I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s always a delight to watch my dogs just do their dog things and be dogs. One of my dogs is a big fan of water & swimming, digging, and rolling in dirt and mud. Ha! The smile on his face when he gets to do these things is worth the mess I clean up later.
Providing safe opportunities for my dogs to just be a dog is at the heart of my own enrichment plans. My dogs are happy and easy to live with most days, and I am certain the enrichment they get every day has a lot to do with that.
Don’t let the word ‘plan’ make you think that this needs to be a big production. It doesn’t have to be! Let’s start with a list of needs to consider along with some examples of enrichment activities:
Physical – jogging, chasing, fetching, agility
Mental – food puzzles, training, hide-and seek, sniff walk, snuffle mat
Social & Play – Tug, playing with another dog, meeting new people, hide-and-seek, time with a dog walker
Calming – massage, music composed for dogs, quiet time with a Kong or Lickimat
Instinctual – digging in a box, ripping up paper, foraging, chewing
Agency – choose the walking route, off leash time (keeping safety in mind), walks on a long line
Now that we have some needs in mind that need to met, let’s make a plan:
As you can see from this sample enrichment plan, which reflects some of the activities I do with my own dogs, you’re probably already doing lots of things that combat boredom and meet your dog’s need to act like a dog!
If you’re ready to kick it up a notch, start small. Watch your dog and see what they like to do the most. Add in a game here, an activity there, and before you know it, you’ve got a truly stellar enrichment plan! Your dog will thank you and I would bet you a bag of bully sticks, you’ll see better behavior overall.
My dogs really like to dig, a totally normal dog behavior, but sometimes their need to dig means a destroyed backyard. To make everyone happy, I set up digging time for them so they can do what dogs need to do, and my yard isn’t a maze of giant holes. For example, digging in a box keeps the digging contained. And to meet the important need to destroy stuff, I give them opportunities to destroy paper bags (each bag had one little treat in them for interest).
If you need ideas, I highly recommend the book Canine Enrichment for the Real World, by Allie Bender and Emily Strong. And of course, I’m always happy to help! Contact me: marsha@learningtodog.com
If you need some ideas for food puzzles, you can have a look at this guide.