They need to develop problem solving ability, mental agility and mental coordination. They are not going to get it unless the breeder provides the opportunity. The restricted brain and neuron development that results from limb restriction and from visual input deprivation will occur in other parts of the brain if the pup is not mentally stimulated. Totally deprived of stimulation, pups either cannot learn or are poor learners at best.

Specific areas of the brain are responsible for controlling specific aspects of behavior and physiology. For example, the area of the brain known as the visual cortex serves to integrate the mass of light signals that enter the eye. We know that lack of visual stimulation in a young animal will limit development of the nerve cells, neurons and transmission of impulses along the nerve fibers and so impair the function of the visual cortex and vision.

Emotion is controlled by parts of the midbrain, primarily the limbic system. A pup never experiencing and coping with frustrating situations has limited chance to develop the checks and balances of emotion controlled by nerve cells in the septum and the amygdala, both parts of the limbic system. Impaired emotional control interferes with problem solving ability and with temperament.

True, genetics plays a role. The pup must inherit the potential for development of all areas of the brain just as it must inherit the potential for muscle mass, development, reaction speed and so on. Without the inherited potential all the physical and mental challenges in the world won't help. But conversely, with no physical and mental challenging, a pup's potential will not be realized, no matter how much it starts with.

Inherited potential and learning in the form of physical and mental exercise are so interdigitated that saying where one starts and the other stops is just not possible. But we do know that the more that is learned, the more challenged the mental and physical capacities are within reasonable limits, the more that can be learned and the more that can be achieved physically and mentally. Mind challenging problems are exercise for the brain and will enhance its development, and similarly, physically challenging pups is exercise for the muscles and will promote their development.

How do you exercise the brain? Just give the pups problems to solve. You can treat the pups singly or as a group, but at least part of the time it should be singly to be sure each pup is acting as an individual and not just following his brother or sister.

As I pointed out in a previous article in Gun Dog, pups have developmental mile posts based on the kicking in of the various sensory modalities. Solving a problem based on visual or auditory perception or on mobility is unrealistic if the pups have not yet attained these perceptual modalities or have not yet gained sufficient mobility and manipulatory skills. So the problems we pose for a pup to improve his smarts will depend on where he is developmentally. The time when that particular modality or combination of modalities and mobility skill should be challenged for maximum benefit should begin just as the pups pass that particular developmental mile post.