Give your pet some RV brain training on your next trip.
RV road trips give us a perfect way to experience places that stimulate our brains and bodies. That same principle goes for our dogs, too. In this second part of our series featuring easy exercises for RVing dogs, you’ll learn more games and activities to keep your dog young at heart for a lifetime of fun adventures.
Exercise the Brain
Dogs live longer than ever today and as a result, can suffer from cognitive dysfunction issues just like elderly humans. To keep aging canine brains healthy, scientists tell us that mind stimulation is just as important as a physical workout. Offer the best of both activities by rotating movement and exercise with mental challenges.
Try Obedience Refreshers
Doggy brain games can happen outdoors or inside when the weather isn’t good. Your dog can burn calories and strengthen the mind by re-learning commands like “sit” and “down” and “play dead.” These movements work muscles, test the brain and deepens the bond between you and your dog.
Learn a New Skill
A dog’s sense of smell is far more powerful than our own. Scent-driven dog games help strengthen your dog’s instinctual hunting abilities while having fun and burning energy. Activities like “nose work” and “Sniff-It” offer exceptional challenges to dogs by requiring them to find and identify canisters and mats charged with light scent or morsels of food or their handler’s scent.
Slimmer, active dogs and people tend to live longer, healthier lives. Get your vet’s approval for an exercise program featuring these RV brain training activities and enjoy more adventures on the open road with your favorite canine navigator.
Rene Agredano is a full-time RVer and location-independent entrepreneur with a love for writing, jewelry design and animal advocacy. Rene and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007. She chronicles the adventures here.
