10/06/2026
Bring your dogs to Animal Think Tank in Magaliessig Sandton and have fun in our Sniffari park
Fourth Domain: Behavioral Interactions (with the environment)
Welfare Fun Fact💡
Competently navigating environmental obstacles is critically important for a range of exploratory, predatory, social, and hazard avoidance behaviors in canine behavioral ecology, helping dogs work their way through, up, over, onto, under, and around physical challenges with dynamic mind and muscle engagement for problem solving.
What does it look like?
Stepping up, jumping onto/ over, moving through/under, climbing, crawling, or balancing related to physical obstacles
How does obstacle navigation become a "behavior problem" in pet dogs?
Most dogs live a single-plane reality in pet homes, with few permissible chances to put their proprioception chops to the test. The average home might offer countless opportunities for canine parkour, between sofas, tables, counters, and beds, but most of these are far from favored furnishings for creative canine choreography.
Dogs are chastised or redirected to more "appropriate" locations to move and play.
Even on walks, most dogs move in a linear manner on flat ground with little variation. Given the motivation to interact with a physically interesting world as a curious and athletic animal capable of extraordinary feats of climbing, tunneling, jumping, and traversing, boring environments can set the stage for some "bad dog" shenanigans.
Welfare Hack 🚨
Provide and designate various levels and spaces inside the home for dogs to develop obstacle navigation skills. Dogscape your yard beyond flat grass using boulders, branches, nooks, and crannies. Encourage the use of walls, logs, and benches on walks. Get off the beaten path in nature where opportunities for physical adventure are extensive. Consider joining in yourself and rediscovering muscles you forgot existed.
Image commissioned by: Trick Woofs
