Enrichment is meeting an animals needs to allow them to perform species typical behaviour in a healthy safe and appropriate way.
Enrichment can help manage natural needs, instincts and energy, relieve any stress or boredom and build a dogs confidence, This will all help with training and prevention or reduction any behavioural concerns and overall produce a calmer more relaxed dog while strengthening bond with owner.
As an owner or keeper of dogs there is a legal duty of care under The Animal Welfare Act 2006, which states five welfare needs of dogs, and dogs being able to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, is one of these needs.
What are dogs needs?
Dogs have been hunters and scavengers for as long as they have existed, 100’s of 1000’s of years.
Many of these instincts and associated behaviours are normal and still ever present with all dogs to varying degrees depending on their breed and lineage.
Although dogs are mainly domesticated as pets, most dog breeds, as we know and recognise today have only been in existence for about 150 years, historically, these breeds were created to perform specific tasks, such as hunting, guarding, herding, most of which involved a large amount of physical and mental stamina.
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In other words, dogs were bred to work, and today they often don't have a "job." Without appropriate ways to use these natural and inbred talents, dogs can become bored or stressed and possibly exhibit problem behaviors.
Certain levels of chasing, chewing, digging or barking can be a problem within the home and suitable outlets through enrichment will help manage these behaviours in a more suitable manner.
How do you provide for these needs?
As dogs are known as hunters and natural foragers, putting their brain to work in finding food is an excellent use of these talents, but enrichment isn't just about food!
We should consider smell, sight, hearing, touch, and physical needs including the ‘chase’!
Enriching your dog's life is simpler than you might think, and it doesn’t require a large budget or huge time commitment. There are a lot of DIY ideas, enrichment toys, and non-food enrichment activities you can do with your dog and the whole family can get involved.
Food-based enrichment
This can be easily incorporated with how you feed your dog:
Scatter feed your dogs meals, by tossing or hiding food around the garden or when weather is not good, use a snuffle mat, puzzle feeder or use a homemade interest box – a cardboard box with scrunched up paper, egg boxes, cardboard tubes. Getting them to sniff out their food is known to help with true and deep relaxation.
If your dog’s food is mainly wet you can use a lick mat, kong or utilise suitable different washable surfaces.
Just a spoonful of suitable food stuff can keep your dog happily occupied for 15 minutes and ideal to use at times of grooming, to help keep them still and positively engaged.
Chewing and licking is also a natural stress busting behaviour, and many dried foods can be pre-soaked to provide these opportunities.
A percentage of your dogs food allowance can be held back and used for different activities throughout the day.
Scent-based enrichment
On walks, allow your dog plenty of opportunity and time to sniff. Make sure you go to different places and mix up the route that you take. This will give them new experiences and of course, new smells.
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At home, you could buy dog-safe plants and herbs, or create your own with heavily diluted dog-safe scents, such as lavender, rosemary, or spearmint or use a very small amount of dried herbs and rub them directly onto surfaces and then allow your dog to explore.
Remember — dogs' noses are sensitive! Dilute scents heavily and only use a little bit at a time and don’t place in areas where they cannot avoid them, like doorways, their toys or bedding.
Sight, sound and touch.
Sight.
In some respects, canine vision is not as acute as human vision. When looking at an object from the same distance, the object may appear crisp to us, but blurred to our dogs and their colour spectrum vision is more restricted, mainly to blue and yellow.
But they have advantages in other areas. Dog’s eyes are more set to the side, so they have a wider peripheral vision and dogs can see better in dim light and can more accurately detect motion.
As they perceive colours differently, a consideration of toys and the backgrounds they are on maybe required.
Sound.
Music can be used for enrichment. Classical music appears to have a calming influence on dogs and some dogs have also appeared to enjoy reggae and soft rock, as well. You could consider having this playing at a low volume in the background and see how they respond.
You could start to support your dog to be more comfortable with fireworks by introducing a desensitisation programme.
Touch.
Walking on different kinds of surfaces gives them some excellent tactile enrichment, you could lay different items on the floor and encourage with treats and praise. Never force or drag your dog over a surface they are unsure of.
Letting your dog roll around in the grass or dirt, fulfills many natural behaviours, even though they may get a bit mucky. Keep bathing to a minimum and use brushing, when they are dry to keep them clean, or they may be inclined to roll more and in worse stuff to try and cover up the smell of shampoo, which smells good to us, but not always to them.
