Mind games not only eliminate boredom but also gives our beagle much-needed mental stimulation.
Beagles were bred to hunt alongside humans which requires a lot of self-thinking and decision making. But now they don’t have any such duty. Brain games stimulate their mind and make them feel useful.
I have listed down around 10 Mind Games which Groot loves to play. I am sure your beagle will enjoy them too.
Food-Dispensing Toys
Food dispensing toys like KONG, are toys that contain food inside them and the dog has to figure out how to get the food out.
They are available in lots of different types and shapes. But the classic kong is perfect for starters. Simply stuff it with dog food, cover the top with peanut butter and give it to your beagle.
These toys not only stimulate their mind but also kills boredom. You can find them on Amazon.
Hide and Seek
Hide and seek is my Groot’s favorite game. This game is not only fun for our dogs but for us too.
Hide and seek requires them to use their ears and nose to find us out. Here’s how to play this game with your beagle:
- Make your beagle stay. If you they are not aware of the Stay Command then ask one of your family member to hold them.
- Go hide somewhere. In the begining hide in an easy spot, like behind the door or under the bed.
- Call you beagle.
- When they find you, give them a treat and praise them.
Dog Puzzle Toys
Dog Puzzles reward the dog with a treat when they figer out how to solve them. Food Dispensing Toys and Puzzle toys does the same job. But it’s slighly harder to get treats out of the Puzzle toys for dogs.
Food Dispensing toys are often used to feed the entire meal in them. Whereas puzzle toys are mostly used to keep the dog occupied.
You can find them in most pet stores. I usually order them from amazon as it has a wide variety of puzzles of different shaps, sizes and difficulties.
The Cup Game
Another fun game to challenge your beagle’s brain. Here’s how you play it:
- Take two opaque plastic cups.
- Put them upside down on the floor.
- Now when your beagle is watching, put a treat inside one of the cups.
- Give the ‘Paw’ command to your beagle and let his paw fall on the cup with the treat.
- Take the cup and give him the treat.
- Repeat this 10 to 15 times until your dog gets a general idea.
- Now place the treat under the cup and slide the cup to the other side.
- If your beagle doesn’t select the right cup (which will happen) show the treat under the right cup but don’t let him have it.
- Do this again until he selects the right cup.
- Gradually make it harder for your beagle by sliding the cups multiple times.
This simple game will put your beagle’s nose and eyes on work and make them scratch their head.
Find the Treat
Beagles were bred to track down small animals. They are one of the best scent hounds. This game challenges their instinctive scent tracking ability.
The general ideal is to hide the treat around the house and let your beagle sniff and find it.
Make your beagle stay and hide the treat below a pillow right in front of your dog. Then say ‘Find it’ and let him come eat the treat. Gradually up your game and make it harder for your dog to find the treat.
Just make sure you don’t hide it in a place where its impossible for your beagle to find it.
Count the Fingers
This game is a showstopper. I often use this to show off how clever my beagle is. It’s not exactly a game but more of a trick.
The general idea is to teach your beagle to count your fingers and bark that many times. For instance, if you show two fingers, your beagle should bark twice.
For this, you first need to teach your pooch to bark on command:
- Do something that makes them bark.
- As soon as he barks, say the command word ‘Speak’ or ‘Sing’ or ‘Bark’ and give him a treat and praise him.
- Practice this for a week until your beagle learns to bark on your command like this:
- Once he knows the command, show him one finger and say ‘SPEAK’. Practise until your pooch barks when you show him the finger without saying the command.
- Then show Two fingers and make him bark twice.
- Do this for all the five fingers.
- It will take more than a month to teach this but it will be all worth it.
The Flirt Pole
Not exactly a mind game, but it will please their inner instinct to chase things. And also a toy my beagle, Groot loves the most.
Flirt pole is nothing but a long pole with a rope attached at one end. And the rope has a small toy tied to it.
All you need to do is hold the pole and drag the toy on the ground and let your beagle chase it. You can do various motions with the pole and make your beagle chase it in circles or jump to get the toy.
This toy provides a good instictive mental stimulation and also exercises the dog.
Find the Hand with Treat
‘Find the Hand’ is a simple game which will put your beagle’s nose at work. You can play this anytime, anywhere and only thing you need is some treats.
Here’s how to play this:
- What your dog’s watching, hold a treat in one of your hand and close the fist of both the hands.
- Let your beagle touch or paw the fist with the treat and then give his the treat.
- After few tries, take your hands behind your back and hold the treat in one of them.
- Bring both the close fist in front of your beagle and let find the right one.
- If he selects the incorrect hand, show the treat from the right hand and do not give it and repeat the process.
- After few tries your beagle will start using his nose to find the treat.
Teach New Tricks
We don’t always need games to stimulate our beagle’s mind. Teaching new tricks is an excellent mental stimulation.
Teaching new tricks and commands can be an excellent bonding activity for you both. And you can never run out of new tricks, there’s always something. Here are some awesome tricks to teach your beagle.
