ENRICHMENT RESOURCES
- Gabby Reed
- Aug 28, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 3, 2024
Written By: Gabby Reed (Founder & Head trainer of WBCS).
It’s no fault of us humans to not naturally comprehend how much enrichment and stimulation k9’s require in a day to be properly “fulfilled”. For some of us, all we need is a walk around the block, a reading of a chapter, or maybe a 2 hour workout. For dogs, it’s much different. In addition to the challenge of understanding what a dog requires, enrichment looks different for every…single…dog. Factors such as breed, age, size, drive, and daily activity play a role in what is required to fulfill your dog.
Approaching this from a scientific standpoint, dogs instinctively develop different “drives” which cause them to behave naturally in specific manners. These drives include the following ...
PREY DRIVE: Exhibit behaviors such as preying, stalking, pouncing, and chasing.
DEFENSE DRIVE: Display behaviors such as territoriality, or protectiveness.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT DRIVE: Display signs up fear, anxiety, and aggression in stressful situations.
RANK DRIVE: A dominant dog who is confident and demanding.
PACK DRIVE: Crave a sense of belonging and social interaction.
That being said, a dog's drive is a major considerable factor when it comes to enriching our dogs properly to achieve the utmost fulfillment according to their ethology.
In this blog you will find activities that mimic drive reenactment and can do more for your dog than a walk or a run can! Don’t let the excuse of weather, time, or schedule get in the way of stimulating your dog, because improper fulfillment is the root of undesirable behaviors that us owners are likely (unintentionally) at fault for.
WARNING: Supervision is recommended during these activities.
ENRICHMENT IDEAS
Organized by drive, fitting for all.
*RESEARCH THE TYPICAL DRIVE ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR DOG’S BREED*
PREY ENRICHMENT
FLIRT POLE: Trigger their prey drive by mimicking the chase of an animal.
TOWEL TWISTER: Take an old towel and lay it flat, drizzle a bunch of treats or kibble all over it then roll it up. Stuff more treats in all the folds and pockets then serve it to your dog so they can unravel it to find the treasures. This mimics digging for prey.
GRASS SPRINKLE FEED: Take your dog's meal out to the grass and sprinkle it about 5 ft of spread. Watch as they sniff around to find their meal, mimicking hunting and enriching their brain. I do not recommend this for dogs with sensitive allergies.
SNUFFLE MAT: These are a cleaner alternative to the grass sprinkle and you can find at many pet stores!
TREAT PUZZLES: Great brain stimulation causing your dog to problem solve and use critical thinking.
TREAT HUNT: Take potent or high value treats and place them all around your home in open areas and at different reachable heights. Let your dog loose, or guide them to a few then watch as they “hunt” out all the treats with their nose.
DEFENSE ENRICHMENT
HOLDING PLACE: (If your dog knows the command) This is essentially a great job to allow your dog to work on impulse control while simultaneously preventing them from practicing any territorial behaviors. These include resource guarding, barking out windows, door raiding, spacial awareness, etc.
- If you’re interested in teaching place, call to schedule a consultation with me!
PRACTICING RECALL: I allow my dog to defend the house by barking out the window but at the end of the day her ability to recall back to me is a safety precaution incase of emergency. This translates to a defensive dog that might chase away prey into a busy road.
- If you struggle with your dog's recall, call to book training where I can guide you to strengthen your dog's recall.
LEARNING STAY & WAIT: My dog used to be largely defensive before she learned her role in the home and what helped her achieve this was learning appropriate times to wait and appropriate places to stay.
- These scenarios include threshold manners, waiting to receive food, holding down-stays instead of standing and defending, etc.
- I don't expect you to know these on your own so reach out for training where we can establish some obedience!
FIGHT OR FLIGHT ENRICHMENT
METAL BOWL SMEAR: Take a metal bowl so it is indestructible and noisy. Smear the inside with a smear idea from the bottom of this blog and freeze it or serve it as is. The reason this is fight or flight stimulation is because it will scare your dog as it moves but teach them to work through their fear for enrichment purposes.
PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE DISPENSER: Take a water bottle and cut dime sized holes all around it. Fill it about half way with your dog's kibble or tiny treats and hand it to them. Watch as they play with it, and fear the loud noise but fight through it for enrichment.
CRATE TRAINING: If I could recommend one thing to all dog owners it would be crate training. The crate is such an underutilized tool and also highly misconstrued. If you can turn a crate into your anxious dog's safe space, it could ultimately change their life.
RANK ENRICHMENT
CONFIDENCE BUILDING AT THE PARK: Take your dog to a nearby park with slides, stairs, and all the fun stuff. Guide them up onto new surfaces, weird structures, balance challenges and more and empower them to finish any obstacle you start before allowing them to fear their way out of it.
LITTLE BOSSY DOGS: Stop picking them up all the time ! These dogs will get more stimulation out of their daily routine if they are not carried, babied, and picked up ALL THE TIME.
TUG: Easily my favorite enrichment exercise on this page, I tug with my dog about 30 minutes a day. This is a well balanced practice for establishing your rank by winning tug, building a bond with your dog, and enriching them with physical activity.
DROP IT GAME: Teach your dog a “drop” command where they learn it is rewarding to let go of items in their possession. It is a great game to show them you have total possession of items at the end of the day and will reward them for “dropping” items and respecting that.
PACK ENRICHMENT
TRAIN YOUR DOG WITH THEIR MEALS: Instead of just putting your dogs kibble in a bowl, use it to train them from your hands and grow your bond.
TAKE YOUR DOG ON A WALK: Walking your dog everyday is so so so good for their health, and your bond and I highly recommend that it becomes a part of your daily routine!
FETCH: If you have a toy driven dog, fetch is a great game that can grow your bond and simultaneously wear your dog out. If they don’t like to bring the toy back, trade them a treat for it.
CHEWING ENRICHMENT
COLLAGEN CHEW: These are a great rawhide alternative that I would trust my dog to work on unsupervised due to their inability to become sharp and how highly digestible they are.
BUSYBONE: Safe chewy to keep your pup busy, just not the healthiest option.
FROZEN VEGGIES: These can serve as a healthy toothbrush to your dog.
- Carrot, celery, or even a head of cabbage so your dog can explore all the layers.
WISHBONE CHEW: My dog personally loves this chew more than anything and it has lasted her over a year!
DOG CHEW BRAND: Brands similar to the one linked below are a good source of natural dog chews great for cleaning your dog's teeth while lasting long enough to enrich them. I suggest choosing HIGHLY digestible options and picking according to your dog's chew activity level.
LICKING ENRICHMENT
FROZEN KONG:
- Take these carved out, durable toys, fill them with an item from the “filler list” at the bottom of this blog, freeze overnight then feed to your dog to work on.
LICK MATS: Freeze a spread onto these multi surface mats and freeze overnight. Place it in front of your dog and watch as they work to lick it clean. Great for mental stimulation.
POPSICLES FOR DOGS: Licking does a lot of mental stimulation for our dogs and making yummy pup-sicles is another fun way to enrich them.
FILLER AND SPREAD IDEAS
Pumpkin Puree:
Dog safe baby food:
Wet, canned, raw dog food:
Sugar free whipped cream:
Dog food sauce toppers:
Bone Broth:
Open Farms dog stew:
Buddy Budder:
*I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE INSPIRED BY THIS BLOG AND STUDY ALL ABOUT THE BREED YOUR DOG IS MADE OF. THEIR BREED ESSENTIALLY MAKES THEM WHO THEY ARE AND I WANT YOU TO FEEL INSPIRED THAT BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH THEIR DNA CAN STRENGTHEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR DOG AS WELL AS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THEM. DOG’S ARE ONE OF THE GREATEST PRIVILEGES IN THIS WORLD!*
Gosh Gabby ! So much great info , really appreciate you sharing !