How Do You Give Your Dog Enrichment?
What is Enrichment and Does My Dog Need It?
Post By: The Puppy DogMa - AKA, Midas’s Mom
As usual, I have a disclaimer, this article is meant to help others understand enrichment, what it means, how it came to be, and ideas on how to implement it into your dog’s daily life. I am by no means an enrichment expert, just a real life dog mom who loves using evidence based research to help me be the best dog mom I can be! With that, I try to share what I read and study so that others can be their best selves as well. I hope that this helps you to do that!
In the last decade, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, pet adoption and acquisition has exploded. As more of us take on the task of being a “DogMa” there comes a huge responsibility… the responsibility for another living being’s life. The challenge is meeting ALL of your dog’s needs, not just simply providing food, water and shelter. Think of what you need to live a happy and fulfilled life, unless you are on the ultimate minimalism kick right now, you probably need more than just food and water to live your life to its highest potential. Your dog is no different in this way, and that’s where enrichment comes in.
Enrichment has become a “buzzword,” something that gets tossed around in today’s culture. If you ask someone to define enrichment it’s not so easy, is it toys? Play? Training? Curing boredom? Importantly, is it optional?
I used to think it was, but when actually researching this topic I learned that enrichment isn’t about pampering our pets, it’s about providing vital aspects of physical, emotional, and behavioral health to your pup. Enrichment was beautifully defined by Allie Bender and Emily Strong in their book, Canine Enrichment for the Real World (2019):
“Enrichment is learning what our dogs’ needs are and then structuring an environment that allows them, as much as feasible, to meet those needs.”
I love this definition because it allows for the INDIVIDUAL needs of your pup to be taken into account because every dog is different.
Quick history lesson, the idea of enrichment actually originated in zoos. Around the 1950’s people began to consider the welfare of zoo animals. (Although, these animal’s welfare was a problem long before the 1950’s.) At that time, these beautiful animals lived out their lives in small, barren enclosures with nothing to do (Young, 2003).
Dr. Hal Markowitz identified that many zoo animals sat motionless or performed functionless, repetitive motions. Both of these behaviors are well known signs of deprivation and chronic stress. (Bender & Strong, 2019; Young, 2003). In wanting to rectify this heartbreaking lifestyle, he studied animals in the wild to learn what their needs are, as they obviously extended beyond food and shelter. He examined animal behaviors in both captivity and the wild, then tried to identify the function of those behaviors. His wanted to devise a plan to allow animals in captivity to more fully function like those in the wild, and hence, better meet their needs.This is where the idea of “enrichment” was born.
The ethics and discussion around zoo animals is important, but what about how this applies to dogs?
Dogs have been a domesticated species for a minimum of 15,000 years (Larson, et al. 2012) so it was difficult to identify what a “dog in the wild’s” natural behaviors are. So, we had to look back thousands of years to examine the natural behaviors of dogs before they were domesticated. However, several of these “natural behaviors” have been significantly weakened or eliminated due to selective breeding and the fact that domestication involves the eventual genetic altering of species over time.
The remaining “natural behaviors” that are still present can be replicated via an enrichment program. Again, the individuality of enrichment programs is key here as different breeds of dogs have been selectively bred to perform certain behaviors or tasks. Therefore, one type of dog may need to perform a different type of enrichment than another. (Handelman, 2008).
This is also why your dog may love to rip things up, but your neighbor’s dog prefers to hunt squirrels. Is it starting to all make sense? In addition to natural behaviors, dogs also have instinctual needs. For example, these can include sensory stimulation, safety, security, foraging and other breed-specific behaviors. Why is this important to understand? Let me show you with an example:
Your 2 yo pup has been getting into the trash while you’re away lately, and it seems to be happening more and more. Obviously, you are frustrated by this behavior and think “Why are you being so naughty and destructive all of the sudden?”
Then you stop and think about it for a minute: You’re an accountant and it’s “busy season.” You’ve been working late, so you have opted for more indoor play time instead of outdoor walks for exercise. You think, “My doggo is still getting lots of exercise and appears physically tired after we play, so my bases are covered, right?”
WRONG. You’re forgetting that going outside for walks allows your dog to fulfill a natural behavior/instinct. Their sense of smell and inquisitive demeanor are activated while out for walks. So, although they are getting a healthy amount of exercise, physically, their NEED to be curious and use their nose is not being met. What do you do about this? Let them go dumpster diving and make a mess all over your house because you feel bad? NO! This is where enrichment can help you meet your dog’s needs. Instead, give them a snuffle mat to encourage them to engage their nose and curiosity in a constructive and fun way!
