High Energy Dogs and the Importance of Mental Stimulation

Some dogs enjoy being couch potatoes. They are happy to lounge around all day long and require no more than a session of fetch or a short walk around the neighborhood to be happy and healthy. While these dogs might gladly join you on a hike in the wilderness or a run in the park, if they don’t get extra exercise, it isn’t a big deal.

Then there are high energy dogs, the super intelligent dogs, and the dogs who have been bred to work all day long. Quite often, you find all three characteristics in one single breed! These can include hounds, huskies, herders, bird dogs, and terriers to name a few. The innate desire to go go go means these dogs needs a lot of mental and physical stimulation each day.

Physical stimulation is loosely defined as anything that gets the dog moving. Going for a walk around the block, hiking in the woods, playing fetch in the back yard, play dates with doggy friends, and running at the beach are a few examples. Physical stimulation expends a dogs energy, making them tired. Just like with exercise in humans, physical stimulation is a double edged sword. Not only does it drain energy but it also increases a dog’s endurance and strength over time, making it harder to keep them properly exercised as time goes by. A puppy who was once ready for a nap after a 15 minute session of fetch will eventually grow into a dog who will be able to fetch for hours on end without wearing down. They no longer seem to calm down after their usual walk. Instead, sometimes they seem much more hyper. Often, a dog who can no longer expend all of their energy through physical means will become destructive or obnoxious. They might chew on doors, walls, and windowsills. They might begin to pace the house or dig holes in the back yard. They might even develop the habit of barking constantly and for seemingly no reason. Many owners become frustrated at this point. No matter how much time they spend walking their dog or playing fetch, the dog never calms down. This is where mental stimulation comes into play!

Mental stimulation works a dog’s mind. While every dog needs mental stimulation, it is vitally important with dogs bred to work in some capacity or another all day long. These dogs were specifically bred to work tirelessly for hours on end. They literally can never get enough physical exercise to wear them out to the point where they are “proper” house pets. By providing mental stimulation, you lessen the chances of destructive or obnoxious behaviors. In fact, just 15 minutes of mental activity drains just as much energy from a dog as 30 minutes of physical exercise!

Providing daily mental stimulation is actually surprisingly easy! You may be providing quite a bit without even thinking about it yourself. Obedience training is the most common source of mental stimulation people provide for their pets. By teaching commands, you are making the dog use their brain to remember what each word means. Practicing simple commands like sit, stay, and down keeps your dog on their toes, making them think and work for rewards. Combined mental and physical activity by practicing heel work and focus on a walk does double duty, draining both physical and mental energy. Teaching tricks and then using them in various combinations makes a dog think quickly. There are also many, many puzzle toys on the market today. These toys are designed to make a dog figure out how to get food out of the toy. They can be as simple as a ball that dispenses treats as it rolls or as complicated as puzzles where the dogs have to move pegs in order to lift tabs to find the toys underneath.

Puzzle toys can be a life saver during bad weather. Being in Missouri, we are definitely no strangers to weeks of rain, ice, or heat on end! Sometimes, we get all three in the same week! Simple puzzle toys that hold a higher volume of kibble can be used in place of a dog’s food bowl. One toy might hold a cup or two of food. If you have only smaller toys, they can be spread across the house. Most dogs have a blast finding the toys and then getting the treats out! As your dog gets better and better at emptying the toys, new ones can be added to the rotation. Some toys can even be frozen, adding an additional layer of challenge to the puzzle!

For many dogs with behavioral problems, adding additional mental stimulation to their day will help them release enough energy for other training methods to be effective. A dog who has spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get a few carrots out of a Kong will be much more capable of learning other commands afterwards. A dog who will not be deterred from digging in the back yard might find that need met and satisfied by being fed from a snuffle mat. They would likely excel at the sport of Barn Hunt too! A dog who runs endless laps around the fence line will likely benefit from energetic organized games such as Rally Obedience or Agility. Nearly all huskies will be overjoyed at the chance to participate in mushing or -joring activities!

If you are considering purchasing or adopting a dog who is or has high energy breeds in their mix, be sure to research ways to provide plenty of mental stimulation. For the extremely intelligent breeds, be prepared to provide a variety of different types of mental stimulation. While some dogs might be challenged by a puzzle toy every time they use it, many will figure out the fastest way to empty it every time. These canine Einsteins will need a wide rotation of toys or toys with a gradually increasing level of difficulty. (Ask Jess about Shaak Ti’s toy cupboard at her house if you want to hear about one of those types of dogs!)

Don’t be afraid to experiment! Providing mental stimulation can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. Whether you are stuffing your dog’s dinner into a few toilet paper tubes for them to shred or signing up for an agility class, your dog will thank you for providing them with a source of fun and enrichment!

