10 Enrichment Ideas For Your Dog At Home - Beat Those Canine Boredom Blues!
10 Fun & Easy Treat Enrichment Ideas to Keep Your Dog Happy and Entertained! (with mainly things you can find already in your house)
If you’ve ever come home to a bored pup or want to keep your dog mentally stimulated while you're working from home or completing tasks, enrichment activities are a must! Not only do they help burn off excess energy, but they also promote problem-solving and natural behaviours like sniffing, digging, and foraging. Dogs shouldn't be walked everyday, so this is a great way to mix things up for them to prevent boredom!
You can use your dog’s favourite treats (like ours!) from www.moochinpooch.com
1. Frozen Treat Ice Cubes
Make snack time cool and fun! Mix your dog treats with a bit of dog-safe broth, yogurt, or camel/goat milk, then pour the mixture into an ice cube tray. Freeze and serve for a long-lasting, refreshing snack.
Mental Stimulation: Licking toys engage a dog's brain by presenting a puzzle-like challenge.
Sensory Exploration: Licking provides a multi-sensory experience, engaging taste, smell and touch.
Reduced Anxiety and Boredom: Licking is a natural behaviour that can have a calming effect.
Promotes Dental Health: Repetitive licking can help maintain oral hygiene.
Encourages Slower Eating: Licking toys can help dogs eat at a more relaxed pace.
🐶 Great for: Hot days, teething pups, or dogs who love to lick.
2. Snuffle Mats
Snuffle mats are like treasure hunts for dogs. Simply hide small treat pieces among the folds of fleece and let your dog sniff them out.
🐶 Why it works: Engages your dog’s natural foraging instincts and slows down treat gobbling.
3. Treat-Stuffed Toys (like KONGs)
Fill a treat-dispensing toy with a mix of your dog’s favorite snacks, some peanut butter, or banana. Freeze it for an extra challenge especially in hot weather!
🐶 Bonus: These toys are great for crate training, anxiety relief, or keeping your dog busy while you're away.
4. Muffin Tin Puzzle
Grab a muffin tin and place treats in a few of the cups. Cover each cup with a tennis ball or crumpled paper and let your dog figure out how to get to the goodies.
🐶 Easy DIY fun with household items you already have!
5. Hide & Seek
Hide a trail of treats throughout your house or garden. Let your dog use their nose to follow the trail and "hunt" for snacks.
🐶 Encourages movement and taps into natural hunting instincts. Did you know? 20 minutes of sniffing equals the equivalent of an hour of walking!
6. Towel Roll-Up Game
Lay out a towel and sprinkle some treats inside. Roll it up like a burrito, tucking in treats as you go. Your dog will love unrolling it to find the rewards!
🐶 Low mess, high reward, and it takes just seconds to set up.
7. Cardboard Box Dig
Fill an empty cardboard box with crumpled paper, safe filler or towels, and hide treats inside. Let your pup dig through it to find them.
🐶 Messy play that’s mentally enriching (and recyclable!).
8. Training Games with Treat Rewards
Use treats during short training sessions to reinforce commands like "sit," "spin," or "stay." Add in new tricks for extra fun!
🐶 Builds a stronger bond while making learning enjoyable.
9. The Cup Game
Place a treat under one of three cups and shuffle them around. Ask your dog to pick the right one using their nose.
🐶 A fun brain teaser that boosts focus and scent tracking.
10. DIY Toilet Paper Roll Puzzle
Pop some treats inside an empty toilet paper roll and fold in the ends. Let your dog tear it open to get to the snack inside.
🐶 Eco-friendly enrichment your pup will love to destroy.
Our Final Tip:
Always supervise your dog during enrichment play, especially with DIY toys or materials. Every dog is different, so adjust the difficulty level based on your pup’s personality and chewing habits.