Why enrichment is important

Enrichment activities keep your dog at its mental and physical best. Along with feeding your dog nutritious food and ensuring they receive the right level of exercise, enrichment exercises ensure your pooch is constantly challenged, which leads to a happier (and less bored) dog.

If lockdown has taught us anything about the quality of life, it’s that keeping our bellies full and getting the minimum prescribed exercise, is simply not enough. The same can be said for your dog. They need ongoing mental and physical stimulation to live a well-rounded life.

The term ‘enrichment’ is a broad one and can take many forms. It can be as simple as allowing your pooch to have a frolic on the beach or playing hide and seek in the backyard. Here are a few enrichment activities you can work into your dogs' schedules.

Problem-solving activities will keep your dog preoccupied for hours on end, as well as firing up your dog's brain.

●       Puzzle toys: Make them work to get their treats inside a treat maze, hide goodies inside a sniffler mat.

●       Hide and seek: Play a good game of hide and seek by getting your dog to stay put while you hide. Start calling out to them and see if they can sniff out your hiding location.

Try changing up your dogs' environment or adding elements to make their day more interesting:

●       Give them the freedom to dig: It’s a favourite pastime for them and they usually get in trouble for doing it, but there are ways you can let your dog dig without ruining your yard. Buy a cheap kids pool and fill it with sand, you can even try hiding different toys in there each week to keep it interesting.

●       Tunnel of fun: Pop-up tunnels are easy and inexpensive to set up inside or outside the home. Dogs love racing through these, popping out the other end and doing it all over again.

●       Bubbly fun: believe it or not dogs love bubbles as much as small children. Get a bubble machine and place it in the middle of the yard, let them chase and bite the bubbles.

●       The smell test: Put old clothes to good use and stuff them with different (non-toxic) things your dog may enjoy finding