Barrier Challenge: BlackBerry 🐾

Today we introduced each puppy to a barrier challenge — a bit of raw food placed behind a gate, with the puppy on the other side to problem-solve how to reach it.

This litter as a whole isn’t highly food-motivated, so the times were a little longer. BlackBerry, however, really wanted that food. He pawed under the gate, tried chewing at it, and even barked at me a few times to see if I’d help him out. At one point, he got a little sidetracked and decided he’d rather just come cuddle with me instead of focusing on the puzzle.

After about nine minutes, I gave him a hint — and once he figured it out, he was so proud of himself and happily enjoyed his reward.

✨ Fun Fact: Barrier challenges are a great way to encourage problem-solving, persistence, and confidence in puppies. Even when they get distracted, it teaches them how to come back to a task and keep trying.

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