Environmental enrichment for dogs is essentially creating or inventing ways to alleviate boredom for your dog. Normally, dogs are able to get outside for their exercise, both mental and physical. Sometimes this isn’t possible for various reasons. Maybe you, as the owner/walker are not well, or physically unable to walk for some reason. Maybe your dog has recently had surgery, or has been advised strict rest by your vet.
Dogs might not be getting their daily run and sniff time for a number of reasons.
If the reason is to do with you as the owner being unable to get out and about as much as you’d like, give me a call on 07747 771360 or drop me a line here. As your dog walker, I can be as flexible as you need to make sure your dog gets out and about, mixing with other dogs and generally having a blast!
If you can’t get out as much as you’d like to with your dog is because your dog has to be resting, that can be really tough. They don’t understand why their walks have been cut super short. Or why walks are on lead only. Or none existent, depending on the reasons.
This article will help you with some ideas for alleviating the boredom, for both you and your dog!!
Food Related Enrichment
Chews – human free entertainment
Chews and chewing are an absolute necessity for dogs. Whether they are on an enforced programme of rest or short walks only or not, they need to chew. There is more to discuss about chews and chewing as environmental enrichment for dogs than the scope of this post. Take a look at this blog post for information about the right type of chew for your dog.
Puzzle feeders
You can buy or make your own puzzle feeders. Bought ones can be a little costly, but will last longer than home made ones!
Home made puzzles can be made easily from cardboard boxed stacked with loo roll inners. Scatter a few pieces of grated cheese into the bottom of the box and then add a piece of kibble to each roll. Fold over the top of each one and stack them into the box so that there are no gaps.
Once you have filled all the rolls and stacked them together, let your dog work out how to get to the treats hidden underneath. Try to avoid the temptation to show them, or help them in anyway so that they are using both their nose and brain to figure it out.
You can use this idea to fuel your own imagination to create something for your dog!
You can also buy other types of puzzle feeders. These include: maze bowls,* snuffle mats* (these can also be made using a sink drainer mat and strips of fabric) and tipper type feeders.* All of these are filled with kibble (either your dog’s normal kibble or treats like these). If you’re going to use kibble and/or treats, you have to make sure that you’re using your dog’s daily ration in these games. Otherwise your dog will gain weight.
To make a snuffle mat:
You can make a snuffle mat quite easily by following the pictures below:
It is quite time consuming, but also quite therapeutic! Cut strips of material to similar lengths and tie each individual piece to the drainer mat*, through the holes. Then, hide small treats within the fabric* and allow your dog to snuffle around to find the pieces.
A cardboard egg box also doubles as environmental enrichment for dogs! Add a couple of treats and some of these little sprats to the spaces, close the box and let your dog sniff and try to work out how to open the box. Chances are they will tear it into tiny pieces to get to the treats within, but it will pass some time while they get the idea!
Frozen Treats
Frozen treats can be environmental enrichment for dogs and can be simple or a bit more complicated. A frozen carrot, parsnip or piece of broccoli is as good as anything as a frozen treat, and doesn’t add much by way of calories.
Other frozen treats can include various recipes stuffed into Kongs*, hooves, licky mats or other stuffable toys. The peanut butter* in these recipes is xylitol free (causes a huge insulin spike in dogs and can cause them to go into a severely hypoglycemic state – this can have fatal consequences) and palm oil free. The yoghurt in these recipes is lactose free to be sure we don’t cause any tummy upsets! (I use natural greek yoghurt – supermarket own brand)
Recipe #1
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon natural, greek yoghurt
medium banana
Mash the banana with the peanut butter and yoghurt to a paste. Spread over the licky mat or stuff into your chosen receptacle. Place into the freezer for 4 – 5 hours and serve while still frozen.
Recipe #2
cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 grated carrot
100g frozen peas
Stir all the ingredients together. Spread over the licky mat or stuff into your chosen receptacle. Place into the freezer for 4 – 5 hours and serve while still frozen.
Recipe #3
100g grated apple
cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon peanut butter
Stir the apple, sweet potato and coconut oil together and spread the mixture on your mat or add it to the stuffable item. If you’re using a kong, use the peanut butter to seal the ends before freezing.
Recipe #4
mashed potato (sweet or white) 100g
shredded chicken breast (other meat such as turkey can be used as a sub if your dog is allergic) 100g
peas and carrots 100g
Mix all the ingredients and spread the mixture on your mat or add it to the stuffable item. Freeze for 4 – 5 hours and serve while still frozen.
