I could be biased but my dog is smart. He learns quickly and gets bored easily. So our trainer says he’s needs a job. Unfortunately, not the kind of job that makes any money. Bloo needs a job that occupies his mind and uses his instincts.

Since he doesn’t play very often (he never actually learned how to play as a puppy), I needed to come up with something for him to do around the house. Both to occupy his mind and help him expel some of his energy.

If you think about it, dogs in the wild don’t eat their food out of a bowl. They sniff it out and forage for it.  So we have changed our breakfast and dinner regime to give Bloo the opportunity to sniff out his food and find it.

Here’s how it works:

Each morning when we get up we have the same ritual (dogs like routine, heck so do I). I take him for a short walk, then it’s breakfast time for him. Instead of throwing a cup of food in his bowl which is what I have been doing since I got him, I make him sit in the kitchen and wait while I hide handfuls of his food around the house.

Once I’m done I say “go find it.” And he rushes through the house with his tail wagging and sniffs out his food.

Not only is he not inhaling his breakfast, he’s working for it. He’s using his doggie instincts and sense of smell to find every morsel. This is a much more natural way for him to eat his meals. It also leaves me time to make my own breakfast without Mr. Sad Eyes begging for me to share.

We’ve been doing this for about two weeks now and after our walk, he automatically goes into the kitchen and sits waiting for my command to “go find it.”

I know it sounds a bit unorthodox but it seems to be working for us both. And though his job doesn’t yield us any money, I have to believe, it gives him another sense of purpose, helps to build his confidence and hopefully it tires him out a bit.