Every dog owner wants their pooch to be smarter than other dogs. Nobody wants a dumb dog. Every dog owner would be glad if visitors commend their dog for being exceptionally intelligent.
Intelligent dogs can sense when there is danger and then act accordingly. They can detect drugs by sniffing and hunt down suspects and criminals. There’s a whole lot that a smart dog can do.
No matter the dog breed you have, intelligence can be improved with these 5 easy ways shared in this blog.
1. GESTURES
Using your hands to make signs and communicate with your dog is one of the basic and easy ways to improve your dog’s intelligence. Dogs are more responsive to hand gestures than when you speak.
Naturally, dogs are gifted at reading body language so adopting that when training your dog makes things simple for your pooch. Hand or body signals would help your pooch to follow your instructions without difficulty and at a good success rate.
2. TRAINING
Trained dogs always demonstrate a high level of intelligence when mixed with dogs that haven’t had any form of basic training. Skillfully trained dogs can effortlessly understand your body language and pointing gestures and act exactly or beyond what you expect from them.
When your dog has had an advanced form of training by an expert you can be certain that your dog would always stand-out amongst other dogs when you take it anywhere. When you take your highly intelligent dog to the park, people would notice how smart and well behaved your dog is compared to other dogs.
Trained dogs know that there is always a solution to whatever challenge they’re faced with and because of that knowledge they don’t easily give up. They make sure they do whatever it takes to find a befitting answer to the problem/challenge.
Dogs can be trained with a dog doorbell to alert their owners to take them outside the house so that they can poop or take a piss.
3. SMART EATING
Eating can be fun and still be used to train your dog to sharpen your dog’s sense of smell. Hiding your dog’s kibble and treats in a dog snuffle mat would encourage your dog to use its nose to find anything you hide.
Making your dog find its favorite treat is one of the best ways to improve its intelligence. As it looks for the treats in the snuffle mat, it engages its sniffing and hunting skills.
4. STAY AND FIND
Playing hide and seek isn’t for only humans, interestingly, it can be played with your furry friend and used to improve your dog’s IQ. For dog owners that have tried ‘hide and seek’ with their pooch, they’ve been glad that doing it frequently has helped improved their dog’s intelligence.
However, your dog needs to be able to obey the command ‘STAY’ before you can successfully pull this off. You should first train your dog to sit and stay, and when it's able to do that, you and your pooch can enjoy this simple yet smart game for improving its intelligence. Just tell your dog to ‘stay’ and then call him to find you when you hide in a good spot in your home.
Most dog owners give their dogs treats when they’re able to find where they hide. Doing this is an awesome way to encourage your dog to always respond to any form of training that you give it.
5. TEACH YOUR DOG TO DO HOUSE CHORES
Dog’s don’t have to just play around the house all day. They can be trained to work with you in the house. A dog owner that has 3 kids realized that she always had to pick up her kids’ toys from the living room in order to keep it tidy.
This was always stressful for her. So she taught her labrador to pick up toys and drop it in a particular location in the house. Soon after, her dog was responsible for picking and dropping all the toys in a designated location in the house. Dog’s can get really smart if you teach them.
It’s really interesting and fun to keep a smart dog in the home. But you need to constantly give your dog lessons. You don’t have to be a professional in order to make your dog smart. All it takes is consistency in coaching your dog. And if you adhere to this, your dog’s intelligence would keep improving at a faster rate. Smart gadgets like a rechargeable dog training collar help train your loyal dog effortlessly.