Thousands of years ago, wolves befriended humans and worked together to survive in the wild. Dogs remain a huge part of our lives and we have a responsibility to make sure their lives are the best they can be.
Canine enrichment can help resolve behavior issues, improve your dog’s quality of life and make a better world for you and your pets.
What are the five types of dog enrichment?
Home Enrichment
Home enrichment can include something as simple as a bed or as complex as scent markers. These simple things can go a long way toward improving your pet’s life.
DOGTV is a perfect example of home enrichment as it provides enriching sights and sounds for your pup to enjoy as they are lounging at home.
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Physical Enrichment
Dogs love to explore and be challenged. Simple toys that encourage their natural instincts are some of the best ways to enrich behaviors. If your dog loves swimming, try adding a pool for them to wade in.
Raw food that’s been frozen is a great way to enhance their chewing behavior. If your dog loves chasing things, encourage them to do it in a positive way – such as lure coursing or herding.
By encouraging their natural instincts rather than repressing them, we can control behavior and let our dogs be dogs.
Mental Enrichment
When we discuss a dog’s mind, we tend towards them being “simple.” But nothing could be further from the truth. Our dogs love to think and be challenged with new activities.
DOGTV helps with cognitive behavior, but you should also add smart toys and training sessions to stimulate your dog. Just like all other species, dogs prefer to work for reward!
Sensory Enrichment
Sensory enrichment includes activities that stimulate all of an animal’s senses. This includes visual, olfactory, auditory, taste, and tactile senses. A simple puzzle feeder is a fun way to introduce this concept. Dogs love to solve puzzles, go on scavenger hunts, and even compete with other dogs.
Terriers and schnauzers especially love activities that involve underground sniffs and tunneling (check out Earthdog.net competitions).
Dock diving is a fan favorite of retrievers and other water-loving dogs.
Social Enrichment
Not all dogs are social, but just as with humans, social enrichment is necessary. Create opportunities for your dog to build trust. This will take time, but showing a dog a world that is bigger than they are is a great way to build trust between them, humans, other dogs, and even other species. Take them to see a horse or cow, visit a friend, or eventually – try out a doggie daycare.
Enrichment helps our dogs live a better life. Use DOGTV to introduce your dogs to new stimuli and create a calmer, happier life for your pets.