We’ve previously tackled food related enrichment in our blog post “What is Canine Enrichment” and we’ve also given you some ideas on how to keep your pups active during quarantine with your blog post “Top eight ways to keep your dog busy during quarantine”. But how can we create enrichment without using food?
What is non-food related enrichment?
As we’ve previously discussed enrichment is any sort of activity that is designed to create mental stimulation and enhances your dog’s mental state. Enrichment makes your dog use their brain to problem solve and pick up new skills. It could mean taking your dog out to a field on a long line to let them sniff or it could be it can also be letting your dogs shred cardboard boxes.
Why is non-food related enrichment so important?
It’s so important because letting your dog express natural behaviors can not only help them build confidence it can also help them relax. Local dog trainer Jenny Efimova of Dogminded wrote an excellent article on the power of non-food related decompression walks.
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Okay, so what can I do to create enrichment for my dog?
There are TONS of different things you can do for your dog. You can take them out for a decompression walk where they’re on a really long line or off leash and have freedom to move around and sniff as much as they want. You can make them a sand pit with a kiddie pool for dogs who like to dig. The sand pit is a really great way to encourage dogs natural foraging and digging abilities.
Okay, but my dog doesn’t like to dig or sniff.
First, I find it hard to believe you have a dog who doesn’t like to sniff. Dogs literally have 200 million olfactory cells and sniffing is the most natural thing dogs know how to do. My own dog absolutely LOVES to sniff. We call it reading peemail. I jokingly tell people she’s like your grandma who is just learning how to use email and hits reply all instead of just reply because she also leaves her own peemail behind all the time. You can also get flavored bubbles and blow bubbles for your dogs.
Okay, but this seems like too much effort, what can i do that’s easy?
If none of the above are of interest to your dog you could try a flirt pole. These are great for when you can’t get outside to do a lot of exercise. BTB member Gimli loves his flirt pole so much his parents have to keep it hidden. You don’t even have to make your own you can buy one on Amazon. You can even take your dog on a long car rides which are perfect for dogs who love the car. Or maybe your pup would like a ball pit instead? These are all really great ways to create enrichment for your pups.
Some words of wisdom
If your pup gives up and doesn’t want to continue because it’s too hard for them, you should bring it back to an easier point where they are having fun. You don’t want to make it difficult for them. Enrichment should be fun and exciting for your pups, not hard and challenging. Also if you have a dog trainer who is not actively talking about enrichment ideas with you and your pups, it may be time to find a new one. Enrichment is a huge part of training these days and a trainer who isn’t talking about it probably isn’t up to date with their training credentials. We’d also like to mention that laser pointers are NOT considered enrichment. They’re actually really bad for dogs and can cause behavioral issues.
Some places for inspiration:
As you can see here Johnny and Bodhi’s mom is always doing fun enrichment for them.
The Facebook group Canine Enrichment is an excellent source of inspiration. This is where I learned of Bindisbucketlist this woman takes enrichment to a whole different level. She is so creative and it truly amazes me. You don’t have to be as creative as her that’s totally okay. It’s just great to get some ideas when you’re running low. I also get really great ideas from our friends from down under Johnny and Bodhi. Their mom is always doing some fun enrichment. As a matter of fact if it weren’t for Johnny and Bodhi I wouldn’t have known about the Likimats that my dog loves so much.
Show us how you do enrichment:
On Instagram or on Facebook. Also check out our YouTube Channel for more DIY ideas. We’ve created an Enrichment playlist with a bunch of different videos for inspiration.