Malli Hutchings | Posted on |
When many modern dog trainers consult with owners about behaviour problems, their training plans often include enrichment. In simple terms, enrichment is anything that improves dogs lives and engages them to think; it can be dog sporting events, training, nature hikes, car rides, chewing, playing, shredding activities, even touch or affection.
When we provide dogs with enrichment activities that they can engage with and enjoy, this can redirect their energy or emotions away from things like: chewing inappropriate items, chasing children or other pets, growling or barking at strangers, strange noises, cars, or other animals, or other behaviours we don’t want.
One point we should always try to be mindful of is that each individual dog gets to choose what is enriching for them; we may be able to show them value by simplifying an activity, or making it more appealing by the way we introduce it to them. Involving the use of food raises the likelihood that your dog will engage with the activity.
One of the most convenient routes to provide enrichment is through stuffable or fillable food puzzle toys. A variety of healthy people foods, or products such as canned/tinned food (many veterinary diets have canned formulas available!), even ground raw diet, can be used to pique interest in learning a food puzzle, and to boost engagement and persistence.
Generally speaking, longer duration licking or chewing activities offer bigger benefits to owners, either through the mental stimulation, or by helping dogs settle or stay out of unwanted household “acitivities”!
Below is the Oxford Languages Definition of enrichment.
The oxford languages definition:
en·rich·ment
- 1.the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something.“enrichment of the soil for more plant growth”
- the action of increasing the proportion of a particular isotope in an element, especially that of the isotope U-235 in uranium so as to make it suitable for use in a nuclear reactor or weapon.“a centrifuge plant for uranium enrichment”
- 2.the process of making someone wealthy or wealthier.“the policy was denounced as a means of enrichment of a small elite”