Enrichment is as integral to animal care as veterinary and nutrition programs.
Enrichment Is Not "Optional".
Behavioral enrichment and environmental enrichment are necessary components of life in captivity. Enrichment is as integral to animal care as veterinary and nutrition programs. All animals in captivity need environmental enrichment whether they live in a zoo, shelter, laboratory, sanctuary, or your home.
Enrichment improves the welfare of all animals. Enrichment promotes naturalistic behaviors that stimulate the mind and increases physical activity. Enrichment reduces stress and therefore promotes overall health by increasing an animal's perception of control over their environment and by occupying their time.
Why Enrichment Is Important
Environmental enrichment for pets (also called behavioral enrichment) is a means to enhance a companion animal’s surroundings. It serves to enhance their life through means in which the animal is presented with novelty in his/her environment. The animal is given opportunities to learn. And the animal is encouraged to engage in natural, instinctive, species-specific behaviors.
Studies have shown that when animals are given an enriched, stimulating environment (a variety of things to do, smell, and explore) they live longer, are better adjusted, more relaxed, better able to develop problem-solving skills, and they remember what they learn. This directly relates to your pets at home! Bored animals are easily frustrated, and frustration can lead to destruction. You can avoid boredom and destruction by enriching your pets! Enrichment is one of the keys to enhancing your pet’s life. It is also one of the easiest tools to implement on a daily basis.
Food, sensory, novel objects, and foraging enrichment are all shown in this image of pets in homes. Can you identify each one?
How Enrichment Helps
Environmental enrichment, when used properly, can positively address many behavioral issues.
This can be anything from “rowdiness,” cognitive dysfunction, storm and noise phobias, separation anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and behaviors that result from the all too common problem in homes: boredom and/or frustration.
In addition to treating behavioral disorders, environmental enrichment should be viewed as an essential part of providing an excellent quality of life for all pets due to its proven positive effect on the health and well-being of animal companions.
This can be anything from “rowdiness,” cognitive dysfunction, storm and noise phobias, separation anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and behaviors that result from the all too common problem in homes: boredom and/or frustration.
In addition to treating behavioral disorders, environmental enrichment should be viewed as an essential part of providing an excellent quality of life for all pets due to its proven positive effect on the health and well-being of animal companions.
Enrichment at Home Serves To:
- Curb boredom and restlessness
- Reduce frustration and destructive behaviors
- Increase natural behaviors, and as result, increase their health and longevity
- Teach you new ways to engage and play with your canine companion
Behavioral enrichment should be random, interesting and novel. The goals of enrichment are to offer a sense of control by allowing animals to make choices and to stimulate species-appropriate behaviors
How You Can Provide Enrichment at Home
Most people have limited resources available to enrich the lives of their animal companions, which results in a huge lack of appropriate enrichment with most household pets. Making a few changes to their (and your) daily routines can greatly enhance the life and longevity of your animal companion! They key is to make things simple and safe, but challenging for the animal.
One of the cool things that I learned as an Enrichment Coordinator of the Audubon Zoo was that anyone can make a puzzle feeder out of almost anything, AND in the process you get to recycle in a super fun way!
Every day we offer our dog, Hocus Pocus, some sort of enrichment challenge. Below is a video demonstrating a very easy one for her, but the point is to not just "give a dog a bone". Make them work for it! Be as creative as you want to be!
This kind of enrichment provides healthy mental stimulation and physical stimulation, while encouraging natural canine behaviors. Also, these kinds of activities teach our pups that being alone is a Good Thing.
Bonus: It gives you time to do whatever you need to get done while they are having fun!
Every day we offer our dog, Hocus Pocus, some sort of enrichment challenge. Below is a video demonstrating a very easy one for her, but the point is to not just "give a dog a bone". Make them work for it! Be as creative as you want to be!
This kind of enrichment provides healthy mental stimulation and physical stimulation, while encouraging natural canine behaviors. Also, these kinds of activities teach our pups that being alone is a Good Thing.
Bonus: It gives you time to do whatever you need to get done while they are having fun!
Science Insights
Studies have shown that when dogs solved a problem and earned a reward they wagged their tails more. These dogs were also more likely to try to solve the problem again, rather than if they were just given a reward. The study also found that food was a preferred reward, compared to spending time with another dog, or being petting by a familiar human.
Now let that really sink in for a moment …. What does that tell you?
Now let that really sink in for a moment …. What does that tell you?
Dogs Were Bred to DO.
Our canine companions were bred to work. They all had jobs to to. This could be hunting for food, doing other jobs for their town, community, farmer, or family. But as we fast forward to today dogs these days find themselves resting all day on cushy couch, bored, and being fed two meals a day in a bowl.
But we can (and need to) give our dogs the mental and physical enrichment they need, daily.
Most people prefer to eat food on a plate, but this behavior is not innately important to dogs. Canines are genetically hardwired to hunt or scavenge for their meals. There’s science that has now proven this!
When dogs don’t get the opportunity to do these natural /healthy and normal behaviors, they can become stressed and anxious or simply bored.
But we can (and need to) give our dogs the mental and physical enrichment they need, daily.
Most people prefer to eat food on a plate, but this behavior is not innately important to dogs. Canines are genetically hardwired to hunt or scavenge for their meals. There’s science that has now proven this!
When dogs don’t get the opportunity to do these natural /healthy and normal behaviors, they can become stressed and anxious or simply bored.
Consider Maze Feeders and Puzzle Feeders!
The old school (“traditional”) method of feeding animals out of a bowl does little to stimulate complex feeding behaviors. Also, when we are training our canine companions, if all of their food is eaten at breakfast and dinner, we have eliminated one of our most powerful training tools: FOOD.
Proper enrichment keeps animals active and interested, while encouraging natural behaviors!
Enrichment transforms bored, frustrated, fearful, or destructive dogs into mentally healthy canine companions.So, rather than only feeding our pups out of a boring-ole-bowl, make mealtime a FUNTIME.
We can keep our canines busy with food puzzles when guests or repair people to come into our home. These puzzles redirect the dog's energy onto something fun and focused! (Click here to see vine video)
Bonding with Enrichment: "Find It!"
Discover What He Diggs!
I encourage you to discover what Bogie really enjoys doing. Discover his natural behaviors. Learn the history of the breed, and the natural history of the canine species. Once you understand these things, you can challenge your pup to move out of his stale comfort zone and step into the space of Who He Really Is.
Daily enrichment doesn’t have to be complicated and time-consuming, but the more creative you get, the more fun you will have together! Make it a FUN challenge for you and them!
Daily enrichment doesn’t have to be complicated and time-consuming, but the more creative you get, the more fun you will have together! Make it a FUN challenge for you and them!
PRO TIP: Be there with him as he discovers a new puzzle toy. Encourage him every time he makes a small success! Don’t just leave him alone with the new toy or puzzle feeder. You wouldn’t offer a puzzle to a child, then leave him/her alone in a room to “figure it out.” You would guide the child, and encourage the child when they make progress! The same is true for our animal companions. Encourage him. Praise him when he makes small progress, and even when he is just trying to figure it out!
Types of Enrichment
Enrichment is generally grouped into the following categories:
- Food based
- Sensory (touch, sight, smell, taste, and sound)
- