The importance of meeting their needs

Understanding your dog’s core needs is a crucial aspect in raising a calm adult dog. Every dog has an “emotional cup” that is relatively empty at the start of the day & needs be filled through satisfying their instinctive core needs.

Every dog, being a member of the canine species has at least these 6 core needs. The order of importance depends on the individual.

Some dogs will prefer some of these activities more over others, so it is important to determine what your dog’s personal preferences & priorities are. Only then, can you begin to provide them with appropriate outlets to meet those needs.

If these needs are not met, your dog will seek out ways to satisfy them that may feel inappropriate to you, such as rummaging through the trash, chewing on the furniture, shredding your socks and so on.

ENRICHMENT:

EXERCISE THE WHOLE DOG

30% of a dog's brain is dedicated to scent. Only 5% of our brain is dedicated to scent while 40% is dedicated to vision. Having a calm dog has a lot more to do with mental exercise than people often know, and teaching your dog to use their nose can go a long way. If your dog is getting the proper amount of exercise (two twenty minute bouts of cardio daily) but they’re still struggling to calm down, try some of these mental enrichment tools/games. Do one in the morning and one in the evening as often as possible. Consider rationing out their kibble for the day and ditch the bowl. Feed them through training and puzzle toys instead.

Physical exercise is only one facet to creating a calm and collected canine. Mental exercise and enrichment is one of the most important activities you can provide your dog. Walks actually fit in the mental enrichment category, and should be spent allowing your dog to sniff as opposed to hustling them along to gain mileage. Your dog will be far more exhausted after a walk if it was spent sniffing.

Other easy ways to meet your dogs mental enrichment needs are to create foraging opportunities during meal time. Ditch the dog bowl and feed them out of puzzle toys like the ones in this list. Daily training sessions are another great way to meet your dogs mental enrichment needs.

See our amazon list of enrichment recommendations here

*we make a small profit from items purchased through our amazon affiliate page

Our staff’s favorite enrichment activities

Snuffle Mat

A snuffle mat stimulate dogs' powerful sense of smell and built to stimulate a dog's natural foraging instincts by mimicking the hunt for food

Kong Wobbler

The KONG-shaped Wobbler is an action-packed treat and food dispensing toy. It sits upright until pushed by a dog’s paw or nose and then periodically dispenses tasty rewards as it wobbles, spins and rolls. The unpredictable movement keeps the toy challenging, even for seasoned Wobbler users. The Wobbler can also be used as an alternative to a dog bowl to help slow and extend mealtime while providing exercise for your dog. Unscrews for easy filling and cleaning.

West Paw Toppl

West Paw Toppl does it all. It traps treats with its inner ridges and tips over to keep dogs entertained and challenged. Interlock the two sizes to make playtime over the Toppl. Perfect for smaller dogs, bigger dogs and clever dogs. We also recommend spread soft food inside and putting it in the freezer for a longer duration activity.

Enrichment Recycling Box

Save a bunch of money by turning your recycling boxes into easy, and fun foraging opportunities for your dog!

Flirt Pole

A flirt pole is a fun and interactive way to get your pup moving, promoting healthy exercise! It works by converting the natural prey drive instinct in canine companions into exercise as they try to catch a lure by sprinting, changing direction and jumping.

Bring the Outside Inside

Save some money by bringing your neighborhood smells home! Collect clippings of different foliage your dog loves to smell and give it to them to smell while indoors. This is a great option for doing on activity restriction due to injury or surgery!

Outdoor Adventures

Dogs are made to RUN and really thrive in nature. Regular trips out into the woods can do wonders for your dogs (and your) health and bonding. Just be sure you don’t let your dog off leash unless its a designated off leash area and your dog has a rock solid recall. If they don’t we have a class to help with that! We also recommend using a Trailblazing Tails long line until they learn.

Snuffle Treats from the Grass

One of our trainers’ favorite ways to feed their dogs is to toss their kibble into the grass to forage for. This gets them sniffing which is a self-regulatory activity for dogs and can aid in anxiety and stress reduction.

Licky Mat

Licky mats work magic for your dog’s healthy and temperament. By promoting licking, your dog enjoys an endorphin release to help calm and soothe him. Promoting slower eating can help to reduce gulping and bloating, and licking generates saliva to maximize dental health.

Learn a New Trick

Teaching your dog a new trick is not only a great form of mental exercise, but it will enhance your bond as well. Don’t know how to teach tricks? We have a class for that!

Play Date with a Friend

If your dog is social with other dogs, arranging regular play dates with well matched playdates is a great idea! But please remember that not all dogs are social and should not be forced to interact with other dogs.

Roll in Grossness

We know it’s not your favorite canine quality, but dogs LOVE to get STINKY. You will make their day if you let them express the very species specific need of rolling in gross stuff! Embrace that you have DOG and let them ROLL.

Treat Toilette Paper Roll

Have you ever found yourself saving toilette paper rolls just because they seem to have to much potential to throw away? Perhaps you thought you would use them for a craft project, but now you can just use them to enrich your dog’s day!

Nina Ottosson Puzzle Toy

Nina Ottosson makes incredibly well made puzzle toys for dogs of all ability levels. These are one of our favorite store-bought puzzle options.

Kiddy Pool Dig Pit

Do you have a digger? Great news! You can teach them to stop digging in your garden by providing them with their own dig pit. Just fill a kiddy pool with dirt. Hide treats and toys in the dirt for them to dig out

***Pro tip: If you drill holes in the bottom before filling it with sand then rain can drain out and the pool can dry out!

Visit a Sniffspot

Rent safe and private dog parks hosted by locals in your area. You can even find fully fenced fields with a lot of acreage for your dog to run. This is a great option for sensitive dogs that need privacy.

Splash in a Kiddy Pool

In the summer your dog will thank you for filling up a kiddy pool with water for them to splash around in.

Odor Identification such as the sport K9 Nosework

In K9 Nose Work®, dogs learn how to search for a specific odor or odors and find the source. Dogs start by searching for their favorite food or toy reward hidden in a variety of environments, increasing the challenges and adding new search skills as the dog progresses. Most people will choose to have their dogs learn to find the target odors used in K9 Nose Work®: birch, anise, and clove; those looking to keep it fun searching for food or toy can still have fun and progress in the activity. Once target odors are introduced to the dog, he will search for the odor only and find its source, then get rewarded by his handler with his favorite food or toy reward.

DIY Obstacle Course

You can entertain your dog’s mind and body by setting up a DIY obstacle course with everyday household items. Create jumps with flipped over laundry bins and broom sticks!

Go on a Sniffari

A Sniffari (sniffing safari) is a scent walk where your dog's nose takes the lead. This way of walking mentally stimulates and enriches your pooch, as dogs rely on their sense of smell to piece together the environment around them. Watch the video above to learn about a research study supporting the benefit of walking your dog on a long line as well! We recommend the long lines by Trailblazing Tails.

Some other ideas include:

Allow your dog to shred toys so long as they aren’t eating them
Teach your dog to find a hidden toy
Teach your dog to find hidden treats
Play hide and seek with them

Play Enrichment Bingo

Like these ideas? Play enrichment bingo with your dog! Download this graphic, print it off and see if you get five in a row!

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Doggy Enrichment Activities