06 INTELLIGENT or LESS SO? Games that use his intelligence

Ever wonder if your puppy is intelligent?

Give him a problem, like an entrenceway that is blocked off but not fully. So he has to solve how to get access. Give him time and watch him…you may have to put a treat into the room where he is to go but be sure he sees you doing that.

Give him time to solve the problem. Depending on whether he solves it or not and in how long it takes him to solve it, you may have to adjust the difficulty of solving this access problem appropriately.

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Another puzzle for him to solve, but good for one time because once he solves it successfully, it will never be a problem again.

Equipment needed: 6 holder muffin tin, 6 tennis balls

Method
1. Whie he is watching, load a treat into each muffin cup and cover each with a tennis ball;

2. Place on the floor for him to solve problem of accessing each treat;

3. Eventually he will learn to nudge away the tennis ball to reveal the treat.

He will love this problem as he learns how to solve it fairly quickly and then can use what he has learned repeatedly to solve it each time he is presented with the loaded muffin tin. This problem will give him a lot of satisfaction because he quickly learns how to sccessfully solve it and do it successfully again and again easily bringing him much satisfaction.

Variation
Load 3 of the 6 muffin cups and praise him whenever he succeeds, although the praise is not crucial here because the treat is its own reward.

Shell game

1. Get 3 identical plastic cups from your kitchen.
2. Let Mico watch you place a treat under one cup.
3. Slowly slide the cups around to shuffle positions.
4. Release him to sniff and pick the right cup.
5. If he noses or paws the correct cup, lift it and let him eat the treat.

WHY IT WORKS

1. Tests visual memory and scent tracking simultaneously.
2. As he gets better, shuffle faster or add a 4th cup.
3. Teaches impulse control — he has to choose one, not flip all three.

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THE TOWEL ROLL

1. Lay a small bath towel flat on the floor.
2. Place 3 or 4 treats spaced along the towel.
3. Loosely roll the towel into a log shape.
4. Set it in front of Mico.
5. Let him figure out how to unroll it to get to the treats.

WHY IT WORKS

1. Requires problem-solving through a physical obstacle — not just sniffing.
2. Builds persistence and frustration tolerance.
3. Make it harder by rolling it tighter as he improves.

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