Lose the Bowl
Lose the Bowl
5 Quick and Easy Strategies to Add Enrichment to your Daily Routine
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It’s gross and snowy outside, but warm and snuggly inside, which means today is great day to talk about one of my favorite topics: Enrichment! I’ve mentioned in the Faith Series how important Enrichment can be for the behavioral well-being of our dogs, but what do we really mean when we talk about Enrichment? Stick with me while I lay it all out for you. And for those of you wondering “Is this the kind of thing where I’ll have to modify my whole life? Didn’t you just write a blog about not living up to Super Mom expectations?”, ain’t nobody got time for that. I promise you these will be super simple 5 minute fixes to add a little spice to your dog’s life.
So What is Enrichment Anyways?
When I talk about Enrichment, I’m talking about finding ways to keep my dogs (or animals in general) mentally stimulated. Think about it. Every species has adapted and evolved to forage, hunt, or scavenge for their own food. They have amazing skills and the animal versions of super powers, which makes them crazy adept at doing this. Then we humans come along, snatch those beasties out of the wild, and plunk them down on our couch and put all their food in the same bowl at the same time….every….single…day. That sounds pretty freaking boring to me. So some amazing folks in the Animal Behavior World (mostly zoos and sanctuaries) realized that this was leading to the physical and psychological decline of the animals in their care. Most of what we know about Enrichment has come from these folks, and the next time you head over to a zoo, I challenge you to keep an eye out for their enrichment strategies. Those cardboard boxes and paper scraps in the enclosure areas aren’t trash left by some negligent visitor, they are quick and easy strategies to provide those animals a more well balanced life.
But Your Not a Professional Behaviorist So What Can You Do?
This dear reader is where Grace’s Top 5 Suggestions for Enrichment Strategies comes in. Trust me, I get it. I work full time, have 3 dogs, teach on the side, and am also trying to function as an adult. I don’t have time to hand feed every piece of kibble or babysit a puzzle toy that only holds 9 treats. That’s why I’ve curated this list, which will exclusively discuss strategies that take less than 5 minutes of setup and / or require very minimal supervision.
Kong Wobbler - my hands down favorite enrichment toy for feeding big meals to big dogs. The large size holds up to 2 cups of food, you just unscrew the top, dump it all in and leave (just like a bowl!). The base level is pretty easy for nearly every dog, and you can make things harder by popping a tennis ball or golf ball inside.
Kong Gyros - if you’re bored of the Wobbler, or looking for another quick food bowl replacement toy, the Gyros is a solid solution. The large size holds up to a cup of food, and is another dump and leave solution. The Gyros is easier for the dogs to pick up and carry around with them, and if you have a heavy chewer this may not be a great solution for you. My Gyros is 2 years old and still going strong, but does have some teeth marks in it courtesy of Faith.
Hunting Through Boxes - not ready to buy a kibble dispensing toy? That’s totally cool, you can make up your own enrichment activity with whatever cardboard boxes and paper products you have lying around (just like the Behaviorists!). Grab a box, ball up some newspaper and toss it in there, maybe throw in some toilet paper roles, add kibble, close the box, and let your dog go to town! Expect your dog to create a bit of a mess with this one, and since paper and cardboard are ingest-able I’d recommend keeping them supervised here as well. But for some dogs, shredding can be a huge frustration reliever, and you’ll notice they feel way more comfortable and relaxed after playing this game.
The Muffin Tin Game - when I’ve got a little more time on my hands, or want to work on sound de-sensitization, this is my go to game. It requires 0 commercial products, all you need is a muffin tin. At it’s base level, you start by putting kibble in each section of the muffin tin. You can put a little, or a lot, just depends how long you want to hang out and watch. As your pup happily munches away, they’ll be bumping into the metal tin, causing it to slide on the floor, and make noise as their collar hits it. To up the challenge, you can throw a dish towel over top of the tin so they have to move it out of the way. Once that seems easy, progress to a baking tray partially covering some of the muffin tin. This is where the sound de-sensitization really comes in, as you get that metal-on-metal noise from the two trays sliding over each-other, and most likely a lot of clanging when the baking tin falls off the muffin tray. As a result, you gotta supervise your pup with this one. Pay attention to their body language and comfort level. If it is taking them more than 30 secs to get a piece of kibble, they’re telling you you made it too hard.
Cookie Trails and Scatters in the Grass - these are exactly what they sound like, scatter a bunch of kibble around your house (you can make this harder by throwing towels over top so your dog needs to use their nose), or outside in the grass. This is also one of my favorite tactics for helping dogs who are uncomfortable with visitors. Fin went through a period where he didn’t like men, and I had a bunch of friends over for a BBQ. I tossed his food out in the grass, and we all sat up on the deck watching him hunt. The visitors were a comfortable distance away from him, and he happily ignored them to hunt for his food. Extra Bonus, he stopped alarm barking at us from the yard, without any yelling, shock collar, or spraying devices (just like magic!).
So you see, Enrichment isn’t as big and scary as you thought, and you don’t need to spend hours crafting the perfect Enrichment activity. My challenge to you is to incorporate just one of these options into your meal today. See how it goes, then think about trying a different option tomorrow.