Enrichment tips for my pocket ACD mix
Take two of this post!! I adopted this silly goofy boy Mickey back in August 2025 - the rescue was pretty sure he was some kind of Jack Russell mix but to everyone’s surprise, he’s actually a Chihuahua-Cattle Dog mix! The more he’s gotten settled and comfortable in his new home — and slowly adjusted to the nyc weather experience, haha, because he came up from Tennessee and the snow was quite the surprise — the more his funny, very opinionated personality has been coming out. He’s definitely got some strong chi characteristics but weirdly, the more settled in he gets, the more his heeler tendencies come out. (I am his very favorite cow, although he also likes to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and try to herd cars that are parallel parking on my block). All this to say — I’ve mostly had experience with very lazy labs and pitties, so I’m kinda new to the challenging enrichment puzzles game. We incorporate a lot of ongoing training into his many walks and visit the park often, have had good success with lick mats and snuffle mats, and he’s positively demolished a few level two puzzle toys. Would love any tips that any one could share about engaging your heeler’s brain and giving them fun, fulfilling enrichment activities! He’s about seven/eight ish years old and I think he was never really trained or given the opportunity to play before, so it’s also pretty brand new to him. Thank you so much in advance!