The challenges should start easy and simple and become more difficult and complex. What challenging "think" situations you present to the pups will depend on what problems the dog will be expected to face during the rest of his life and on your own inventive genius. An example of a problem every dog must face, and hopefully solve, many times in his life is that the best route from point A to point B is not necessarily a straight line–-say retrieving a bird that fell on the far side of a hog wire fence with 4 or 5 strands of barbed wire on top when there is a gate opening 50 yards to the left.

The dog that was challenged with detour problems, also known as "um weg" problems (literally "around road" problems), as a pup will have the smarts to size up the situation and make the detour, and save a lot of money in vet bills by not needing to have the wire cuts stitched up.

If we want to challenge a pup physically to improve muscle coordination, we put up a barrier that he can see over but not through and can crawl over. To mentally challenge the pup in a detour problem, the barrier must be too high to crawl over or see over but one he can see through. The object the pup wants, such as food, a chew toy, another pup, is visible but attainable only if he goes around the barrier.

Creating this situation requires only a wire barrier such as a refrigerator shelf or a shelf from your wife's new electric stove, you know the one you bought to offset the new shotgun you have on order. Set up the barrier so it reaches part way across a corridor or hallway. The goal can be made accessible by going around one end or both ends. If accessible around just one end, change the open end frequently. Gradually the barrier will be widened and angled so pup solves the problem of going away from the goal object in order to get to it instead of standing in front of the fence barking like a stupid idiot. You really want a dog whose actions speak louder than his words. I certainly do.

A few detour problems will enable the pup to later solve a variety of problems, even those only vaguely related to the original detour problems. He can solve other spatial problems that come up years later without need of a whole new learning regimen. He can also solve temporal problems like how long is 10 minutes.

No, it doesn't teach him how to tell time, but he learns patience, waiting for something he wants is not much different from going away from something in order to get it, even going out of sight of it and approaching from a different angle. Mentally exercising a pup gives him the smarts to figure it out.

Self-confidence in puppies can be increased by letting them learn how easy it is to go up a see through ramp and walk on an elevated see through bridge. It also improves perception of depth by challenging them with these visual cliffs. New experiences are most important. The more pups hear, smell, touch, chew on, investigate by all the means available, the better off they are for it.