What a lot of dog owners don’t know or don’t utilise enough is the importance of enrichment for their dogs. Enrichment is what we can use to tire our dogs out mentally, it’s a great way of keeping them entertained and also getting them to use their brains.
A lot of owners do such a great job of walking their dogs and tiring them physically so this can then be quite frustrating when their dog proceeds to get home and do ‘zoomies’ around the house and garden for half an hour! This is because just walking our dogs just doesn’t cut it for our more active, intelligent dogs.
So, what can you do if you notice walks just aren’t enough to tire your dog out? Introduce enrichment! This will help prevent your dog getting bored and making their own entertainment and should help if you notice your dog is becoming destructive in the home, bouncing off the furniture, digging or attention seeking.
What is Enrichment?
Enrichment is a way to improve your dog's well being by giving them additional stimuli in life which allows them to practice all the natural, healthy behaviours which your dog finds gratifying. To put it simply, it's any additional activity that your dog finds fun!
There are many different types of enrichment we can use and I will briefly go through 4 things that you can do to enrich your dog’s day! A lot of the ideas in this list can be small things we can do daily to help.
1. Variety
Change your dog’s walks up to start, don’t just walk in the same place every day. Varying where we walk our dogs is so important. If you normally just walk your dog around the block try taking them to the park, to the local woods, the beach or even just along different streets. You don’t even have to drive them miles, just think 'have they been somewhere new lately?'. This allows your dog to smell new scents, explore and interact with a new (or like new!) environment. All of this can be deeply enriching for your dog.
2. Use Your Nose
Let them sniff! Sniffing is super important for dogs and all too often I see owners drag dogs away from good smells or march their dogs past them entirely. It may be that we are in a rush but sometimes stopping and giving our dogs the opportunity to take it all in is very rewarding for them. Research even suggests that sniffing lowers your dog’s heart rate!
Speaking of using their noses, a lot of dogs love to search and sniff out food, it is a natural behaviour which we can promote quite easily for our dogs.
In the home this could be how we feed our dogs, try scattering food or treats in your garden. This will give them a fun job to do, they have to search for and find their rewards!
You can also try putting their meals in a ‘Snuffle Mat’, this not only makes meal times last longer (and is a great way to stop dogs guzzling down their food!) but again promotes sniffing and searching.
Introducing a ‘find it’ game is really easy and so fun for our dogs! First show your dog you have a toy or food item, walk off and place the item somewhere easy to start, perhaps beside the coffee table/ sofa etc. Then let your dog loose to search saying ‘Find it’ as you release them and reward your dog with lots of praise when they find the item.
The better they get, the harder you can make the game! Hiding the toy or treats in more difficult places or advancing to playing whilst on a walk (where there are so many other distractions to concentrate round). My dogs love to search for their treats in long grass or in wood piles! Hiding a toy in the garden isn’t time consuming but gives your dogs a fun game to play.
Remember! Start slow and build up the difficulty, if you make it too hard at first your dog may get frustrated! Set them up for success by building them up gradually so they know the game is worth the effort!
3. Fetch!
It sounds really simple, but play is really enriching for dogs. Having time to play with your dog is important and should be done daily and could be as simple as us playing tug, throwing a toy for them to fetch or letting them chase a toy on a rope! This can be effective for building a bond with you as an owner too.
You don't have to be out and about to play either. A quick 30 second game of tug during the ad break on TV is a quick and easy way to introduce some enrichment without taking up much of your time.
4. Play with your Food!
If your dog enjoys their meal times then don’t waste an opportunity to use this to your advantage! Rather than give your dogs food in a food bowl think how else they can work for it! Treat balls, puzzle feeders, slow feeders, snuffle mats are all great for making our dogs use their brains.
Personally, I like to freeze things like their Kongs* and Lickimats* so they last longer. Inside I just use their regular food, taking it from their daily amount so they don’t get over fed! To stuff the Kong with a dry kibble, simply take a portion of their dry food, pour on a little boiling water and wait for it to soak. A quick mash up and now you have a paste to fill your Kong/ Lickimat with and put it into the freezer! As a treat I will also mix through a little bit of peanut butter (make sure it is safe for your dog - sugar & sweetener free!), cream cheese, natural yoghurt or fresh meat for extra taste.
If you are struggling to find any food enrichment toys then empty cartons and cardboard boxes work well too! Take old milk cartons, smoothie boxes, toilet roll tubes etc and put their biscuits inside (make sure you remove the lids so your dog can’t accidentally swallow them!). Do they bat it around with their paws for the pieces of food to fall out or do they tear through the cardboard? Yes it can be a bit messy, but it’s better than them tearing things they shouldn’t in your home!
By watching how your dog interacts with your homemade toys, you can see what kind of food enrichment toys they would enjoy. If they enjoy bopping and rolling to get their food, maybe try a wobbling food dispenser like a Kong Wobbler*? If they like ripping open the boxes try a 'clam shell' style toy like Tug-E-Nuff's The Clam*, where they have to pull open the toy to get their reward!
As you can see, it's easy to add a little enrichment to your dog's routine! Remember, this list isn't exhaustive! Trick training, in all it's forms, is another fantastic way of getting your dog's brain working too!
If you have any questions about enrichment, dog training and behaviour please get in touch or leave a comment below!
Jess 🐾
Jess Tew BSc (Hons) is the Dog Trainer behind Peak Dog Services. A dog training and walking service in Darlington, County Durham, UK.
* These are Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These links don't affect my editorial decisions and I never link to any product I don't already own or wouldn't purchase in the future.
Comments