Canine enrichment to me is much more than filling a kong full of food or throwing down a snuffle mat for your dog. It’s about being creative and finding ways to provide an outlet for your dog to engage in their natural behaviours to satisfy their natural drives. Sniffing, chasing, chewing, shredding, licking, fetching, playing, digging, investigating and scavenging are all things that dogs enjoy because it’s natural to their species.
Enriching the lives of animals is not a new concept. It’s been around since the 1900’s as a way to enhance enclosures of captive animals in zoo’s. You may not think of your dog as a captive animal because they have the freedom to go out into the world with you at anytime, but dogs are in fact domesticated captive animals. We control every aspect of their life with leashes, fences, down to what they eat and when they eat it.
Not every enrichment activity will be appropriate for every dog. Every dog is an individual with different likes and needs. The type of enrichment a Frenchie would enjoy may be very different from what a Border Collie would like. Terrier’s love to chase, Hounds love to sniff, Huskies love to run, Herding dogs love to stalk or control and so on. Even if you have a couch potato, it’s still important to provide your dog with the time to be a dog and do dog things.
Finding something that's a good fit that your dog enjoys is the goal and variety is key. Enrichment is much more than just stuffing your dog’s face with treats and food toys. It’s about improving the quality of life of your dog by enhancing your dogs mental state. You do this by challenging and exercising their brains and bodies….daily! They have the opportunity to problem solve, learn new skills, sharpen existing skills and become more confident and calm in every day situations.
One good thing about mental enrichment is that there are so many ways to do it and they don’t have to involve food. Here are some non-food activities to do with your dog that will add enrichment to their lives and many of the fun things we do here at Camp K9.
Flirt poles/Spring poles Frisbee/disc Tug games Treadmills Sniff walks/sniffari’s DIY Obstacle course Hiking Good old’ fetch Water Play Dock Diving Trick training Group Walks Barn Hunt Scent work Off-leash running Hide n’ seek Lure Coursing Swimming Play dates Sandbox Tree tug Agility Parkour Canicross Loose leash walking/training Dog TV Bikejoring Obedience training Shredding cardboard Sensory garden Chasing bubbles Visiting dog friendly stores Bicycle and car rides Heelwork Herding balls/treibball Flyball Canine conditioning exercises Rotation of dog toys Search games/find a hidden toy Social play with you! Formal training classes And anything else that requires mental focus!
A lot, right? You don’t need to use treats as reinforcements (although it certainly helps), you can use non-food reinforcers instead such as a favorite toy, balls, verbal praise, squeaky fun things, playing tug etc.
For a dog to stay mentally and physically healthy, your dog needs to use his/her brain on a daily basis. When you are busy at work, away on vacation or just want to improve the quality of life for your dog, Camp K9 is happy to do this for you! In fact, we take great pride in it as it’s our specialty!
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