By the end of this mini lesson, you'll understand it better than anyone you've ever met. And you'll probably realise you've been doing the opposite.
⏪ Missed yesterday's mini lesson? Watch that first
Licky mats, chews, bones, Kongs. Brilliant tools, and as you learnt yesterday, perfect for soothing an aroused dog. But they get sold as "mentally stimulating"... and that's why your dog isn't mentally stimulated.
Licking and chewing stimulate your dog's brain the way a film stimulates yours. It keeps them occupied. It soothes. But does it work them? Does it use up fuel? Does it fulfil what we bred them to do? God, no.
Proper mental stimulation makes the brain sweat. It's hard. And because it's hard, your dog can't do it for long, which means fuel gets used, which means more of the thing that fixes everything: sleep.
"Just walk them more." Here's why relying on physical exercise digs you a deeper hole every single week.
The bare minimum keeps growing until it's exhausting and unrealistic for you. And the cruellest part: all that running and chasing is arousing, so the dog that "needs" the most exercise is also the most wired. Physical and mental have to go hand in hand.
And the cheapest upgrade in dog ownership is hiding in your hallway. From The Dog Field Study:
...just from swapping a short 80cm lead for a 1.5 to 2 metre one. That's it. That's the whole trick.
Freedom, space and opportunity drive mental stimulation up on their own. So many dogs don't sniff simply because they never get the chance. Take your time out there. Stop marching them to the park.
Scatter your dog's meal across a car-sized patch of garden and watch what happens to their brain.
Struggling with which one to give? This one helps any dog.
The Scent Games tick every single box, for every single dog. The full series is on MK9Plus.
When do you do it? Which days? Before the walk or after? What about your specific breed? This is where good ideas go to die...
The system built for living with a dog, not just training them.
On the webinar, I offered lifetime access to MK9Plus for £340. Then a man emailed me, God's honest truth:
"Hey Max, I will paint my boat with your MK9Plus logo and slogan on it if I can get cheaper access to the platform."
I told him: dude, you don't need to do that. But there are clearly more people out there who would do crazy things just to help their dog. So, for the boat painters, I'm trying something:
Less than a pound a day to start helping your dog.
All the risk on me · That's how much I believe in this
See changes in the first month? It cost you less than a pound a day, and you just keep rolling with everything you need. Don't? Ask for a refund within 30 days and you get your money back.
This link is not going to stay open forever, and it won't stay open at all if it attracts people who aren't committed. But if you would paint your boat for your dog, it's below.
See how their lives have changed and what they really achieved. People here don't just get little wins. They're life changers. Because why would you want anything less?
👆 Press it. The stories drop down right here, and "See more" opens the full review without leaving this page.
100% of MK9Plus. £29 a month, less than a pound a day. All the risk on me.
No boat painting required