brain is less frustrated, they're more adaptable, they're better at settling and being calm. I get a lot of people that say, I just want that calm puppy. How do I get that? Or they're also more engaged with their handler. So they're more willing to work with us. They have fun, right? If a puppy's having fun with me, they want to keep playing. So mental training gives puppies an outlet for curiosity, which means they're less likely to create their own games, which in puppy vernacular, that's chewing furniture or digging holes or barking out the window. You get the idea. So think of enrichment as a little bit of behavior insurance. Now, how much is enough? This is the good news. Mental training does not need to be long. For most puppies, it's five to ten minutes a day, two to three times a day. So it's mixed into normal routines. And we say the same thing about our training program. I don't want you to do an hour-long training every day for your dog. I want it to be five minutes here, two minutes here, ten minutes here, three minutes there. We want to mix that into normal everyday life. So training cues, enrichment games, and daily life skills, they all count. And if your puppy finishes a session calmer, not more frantic, then you know you're doing it right. Now, a quick mindset shift. Instead of asking, how do I run my puppy out? Try asking, how can I help my puppy learn today? Because learning is what is going to satisfy their growing brains. Now, before we finish, I want to share a really simple free shaping game that you can play at home. Remember, I mentioned free shaping, that concept. This is pure mental enrichment, and it doesn't require your puppy to know any cues at all. All you need is your puppy, a handful of small food rewards that they like, one neutral object like a box, a bowl, or an upside-down container. Here's how it works. I want you to place the object on the floor and just wait. This is the beauty of it. There are no expectations, right? So you can't even get frustrated. You just wait. You're not asking your puppy to do anything, you're just watching. Now, the moment your puppy interacts with the object in any way, maybe they look at it, they sniff it, they step towards it, I want you to mark that choice with a yes and just toss a food reward away from the object. And then I want you to wait again. What happens next is the magic part. Your puppy will start offering new behaviors. They might look longer or move closer or touch with a nose or maybe even a paw. And every time they try something new or more confident, I want you to mark yes and pay them. And just keep tossing that food reward away because that sets them up for success to come back and then interact with the object again. So no cues, no corrections, no pressure. Your puppy is learning, my choices matter, and I can figure this out. That's free shaping, and it's incredible for building confidence, creativity, and focus. So keep this game short, about two to three minutes, and end while your puppy is still engaged. You can progress this game to maybe an interaction with the object that's more specific. So maybe um, like this game is just interact with it in any way, shape, or form, right? Maybe next time you play the game, maybe you want your puppy to actually put their paw on top of it. And then you can start to free shape them putting their paw on it, and you're rewarding anytime they look at it, and then you're rewarding when they get closer to it, and then you're rewarding when they start to paw at it, and then you're finally rewarding when the paw's on top. Do you see how that works? Free shaping is so fun, and your dog's going to love it. So, mental enrichment, you guys, isn't about raising a genius dog. It's just about raising a balanced, thoughtful, confident puppy. And I promise you, the mental exercise, you're going to see the benefits of that just like you see the benefits of physical exercise. Thanks for listening today. I hope you have a great rest of your week. Happy training, we'll talk soon. Thanks for tuning in to the Puppy Training Podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency, you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.