Enrichment is simply activities that you can use to create a varied and different approach to mealtimes or even to simply give your best buddy a treat in a interesting way rather than ALWAYS popping their food in a bowl on the floor OR just giving them a treat stick from your handâŚ.. go on let your dog live a little đ
1- The number 1 freebie – âFind Itâ – encourage your dog to use use their eyes and their noses by scattering JUST ONE or TWO handfuls of their normal portion on the patio or in the kitchen or on a mat, granted you may have point out every kibble) to start with but once they get the hang of it (2 weeks tops) they will activate their little sniffers and enjoy âfinding their foodâ more than just eating it straight from a bowl – I promise
2- Second freebie on the list, âRECYCLE ITâ keep your most recent Amazon box or cereal box and put some screwed up paper in it (make sure they donât eat the paper) and again scatter a handle or two of their designated portion in the box (size appropriate of course) and encourage them to rummage around and âFIND ITâ.
3- Last freebie on the list is âTHE TEA TOWELâ trick – simply roll a couple of kibbles up inside a tea towel and allow your puppy to unravel it (this may or may not take a couple of seconds but you can keep doing it several times to keep the game up – what could be easier?
4- The next 2 are DIY projects potentially and requires some prep – THE SNUFFLE BOX Also known as the snuffle bin on Jolson Williams Website Here similar to the diy box except you get a plastic organising basket from your DIY/homeware store and some fleece material cut into strips then place those strips through the gaps to create a box that a little bit more of a challenge and place a few treats or a handful of kibbles in there and get them sniffing – obviously keep an eye on them for trying to chew up the fleece (supervision required for all of these activities- safety first).
5- DIY SNUFFLE MAT- this is similar to the fancy snuffle mats youâve all used or seen but you can make a cheaper version – get a holey bath mat (the non slip ones are good with the suckers on the bottom) and the fleece material from before but in shorter strips this time – tie each hole with 3/4 pieces of fleece (a simple crossover tie pulled tight will do no knots required) until you have a nice fleece surface to hide treats and again youâve made your sniffing activity for your pup.
6- The next 3 are all brilliant products I recommend you invest in and make sure they donât start to eat this first one when they are done (these are not affiliated links yet but they may become so in the future) – LICKI MATS- Place the wet portion of your dogs food or a small amount of pate or dog friendly peanut butter onto the mat (these come in heavy duty and with a non slip tray for heavy lickersđ ) Find them here as the name suggests it slows down food scoffers and encourages licking which helps to settle your dog if theyâve been doing something else a bit more high energy or simply need to slow their eating habits down – I highly recommend you use Forthglade Puppy or Dog Food Grain Free as the nutrition rating is currently very high. Adult Dog Forthglade Here or the puppy version can be found Here
7-The Kong – there are so many ways this can be utilised to help you out- distraction when in another room – encourages chewing and licking and movement all at the same time – you can put a little bit of dog pate or fat free yoghurt in there and it can take a while to get out – Find A Pack Of 2 Kongs Here -also you can put their own kibbles in there and plug the hole with wet dog food and let them get cracking for part of their breakfast OR if you need it to last longer you could soak the kibble before putting them in and plug the end and then put them in the freezer in a Jiffy bag for teething pups or simply to make them last longer, freezing has multiple advantages. I love them – I think they are one of the best toys ever invented for dogs and are so simple – I digress đ đ I also love (bonus product) their wobbler Can be found here -for kibbles or small treats for older dogs or larger puppies to get the hang of too, just make sure you place them in a mat otherwise they go skidding all over shiny surfaces đ
8- Lastly if you have a dog that pummels their food too fast -you could do all of the above (I do this for my dog and weâve managed to get his 3 minute eating frenzy up to 15-20 minutes of active searching etc. Or you could invest in a Puzzle bowl to put their dry portion into. It is recommended you get a raised feeder also especially for taller dogs or deep chested dogs like whippets greyhounds or leggy gundogs (weimeraners and viszlas Iâm looking at you) this simple act could be the difference between a dog that gets bloat (gulping too much air as they eat) or dogs that are too active after eating.
I hope all of these ideas have given you some food for thoughtâŚ.. no pun intended đ so you can give something a go every day be it a free DIY or purchased activity. Iâd love to see your enrichment ideas and you can tag me at About Town Pet Care On Instagram to show me. I can never see enough videos of dogs in my dayđđ Check out some more tips below – this post is my very first TikTok Video with some tips on How To Make Your Dogs Mealtimes Fun đđ
Sara @ About Town Pets
Ps if you enjoyed this post perhaps check out my previous post on How Often Should I Be Training My Puppy đâ¤ď¸
About Town Pets 