By Dr. Miriam Carone / Pawsitive Coach, IMDT, MBBS, GPST
Just like humans, dogs need mental as well as physical stimulation. Research has extensively shown that providing mental enrichment for your dog is a great way to improve overall behaviour, and many of these activities will also help you work on your bond with your dog by releasing hormones such as oxytocin and serotonin which promote happiness and bonding.
Important: Some of these activities may be more suited than others to your specific dog and situation – this is something I discuss with my clients so we can tailor the activities to the individual dog and implement additional breed-specific activities. You need to consider your dog’s breed, health, age, and propensity to swallow non-foodstuff before you decide whether these activities are appropriate, and you should supervise your dog throughout. If in doubt, ask a professional.
1. Ditching the bowl.
Instead of just feeding your dog all his meals from a bowl, you can use a combination (or all) of the ideas in this list to feed him in ways that will engage him and provide him with mental stimulation. This allows you to provide him with almost endless fun without the risk of overfeeding him, and may even make him more interested in his food.
2. Basic obedience and tricks
Try to teach your dog a new trick/cue regularly (e.g. at least once per month) to keep him entertained and stimulated. Practice the cues in a range of settings, both at home and outdoors, as often as you can. This will improve your bond, increase his mental stimulation, and also teach him new things: it’s a win-win situation!
3. Stuffed food toys (e.g. Kong’s, puzzle toys, slow feeders, puzzle balls)
I recommend purchasing a few food toys to have ready, and stuffing them with your dog’s own food (moistened with a little water). You can use other things (such as dog-friendly peanut butter, natural yoghurt, or doggy spreads) but please be mindful of the calories you are adding to your dog’s diet and of any allergies.
Notes for Kongs: - You can freeze Kongs to make them last longer, but make sure they are not so cold as to hurt your dog or get his tongue stuck to it! - A useful DIY Kong storage idea is an empty egg box. - Make sure you are choosing the right size of toy for your dog to prevent choking hazards or jaws getting stuck.
You can get two medium Kongs for £17.73 on Amazon, but make sure you choose the right colour (hardness) and size! https://amzn.to/3wXXgKs
4. Licki mats & similar DIY lickable things.
These are a great way to keep dogs entertained for a while and stimulate them! The licking is also soothing for them. You can smear some wet food or dog-friendly peanut butter/spreads on one of these. You can also spread these over pretty much any toy instead of a Licki mat, but the clean up may be more complicated.
You can get two Licki mats for £11.99 on Amazon, great to have one spare while the other one gets washed: https://amzn.to/3wY5DWl
5. Snuffle mats.
These encourage your dog to use his nose and are a really fun way for him to get stimulation and food at the same time. Scatter some kibble or treats (not too stinky or wet as the fabric may absorb some smell/moisture) and get your dog to find them!
You can get this snuffle mat for £15.99 on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3a0nZwK or an extra large one for the pros (£30.99) at https://amzn.to/3GqQgc0
6. Scatter feeding.
Similarly to using snuffle mats, you use your environment instead, for example, a fluffy rug/carpet/blanket or on the grass outside. Spread the kibble around in an uneven fashion and encourage your dog to go and find it. This will stimulate him to use his nose and provide him with mental stimulation.
7. Treat tossing.
Stand in the largest space you have available and toss a piece of food, inviting your dog to go and get it (a bit like playing fetch, except he gets to eat). Repeat in different directions: this provides both physical and mental stimulation! Note: avoid this if your dog has already eaten more than half of his meal, as it is best for dogs to avoid strenuous activity around mealtimes to reduce the risk of bloat.
8. Pass the parcel.
Wrap a few pieces of food into a towel or blanket (that you don’t mind getting smelly). Then add a few pieces on the outside and wrap it in another layer. You can gradually increase difficulty by adding additional layers and even tying knots with the fabric!
You can get a pack of 6 thin blankets like this one for £14.99 on Amazon so that you can add lots of layers and wrap them up nicely: https://amzn.to/3lSKJBr
9. General good behaviour.
When you catch your dog lying calmly on his bed (or indeed anywhere you want him to lie calmly) or being polite in any given situation, you can offer him some of his food so he knows how much you appreciate it.
10. Staring contests / eye contact.
Just sit facing your dog, smile at him and offer him some food for calmly sitting and making eye contact with you at random intervals. This is almost like meditation! You can say the cue ‘look at me’ if your dog knows it, or just sit there in silence looking at each other calmly. This teaches the dog two things: one, with calm come good things, two, eye contact is awesome.
11. Edible chews (and new/exciting non-edible chews).
Chew sticks are another great way to provide stimulation, but make sure you supervise your dog when he is chewing and you roughly keep count of the additional calories.
You can ask your vet for recommendations on specific chews, for example, Dentastix have a good reputation amongst vets and my dog goes crazy for them, so he gets one every day: the right chews will also help preserve your dog’s dental hygiene. You can get 112 Dentastix (for small-middle sized dogs) on Amazon for £14.40 https://amzn.to/3wY4VXG
12. Massage.
The gentle pressure of massage can help unwind and reduce stress. Using flat palms, move your hands in long sweeping motions across your dog’s body. Gently and gradually increase the pressure slightly (never to the point of causing pain or discomfort), avoiding bony areas.