The Importance of Training

Today’s post is an important one but it will branch away from grooming just a little bit. While we are a grooming salon, both Stacey and I have worked in other aspects of the pet care industry. We have seen how these different aspects affect a dog in the grooming salon so every now and again, we will drift ever so slightly away from purely grooming to other topics related to pets.
Today I would like to talk a little bit about training. Not grooming training but training in general. There have been many, many movies in the last few years starring gorgeous and well trained dogs. Lady and the Tramp, Togo, Max, A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Way Home, and Alpha are just a few recent titles. There is no question that we love our dogs in all aspects of our lives, including our entertainment! So much so that there is even a website called “Does The Dog Die?” which allows you to see if any animals are harmed in the plot of a movie in case you tend to get super upset about those things! We are also very fortunate to live near Purina Farms where you can go watch all manner of dog events from breed specific shows to agility trials to herding trials and even the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge!


When we watch these highly trained canine actors and athletes, it is only natural to think, “Wow! I want my dog to be just like that!” I, myself, have long dreamed about having a dog or dogs capable of doing agility, dock diving, barn hunt, bikejoring, carting, and even antler hunting. Watching these dogs then looking at the dogs we share our homes with, it is also very common to think, “Well. You will never be like that,” as Rex runs across the living room with yet another one of your hiking boots or yesterday’s mail!

The good news is that while Rex might never live up to the image of Diesel, the dog who played Togo in Disney’s recent movie of the same name, it is entirely possible for Rex to still be a very well rounded dog! Even Diesel had to start somewhere. It all starts with basic obedience training!


As a former trainer, I can tell you that basic obedience is far more than Sit and Stay. Yes, your dog will learn basic skills like leash walking, sit, stay, come, drop it, and leave it in most classes but this learning is having a far greater affect on your dog than you might realize. These skills seem so easy to us but they are giving your dog a huge confidence boost! Most dogs love to make their people happy. When you have that “Ah ha!” moment and your dog sits on cue, you are excited and happy which in turn makes your dog happy! You are happy because suddenly your dog is paying attention to you and doing what you ask! What happens when you are happy with your dog? You interact with them more! Maybe before classes you were afraid to take them for a walk beyond your own neighborhood. Maybe you were too worried about their lack of attention to you to take them on a hike. The thought of going someplace like Buchheit, Lowes, or Home Depot (all of which are dog friendly!) was just terrifying! Now YOU also have the confidence to take your dog out into public, exposing them to a bigger world and thus making them more confident individuals.


If you can, it is always worth going beyond Level One classes. Most trainers will start with the bare basic necessities like the sit, stay, and come which are skills every dog needs in their every day lives to keep them safe. Beyond that, they might offer workshops on advanced leash walking techniques. There might be a Level Two class where you start learning to add distance to cues. Progressing to a Level Three is usually a prep class for a Canine Good Citizen test. This test is offered through the AKC. Passing the test means your dog is a well rounded canine citizen who is reliable in a variety of situations. They can then progress to passing the advanced levels, Community Canine and Urban Canine Good Citizen. Is it necessary to take your dog’s training to this level? No. Is it fun and rewarding to see your psycho little nut of a puppy train through all the levels and turn into a well rounded adult dog? Yes!

So what connection does basic obedience have with grooming? Why is this a subject we feel is important? It isn’t just because training still has a huge spot in my heart! It isn’t because my poor, long suffering Shaak Ti ends up trying thing after thing after thing because I want to. (Don’t worry. She loves trying and learning new things! Except Barn Hunt. Rats are apparently scary. She didn’t like that. She is never pushed into anything she doesn’t want to do!) Training and trying new things helps your dog gain confidence. Nervous dogs blossom. Shy dogs start to come out of their shells. Over the top energetic dogs learn self control. Uninterested dogs suddenly start paying attention. On the grooming table, a dog who has had training will be more likely to understand that something is expected of him and he needs to be patient while he figures out the process instead of freaking out and jumping around. A dog who has had training is more likely to calmly accept something different. They tend to adopt a curious yet Been There, Done That type of attitude. Does it mean that every Canine Good Citizen will automatically love and accept every part of the grooming process? No! Shaak Ti still hates having her feet messed with as a result of both just not caring for it and a painful foot injury. However, instead of struggling to get away, she whines a bit, maybe pulls the foot that got injured away a bit, but accepts that it will happen and be over soon.


Age doesn’t matter either. At the age of 7 years old, Shaak Ti is now learning to pull a wagon. She has also learned to run with a Kickbike scooter recently and will soon learn to run ahead and pull it (hopefully). If you got a puppy for Christmas, now is the prime time to start that basic training. If you adopted an older puppy or dog recently, even if they seem to know their basics already, that class will help you form a strong and lasting bond. There are even classes to teach tricks. Classes for competing in Rally Obedience. Classes for Dock Diving, Agility, and more. Training doesn’t have to just be sit and stay! Get out there with your dogs! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain even if you just stick with the basics!