Canine Enrichment

"Enrichment" is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days, but what does it actually mean and how do we implement it into the lives of our dogs?

What is Enrichment?

Enrichment refers to providing your dog with opportunities to satisfy your dogs needs, particularly as it relates to their mental and emotion wellbeing. By providing opportunities for your dog to safely and appropriately express their natural instincts, you'll be enriching their life and satiating their desires.

Enrichment improves your dogs quality of life. As well, providing opportunities for enrichment will also better your life as well because dogs who feel satiated are less likely to display behavioural problems.

Why is Enrichment important?

While our canine companions are far removed from living in the wild, they still hold the same base instincts as their wild canine counterparts; Sniffing, hunting, exploring and problem-solving are just a few.

Whether we realize it, or not, a lot of pet dogs are BORED. Boredom often results in undesirable and destructive behaviours as our pet dogs try to find ways to satisfy their base desires.

It is up to us, their owners, to ensure that these needs are being met in safe and appropriate ways.

Types of enrichment:

Oral

Physical

Mental

Exploring

Olfactory

Social

Oral Enrichment:

Chewing - Chewing is a natural behaviour for dogs. If your dog has a habit of chewing on things like furniture, you can redirect this by providing them with things such as Kongs, Bully Sticks, bones, cow/pig ears etc...

Shredding - Another natural behaviour. If your dog likes to shred things, you can provide them with things such as toilet paper rolls, or cardboard boxes to have satisfy this need. It is important to monitor your dog as they are engaging in this activity to ensure that they aren't consuming large pieces of cardboard.

Licking - Stuffed Kongs and LickiMats are a great way to allow your dog to lick.

Physical Enrichment:

Fetch - Chasing and retrieving are base instincts for most dogs. Allowing your dog time to engage in these activities will certainly make them happier overall

Walks/Jogs/Hiking - Walks not only up your dog's cardio, but they also provide an opportunity to let your dog explore a new place. Just remember to follow your local leash laws.

Urban Agility - Parks, playgrounds and walking trails are filled with things that you can use to practice urban agility. Train your dog to jump over things, stand on things, crawl under things etc.. Not only does this provide physical exercise, but it is also mentally stimulating and provides opportunities for your dog to problem-solve.

Canine Sports - Sports are an excellent way to satiate your dog's innate desires. Sports provide both a physical and mental outlet. Aside from that, sports support and grow the relationship and bond that you have with your canine companion. Sports include, but are not limited to: Agility, Rally-O, IGP, PSA, Obedience, Bikejoring, Dock Diving, Flyball, Disc Dog, Canicross, Herding, Weight Pull, Top Dog etc...

Swimming - Some dogs love swimming, others don't. For those that do, swimming provides a tiring, but low-impact way to exercise. This is the perfect exercise option for dogs who are overweight, older, or who have mobility of joint problems.

Digging - Digging is a completely natural behaviour for dogs. This can however, become a nuisance if your dog is constantly digging up your garden. A sandbox provides your dog the opportunity to take part in this natural behaviour, while keeping them away from areas that you don't want dug up.

Chasing - This is another natural behaviour. Most dogs will have a strong urge to chase, especially when it comes to small prey-like items/animals. A flirt-pole can help satiate your dog's desire to chase, but it may not be a suitable exercise for older dogs, or dogs with joint issues. You can also simply play tag with your dog.

Mental Enrichment:

Mental simulation can be just as, if not more important than physical exercise. Mental stimulation is often overlooked in our dogs' lives, but that's a post for another day!

Training - Whether your teaching your dog obedience, manners in the house, or trick training for fun, learning new skills will definitely tire out your pooches brain.

Puzzle Toys - There are many puzzle toys on the market these days for dogs. These toys encourage your dog to problem-solve in order to retrieve the treat inside of the toy.

Exploration:

Visit New Places - Whether you take them on a new trail for their walk, or to some pet-friendly locations, your dog will thoroughly enjoy getting to take in the new sights, sounds and smells.

Try New Things - Even if you are taking your dog to a familiar place, there may be an opportunity for your dog to practice their urban agility or doggy parkour skills!

Olfactory Activities:

Sniffari - Take your dog on a sniffari! These walks allow your dog to stop and smell the roses. They can dictate the path of the walk based on where their nose takes them!

Snuffle Mats - These mats mimic natural foraging behaviours in dogs. Place your dog's kibble, or some treats amongst the fabric of the mat and let them use their nose to locate the food.

Nose Work - You can hide your dog's kibble, or treats around the house and let your dog sniff them out. Similarly, you can attend Nose Work classes where your dog will be trained to locate certain odours (Think narcotics detection dogs, but for fun).

Tracking - Your dog can learn to track human, or animal scent. This is also a great activity to help strengthen the bond between dog and handler. As your dog becomes a more skilled tracking dog, you can increase the difficulty by having them track on different surfaces (grass, concrete, forest, across water etc...).

Social Enrichment:

Managed Play Groups - If your dog is social with other dogs, a supervised/managed play group is an excellent alternative to dog parks. Some dogs get overwhelmed at dog parks.

Group Walks - Again, if your dog is social or neutral towards other dogs, they may benefit from going on a group walk! Many dog walkers offer this as a service that they will provide.

Parallel Walks - This option is great for dogs who are just meeting, or if your dog is more selective about their friends. These walks are done where both dogs are a comfortable distance from each other and walk parallel to each other.

Signs that your dog is lacking enrichment:

Destructive behaviour

Restlessness or pacing

Nuisance barking

Depression

Agitation