BUSTER ActivityMat to Keep Your Senior Dog's Mind Healthy

We have all heard the phrase “if you don’t use it, you lose it” applied to a human’s physical and/or mental skills and the same is true for dogs. Just as you would walk your dog to keep his body healthy you need to provide different stimuli to keep his mind healthy too. It’s why Oz has several puzzle toys to play with including the BUSTER ActivityMat by Kruuse.

As dogs age, they can suffer mental decline just like humans. This decline is known as Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS) and it involves things like increased agitation, separation anxiety, loss of appetite, loss of their sense of adventure and disorientation. It is a common occurrence with almost 30% of dogs age 11-12 suffering from the syndrome and almost 70% of dogs age 15 and older suffering from CDS.

A good way to help your senior dog avoid CDS is by providing him/her with mental stimulation and activity. This can be almost any new experience from walking in a new area, teaching your senior dog new tricks and/or providing fun puzzle games that reward the accomplishment of the puzzle task. Oz gets a lot of mental stimulation and activity from all our outdoor adventures but I still provide him with puzzle toys because I want him to stop and think.

Though Oz had several different types of puzzle toys, I really like the BUSTER ActivityMat for him and he really enjoys playing with it. I have found that other puzzle toys are geared more towards dogs that use their mouth to figure out the puzzle but the BUSTER ActivityMat allows Oz to use his Terrier skills of scratching, digging and nosing to find the hidden reward.

The basic BUSTER ActivityMat comes with the gray mat and three activities – the envelope, the water lilly and the cone cloth. The activities snap onto the mat and you can arrange them and rearrange them however you like. There are also additional activities sold separately for a total of 12 activities in all. All the activities have places for you to hide your senior dog’s favorite treats or kibble. As your senior dog solves the activities, he will find the treats and be rewarded.

So, where are the treats hidden on the BUSTER ActivityMat? The envelope, which is secured by the wooden rod, has a big opening for the treat however the water lilly, the red square, has small pouches for treats on the inside of each flap that opens. Those openings are small and require a little paw dexterity and nosing to get the reward. With the cone cloth, you can wrap the treat up into the cloth or just hide it underneath the cloth – I prefer wrapping it up as I love watching Oz give the cloth a good Terrier shakedown.

If you are new to puzzle toys, here are a few important things to remember when starting:

• It is the process of solving the task that is meant to be the mental stimulation/activity;
• It is not important if your dog can solve the puzzle right away; and
• Avoid over-stimulation and/or frustration by limiting the time spent on the puzzle to 15 minutes each session.

What kind of mental activity do you provide to your dog? Would you use puzzle toys to keep your senior dog’s mind healthy?