Okay, so we know why animals need enrichment to live fulfilled and healthy lives but the question is how and what types? Garvey et al. (2016) identified five types of enrichment for dogs: social, occupational, physical, sensory, and nutritional.
Social enrichment: this is exactly what you think of, the practice of bringing your dog into contact with other species, including humans. This can be done by walking your dog or taking them to the dog park, etc.
Occupational enrichment: This involves giving your dog a “job,” which challenges them physically and mentally. The easiest example here would be a service dog, but your wonderful companion dog can be stimulated in this way to prevent boredom by playing games such as fetch, agility, or obedience training. Another example would be “food puzzles,” which are considered not only nutritional enrichment, but are also mental stimulation as the dog thinks and “works” to get the treat/food out of the puzzle.
Physical enrichment: Best described as altering the dog’s living space. Selecting particular toys that are interesting to your dog, and rotating toys in and out of the cycle to maintain the enriching effect (Tarou & Bashaw 2007) is a great option. Another example is thinking about the physical features in your dog’s kennel or dog run, and attempting to increase the complexity of the environment by adding a raised platform or a door that gives the dog a choice of being in or outdoors within their enclosure. This helps provide your pup with more control over their environment, and let’s be honest, wouldn’t you like more control over your environment, too? Physical enrichment should also take into consideration your dog’s natural or instinctive behaviors, such as adding a sandbox for breeds that frequently engage in digging behavior.
Sensory enrichment: This is likely what you think of when you hear the buzzword “enrichment.” Visual enrichment includes the ability to see inside or outside the environment, basically, why your dog loves to sit by a “favorite” window or door and look outside. Some dogs can be overwhelmed in certain situations or are triggered by certain noises and thus respond well to auditory enrichment with music. However it is important to note that auditory enrichment is not for every dog and sounds that we as humans find pleasing are sometimes stressful for dogs, so make sure to pay attention to your dog’s reaction to the music if you choose to try this. Lastly, olfactory (smell!) enrichment can be helpful in meeting your doggo’s need to use their nose and mitigating stress (Wells, 2009). So, try out those snuffle mats to give your dog the chance to fulfill their need for curiosity through smell!
Nutritional Enrichment: This one overlaps with several but more technically is defined as encouraging animals to perform natural foraging and feeding behaviors with the use of food as a reward (Young, 2003). A great example are puzzle feeders (also a form of occupational enrichment) or food hiding challenges, which encourages dogs to search for and spend more time eating and thus displaying natural feeding behaviors (Schipper et al. 2008).
Enrichment is necessary for your dog, and it also can help to decrease unwanted behaviors in pets. As described before, your dog barking excessively, constantly getting into the trash, or even nesting continuously in your bed (I’m talking like you just made your bed and two minutes later it is completely destroyed with doggo buried in the middle. It’s cute, but there is usually a reason behind it) can frequently be attributed to a need for certain types of enrichment. As loving dog moms, it’s our job to work to understand these needs and to provide healthy and constructive ways to meet them. We’d love to hear how you provide enrichment for your dog! Email or DM us at thedogmapack@gmail.com or @thedogmapack on Instagram. We’d love to hear from you!
As always…
Furever yours,
The Puppy DogMa
Aka Midas’s Mom
(For more research based dog tips, follow Midas’s mom on instagram at @Midas_theMightyDog!
References:
Bender, A., & Strong, E. (2019). Canine enrichment for the real world: Making it a part of Your Dog's daily life. Dogwise Publishing.
Garvey , M., Stella, J., & Croney, C. (2016, March). Implementing Environmental Enrichment ... - purdue extension. Purdue Extension. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/VA/VA-13-W.pdf
Schipper, L. L., Vinke, C. M., Schilder, M. B. H., & Spruijt, B. M. (2008). The effect of feeding enrichment toys on the behaviour of kennelled dogs (canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 114(1-2), 182–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.01.001
Tarou, L. R., & Bashaw, M. J. (2007). Maximizing the effectiveness of environmental enrichment: Suggestions from the experimental analysis of behavior. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 102(3-4), 189–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.026
Wells, D. L. (2009). Sensory stimulation as environmental enrichment for captive animals: A Review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 118(1-2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2009.01.002
Young, R. J. (2003). Environmental enrichment for captive animals. Blackwell Publishing.