All these recipes can be mixed and matched, so substitute in your own ideas for even more variety for your dog.
Brain Games
Otherwise known as training. Teaching your dog ‘tricks’. Getting them to think about what they’re doing, where their body is, where their body parts are and what they have to do to earn the treats in your hand. Thinking is tiring (for us too – how many times have you fallen asleep reading a book?!)
Formal training is one thing – dogs can be taught to work, to do jobs for people. This isn’t the point of this post. This is all about having fun with your dog. Teaching them to sit, lie down, give you a paw, to roll over, to ‘speak’. All these things are relatively simple to teach. If you’d like some help getting started, drop me a line – carey@stneotspetcare.co.uk and I can teach you how to teach your dog. Once you get the hang of teaching your dog to do ‘stuff’ your imagination is the limit for tricks! Learning tricks is a great way to reduce boredom for your dog. You will be amazed at what it will do for bonding and your relationship with your dog too.
Nose work
Dogs use their sense of smell in the same way we use sight. It is their primary sense. A 10 minute ‘stop and sniff’ walk on a lead is as tiring and good for them as a half hour run around.
You can engage your dog’s sense of smell by encouraging nose games at home.
The simplest way to do this is to scatter feed. Do away with the bowl and scatter their whole breakfast/dinner over the floor (not advisable if you feed raw, or tinned wet food!!) but a fab idea for kibble fed dogs.
The next step up from scatter feeding is to actually hide food around a room and encourage your dog to ‘find it’ – use the phrase as a command, and soon your dog will be hunting around all over the place ‘looking’ for their treats. The great thing about this game is that you can make it as easy or as difficult as you like. If your dog is really good at it and enjoys it, you can progress onto hiding smaller and smaller pieces of food under objects for them to have to work hard to find.
You can also play this game without food. Use a worn sock as the primer, and hide the other half of the pair for them to find. Add scents to fabric by placing it in a plastic, lidded box with cloves or garlic or other spices.
Non-food related enrichment
Toys
Non-food environmental enrichment for dogs involves toys or games with a reward other than food.
Rope toys, tug toys, empty kongs, nyla bones, stuffed toys, squeeky toys can all be chewed and played with to enrich your dog’s life and reduce boredom. All of these toys have to be supervised to ensure that your dog doesn’t destroy them and cause themselves a problem in doing so.
Nose games
You can play the nose work games I mentioned when your dog has learned what to do. Use a sock from a pair you’ve worn, or a specifically scented fabric strip as the target and encourage them to sniff out the hidden item. The reward for success can be a ball or toy, rather than food – as it is with working dogs such as police dogs.
Fetch
Self explanatory, this one! Not so great if your dog has to rest, but if you have difficulty getting out due to time, or your own mobility, then a 10 – 15 minute game of fetch in the garden or local park is a fab way to pass time and enrich your dog’s life. The reward when playing fetch is the repeated opportunity to chase. Dogs love to chase and many love to retrieve too. When they bring the ball or toy back to you, throw it again, or have an identical one to throw (if your dog isn’t keen on handing over the first toy!)
Happy dogs = happy owners
It is essential to provide both mental and physical stimulation to keep boredom at bay. If you don’t provide enrichment then your dog is more likely to perform undesirable behaviours instead…
Chewing, licking, sniffing and shredding are the four most common behaviours that dogs engage in when trying to reduce stress or boredom, or to calm themselves. Dogs tend to be at their most destructive when left alone and boredom hits. Providing enrichment that satisfies these behaviours will help prevent unwanted behaviours (such as destructive chewing) that dogs engage in when they’re looking for something to do.
Enrichment games and puzzles are a great way to give elderly dogs with painful conditions like arthritis or other physical limitations a way to get in some exercise. The same can be said for young puppies who shouldn’t be engaging in lengthy periods of physical exercise until their growth plates have fused. Environmental enrichments for dogs have not only proven to lower stress, but encourage them to learn more efficiently.
Mental enrichment activities can help balance out physical exercise. Dogs need to move their bodies every day, but high intensity exercise like playing with other dogs increases adrenaline levels. Your dog needs you to provide a way to bring those adrenaline levels back down to normal after strenuous activities.
All of the above benefits of environmental enrichment for dogs mean that your dog will be better behaved and an overall happier dog. Doing different enrichment activities with your dog strengthens your bond and is quite a mood booster for both canine and human!