The Dog Training Game I Can’t Stop Playing (and Why It May Really Work)
A step-by-step breakdown of how I’m using movement puzzles to enrich my dogs’ lives, get them some extra exercise, and potentially even build confidence.
I have been looking for ways to add more enrichment to my dogs’ lives, and I wanted some options that give my dogs the ability to move more (as opposed to lying down and licking). Enter: Movement Puzzles. I know they aren’t marketed as “enrichment” (they are designed to help dogs “build confidence and stress resilience with fun movement exercises so that your dog can learn new skills faster and feel empowered in new or challenging situations”), but I think a lot of dogs would find moving and interacting with new objects (and getting treats!) enriching. Anyway, I am now officially in my Mari Valgma (@the.moving.canine) Movement Puzzle era (turns out I fell in love with doing them too!).
I thought it would be fun to share my experience with Movement Puzzles so far, share the step-by-step how-to of what I’ve done (what has worked, what hasn’t, and what I will try next), and invite you to try them with your dog. I have not taken Mari’s course (I’d like to, but mold taking my home and most of what I own means I have to, ya know, watch my spending lol), but I’d point you in that direction for the full framework. I am just having fun playing around with this!
What Are Movement Puzzles (and Why They Work)
At the heart of movement puzzles lies two bowls. The dog moves from one bowl to the other and back again. The dog initiates this movement rather than the handler prompting or cueing it.
Once this pattern is built, “obstacles” are added between the bowls. The dog continues to move from one bowl to the other but now practices controlling their body while moving and navigating objects. Mari has said that a lot of people who’ve done movement puzzles with their dogs have reported that their dogs seem less reactive and more confident. The puzzles give the dogs a space to practice behaving under conditions that otherwise might be challenging for them. I haven’t done them long enough to speak to this personally, but I could see how these movement puzzle experiences could support a dog in other situations.
Check out Mari’s post explaining what Movement Puzzles are and to see what you could work up to.
Step-By-Step: What I’ve Done to Teach My Dogs Movement Puzzles
