Dog Enrichment Ideas

Dog enrichment is an activity that taps into a dog’s natural instincts and behaviours, creating mental stimulation and sparking their interests.

A tired dog doesn’t only come from a long walk or long game of fetch. Like humans, dogs can be tired from mental work such as learning. Studies have shown that on average about 20 minutes of mental enrichment is equally as effective as an energy outlet as 60 minutes of walking. Dog enrichment reduces unwanted behaviours in dogs caused by boredom and while building their confidence through learning and problem solving. Read on for examples of enrichment activities.

Taps into a dog’s natural instinct to forage and chew in a safe and appropriate way

• Use a cardboard box (cereal box, parcel box or anything cardboard) and fill with paper
• Hide kibble or treats in the box and allow your dog to destroy and find the goodies inside
• Make it harder by creating treat parcels inside or sealing the box shut

Using your dog’s intelligence and problem solving skills

• Online and in store pet shops have lots of games on offer
• Look for ones that have scalable options and rotate them so that they stay stimulating

Sparking their sense of smell and foraging instincts to find what’s been hidden

• Pick a treat or food with a strong smell and hide in different places
• Pick a cue you would like to use for this game like “go find” or “search” and point in the direction you want them to search in
• Stay close to where it’s hidden and encourage them when they are getting near and give lots of fuss when they find it
• To make it harder, start further from where it’s hidden or remove the action of pointing in the direction of where it is

Sparking their sense of smell and foraging instincts

• Scatter their kibble or treats in different directions, start off with them seeing you do it to create interest
• This training can be done inside the house, in the garden or on walks and is a great way to get their noses down smelling out the food
• You can progress to scattering the food without your dog seeing and then letting them find