13. Music for your dog.
If you browse the web for music for dogs, you will discover all sorts of subcategories (e.g. separation anxiety, phobia, older dogs…) and almost definitely the one you are looking for. Start out very quietly and increase the volume gradually to avoid startling your dog, remember they can hear much louder than us, so don’t go crazy!
14. Special time.
This is particularly for those who have other pets or children. Each of the creatures in your life would benefit from some special time, just the two of you. It doesn’t matter too much what you do (it can be any of these activities or anything else), but make sure you are focused on each other during that special time, and try to have some special time every day or at least once per week.
15. Just sniffing anything outdoors.
Rather than focusing on physically tiring out your dog, let him sniff liberally on walks and do not rush to get to the park: your dog may find sniffing the kerb just as exciting (even though the park is more exciting for humans). A long line can enable him some freedom and independence without letting him off-leash. Hounds (e.g., Bassett Hounds and Dachshunds) find this particularly stimulating.
16. Train on walks.
When you take your dog for a walk, take his food with you and use it to reward any good, calm behaviour. When the leash is loose, reward him with food. When he looks at you (checks in), reward him with food. When he greets another dog politely, reward him with praise and, once the other dog is out of sight (to avoid any food-related conflict!), you can also give him some food. Explore new places regularly.
17. Treasure hunts & Cardboard boxes.
You can hide food in cardboard boxes, behind furniture or under fabric and encourage your dog to go find it. To teach the word ‘find it’, you can say the word and toss food on the floor for a few repetitions, until eventually, when you say ‘find it’, your dog will start searching for the food before you have tossed it.
18. Fetch and tug.
Playing fetch and tug of war are great ways to exercise your dog while also bonding, even in relatively small environments. Tug is also a great way to teach 'drop it': when the toy stops moving and your dog starts to lose interest, say 'drop it' and praise lavishly when the dog releases the toy, make the toy fun again as a reward by moving it/throwing it.
The Kong wubba (£8.45 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wU53Zs), for example, is suitable for both Tug of war cames and for Fetch.
19. Flirt sticks.
These are long sticks with fluffy bits at the end that your dog can chase without you moving a leg (though you will need to move your arm a bit)!
You can get this toy for £14.99 here: https://amzn.to/3NKq6DE
20. Breed-specific activities.
What does your dog genetically want to do? For example, do you own a breed that loves to dig (*cough* any fellow Dachshund owners?)? Perhaps invest in a sandbox for the garden! Water obsessed? Get a paddling pool if you can (swimming can also be a very good form of gentle exercise, as long as the pool is dog-safe). Sheepdog? Sheepballs.
You can get this doggy pool for £15.99 on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3t3C4jv) or a paddling pool with water jets from £19.99 here (but make sure you get the right size for your dog)! https://amzn.to/3NashQE
I hope you enjoyed reading. If you have any questions, get in touch.
Do you have any other ideas? Let me know by messaging me or commenting below, and they can be added to the list with credits.
Lastly, you can check out my Amazon storefront for more recommendations:
Dr. Miriam Carone / Pawsitive Coach, IMDT, MBBS, GPST
References & Reading:
Amaya V, Paterson MBA, Phillips CJC. Effects of Olfactory and Auditory Enrichment on the Behaviour of Shelter Dogs. Animals (Basel). 2020;10(4):581. Published 2020 Mar 30. doi:10.3390/ani10040581.
Lindig, A.M., McGreevy, P.D. and Crean, A.J. (2020), “Musical Dogs: A Review of the Influence of Auditory Enrichment on Canine Health and Behavior”, Animals : An Open Access Journal from MDPI, Animals (Basel), Vol. 10 No. 1, doi.org/10.3390/ANI10010127.
MacLean, E.L., Gesquiere, L.R., Gee, N.R., Levy, K., Martin, W.L. and Carter, C.S. (2017), “Effects of affiliative human-animal interaction on dog salivary and plasma oxytocin and vasopressin”, Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 8 No. SEP. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01606.
Nagasawa, M., Mitsui, S., En, S., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M., Sakuma, Y., Onaka, T., et al. (2015), “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds”, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vol. 348 No. 6232, pp. 333–336.
Romero, T., Nagasawa, M., Mogi, K., Hasegawa, T. and Kikusui, T. (2014), “Oxytocin promotes social bonding in dogs”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 111 No. 25, available doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1322868111.
Schipper, L.L., Vinke, C.M., Schilder, M.B.H. and Spruijt, B.M. (2008), “The effect of feeding enrichment toys on the behaviour of kennelled dogs (Canis familiaris)”, Undefined, Vol. 114 No. 1–2, pp. 182–195.
Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Handlin, L. and Petersson, M. (2014), “Self-soothing behaviors with particular reference to oxytocin release induced by non-noxious sensory stimulation”, Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers Media SA, Vol. 5 No. OCT, doi.org/10.3389/FPSYG.2014.01529.