Mental enrichment is a crucial part of meeting your dog's needs. It can help reduce boredom, burn energy, build confidence, alleviate anxiety and lower stress. There are some really simple ways you can add mental enrichment to your dog's day with very little effort. Here's how...
Ditch the food bowl - getting imaginative with mealtimes is a super simple way to provide some regular mental stimulation. Just present one meal a day in a way that encourages puzzle solving, movement or sniffing. Some ideas...
Scatter feeding - throw their food into your garden (ideally on grass) and let them spend time sniffing it out. It's like a giant, free snuffle mat!
Puzzle feeders - there are all sorts of lick mats, food balls and puzzle toys that you can pick up relatively cheaply. You can also make your own by placing kibble in a plastic bottle, wrapping it in a towel or hiding it in a cardboard box filled with shredded paper - there are loads of ideas online but know your dog, if they are destructive and likely to eat the towel then give that option a miss!
Sniff walks - do you know that lovely feeling you get when you stop to admire the view and take in the scenery when out walking? Whilst we are a very visual species and use our eyes to gather information about our environment, dogs use their noses to do this. When taking our dogs for a walk we can be all about the physical act of walking and finishing the route we have planned, but it can actually be more beneficial to allow our dogs to lead the way and stop and sniff as much as they want. It is said that a 20 minute sniff walk can be just as tiring and enriching for our dogs as an hour long stomp - perfect for when you are short on time!
Play - play is both physically and mentally stimulating for our dogs and it is an amazing way to strengthen your bond with your dog. Think beyond the classic fetch and tug games, play can also involve sniff games such as finding a treat or favourite toy hidden in the garden, hide and seek, sand pits, paddling pools, bubble chasing. The list is endless! There are some fantastic, handmade enrichment toys here: https://www.touchangok9.co.uk/?ref=PETHELPATHOME Use code PETHELPATHOME for 10% off.
Training - Just like play, training is a great way to add enrichment with huge benefits for your relationship. Training really doesn't have to be time consuming, a couple of minutes here and there throughout the day is plenty and it also doesn't have to be serious. Teach some simple (or fancy) tricks. There are loads of books, websites and social media groups to give you inspiration. I also find this is a great way to get the kids involved!
Try some of these over the next week and see the difference it can make. Have fun!
Jen
Comments