Question submitted by the audience in our recent webinar: "The Importance of Exercising Your Dog's Brain for Optimal Physical and Mental Health":
How much mental stimulation do dogs need a day? Does it vary by breed or size of dog?
Answer by: Karen Overall, MA, VMD, PhD, DACVB
Believe it or not, it varies by the individual dog. Dogs from working dog lines where they have been selected to have lots of stamina and be willing to always ‘go’ may need more physical exercise which also involves being able to survey the environment. Dogs from herding lines which worked may be inquisitive and have to monitor changes in the environment and are calm if they can do so, but not so calm if they cannot. But there is so much variation between individuals, themselves, that it swamps most other sources of variation. Meeting the individual dog’s needs can be a challenge but it may help to remember that dogs evolved – and all breeds developed – working with humans. It is that cognitive back and forth, that verbal and non-verbal signaling, that anticipatory guidance that is most stimulating and satisfying for dogs (and us).
