Meeting Your Dogs Needs Year Round
Winter Woes - When the weather outside is frightful our dogs can suffer.
It’s cold, wet, windy and days are shorter. This usually means our dogs are getting shorter walks, and less physical and mental exercise overall. As a professional dog trainer I know this can lead to a slew of icky consequences….
If we aren’t careful these schedule changes can lead to our dogs overall needs not being met day after day. When needs aren’t met for an extended duration we may start to see an increase in undesirable behaviors from our dogs such as: increased reactivity to noises or other triggers in the home, overall restlessness, destructive behaviors and a lowered threshold to triggers which can result in overall increased stress.
So if we can’t spend as much time outdoors, how can we replace that time and activities so our dogs emotional state and in turn behavior doesn’t suffer? I got you!
Here are some ENRICHMENT suggestions to keep your dogs happy and healthy year round!
Important Note: When deciding which games to implement, always ask yourself what suits your dog’s specific needs and what will function to help them in that moment. Enrichment isn’t about keeping your dog busy, it’s about allowing your dog to engage in species specific behaviors that they find reinforcing. If the game is too hard, they are frustrated, give up or do not engage - make it easier or choose something different. After all, enrichment is about improving quality of life.
For more on enrichment see: Canine Enrichment for the Real World by Allie Bender and Emily Strong
Nose Work Games: Gather some small, shallow boxes or containers. With your dog in a separate room spread them out and drop a few (stinky) dry treats into each. Let your dog into the room and watch as they use their powerful nose to sniff out the treats.
Find It: treats & toys: Similar to Nose Work games - teaching dogs to seek out treats and toys in various locations is a great way to use mental energy and allow dogs to use their nose, eyes and bodies.
Start by scattering treats in a room for a dog easily search out. They should be able to easily see some or all. Even better if the treats are very smelly.
Increase challenge slowly by using multiple rooms or hiding food from immediate view. Remember a dogs vision works differently than ours so they don’t always see things that seem in plain sight, you don’t need to hide things in cabinets.
When starting the game use a - “Find It” cue to help associate and transfer to toy play later
When using toys - engage in play for several minutes.
“Hide” toy where your dog can see it - ask them to “find it” - when they do - party time and engage in play as a additional reinforcer for their brilliance.
If they seem to enjoy this - make the finds a little harder during future sessions.
This is a great replacement for repetitive games of fetch! Add in finds every few throws.
Snuffle Mats: Taps into the foraging instinct - can help dogs settle after exciting or stressful experiences.
Shredding Games: shredding, ripping, destroying - this is something that is engrained in most of our canine companions. If they shred our pillows, clothing - it is considered a “problem” but the behavior itself is not a problem - just the context. Let’s allow them to use their natural instincts in a good way!
Save your empty toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, packing paper, egg cartons and more! Create enrichment boxes with food, paper, cardboard and let your dog go nuts
*** If you think your dog will ingest paper, cardboard, etc - this may not be the game for them, supervise closely while they are learning!
See videos :
Licking: Many dogs find licking to be a form of self soothing. This can be a great option for helping a dog decompress after a stressful situation (or even during)
Licki Mat / Bowls
West Paw Toppl / Quizl
Kongs
Anything else your dog likes!
Filling options are endless! Play around with what your dog loves. Only freeze if they seem to enjoy that. Remember its not about keeping them busy for hours but fulfilling a need for your dog.
Chewing: Chewing is a need for most dogs, especially young dogs. Providing appropriate outlets for chewing for your specific dog can help eliminate undesirable behaviors! Supervision recommended when introducing new chews
Popular chews:
Bully sticks
No-hide chews
Yak Cheese Chews
Marrow Bones
Check out: https://farmhounds.com for a wide variety of interesting chews - I love the variety, natural sourcing and they have great sales!
Flirt Pole: Think a cat toy for a dog, a flirt pole is a toy that can help dogs tap into their natural prey drive, chase, tug, bite etc. Can also be used indoors! Great for working on skills such as: drop / wait / stay and more!
This list is meant to help you get creative… indoor agility, scavenger hunts, hide and seek, teach a new trick or skill, take a new class, snuggle on the couch!
I’d love to hear what you decide to try - tag me on social media @acanineaffinity
Melissa Dallier is a CSAT (Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer) living on Roswell, GA with her husband and two dogs. Melissa works with dogs who struggle with anxiety, fear and stress, mostly around being home alone. You can find her at www.acanineaffinity.com