Digging, this is a normal behavior for most dogs, for some it is even instinctual. You can provide a certain area in the garden using a paddling pool, just be sure to use child safe play sand and keep it covered when not in use to prevent local cats from using it as a toilet. You can also use a ball pit for less mess.
Consider textures with your dog’s toys, some love harder types for chewing, some like soft types to rip or shred.
With harder toys you should be able to push your nail into it and there is a little give, like rubber rather than plastic, this will prevent any risk of your dog damaging any teeth. Specific items for chewing should be from natural sources and rawhide avoided.
To save the expense of buying specific soft dog toys that will be ripped to pieces in minutes, you could get soft toys from second hand sources, or make your own from plaited or knotted old clothing. Make sure soft toys do not have button eyes or beads inside and always supervise your dog to prevent ingestion and if you do need to take away a toy, swap for a treat or two, to prevent resource guarding.
Physical needs and chase/prey drive.
The amount of exercise that each dog needs each day can depend on the individual:
Puppies – maximum 20 minutes, lower impact, to protect growing bones and muscles
Adults – 1 -2 hours, depending on breed, working breeds may require more
Seniors – depending on health conditions
Walks should be part of every dog’s daily routine with a mix of brisk walking and/or having the opportunity to run off lead to offer aerobic exercise and burn off energy. Allow for a slow, meandering pace too, sniffing and exploring which is great for their mental health.
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Certain breeds of dogs can have a strong prey or instinct to chase, this can be managed using toys and games, such as a ball, flirt pole or tug toys. These games need to be for short periods of time and well managed, with a clear end, to prevent an increase in adrenaline and over arousal or over exertion/physical damage. Scent games and trails can help to bring them back down to a calmer level.
Before exercising your dog outside, make sure to check the weather conditions. Avoid going outside in extremely hot or cold weather conditions.
In unsuitable conditions, you can provide low level agility, which can be done in and out of the house. Many household objects can be utilised such as broom handles to step over, moving furniture to create different routes, large cardboard boxes for tunnels.
Make sure the obstacles you set up aren't overly challenging (or too high) for your dog, rewarding them with treats and/or praise for working through each obstacle. It's all about having fun!
You could also combine scenting/food/agility, with some free work, which allows them many different experiences in one session, video link example below:
Much of the suggestions listed will give your dog new mental as well as physical challenges, and problem-solving itself is also considered an enrichment activity. Using brain power can wear out a dog as much as a run in the park, therefore 15-20 minutes on a specific task can be sufficient to enable relaxation.
Enrichment through relaxation.
It’s equally as important that you incorporate time for rest into a dog’s daily routine. Dogs need 12-14 hours sleep a day, sometimes up to 20 for very young and older dogs.
So having a consideration of their bedding and where it is placed, so they are comfortable and can remain undisturbed, without being isolated, is essential.
Supporting and encouraging them to settle and have some time in their own safe space can also help prevent separation anxiety.
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Enrichment also includes giving your dog support and choices when it comes to their needs and interactions with others.
This can include some predictability for mealtimes/food, walk times/routes and behaviour from others.
Behaviour of people, especially if its inconsistent can cause frustration, confusion and even anxiety. An example might be if or when a dog jumps up, some people allow it, some don’t, some people allow it when they are wearing jeans and are in a playful mood, but not when dressed smartly and then your dog might pushed off or scolded. A dog will not know when they can and cannot jump up, so you everyone in the dog’s life has to remain consistent one way or the other.
It is best to teach a dog to be calm with interactions with humans to avoid any risk of accidental injury, especially in the company of children or less able, again your dog will not know the difference.
Dogs should be given a choice if and when they receive attention, and when stroking or petting you should pause now and then. Your dog will let you know if they want more by moving close, nudging or looking at you, if they choose to move away that should be respected.
Not all dogs like the company of other or certain dogs, this should be acknowledged and measures put in place to manage these interactions, to help prevent any aggressive reactive behaviour.
Limitations and risks
When planning and choosing enrichment, it’s important to ensure it is safe and suitable.
Every dog is unique and has different interests, capabilities and tolerance levels, which can change during their lifetime or be dependant on their breed, health and abilities.
Watch your dogs body language to make sure they are enjoying the activity or if they appear to be confused/frustrated or uninterested, this will help you to adapt as you both learn together, which will also help build trust and confidence.
No dog toy is truly indestructible. Always supervise your dog while they are playing with toys or engaging in an activity.
Dogs do so much for humans, with their love and companionship, we humans can return this by offering them the opportunities for a happy, healthy, fulfilled life.
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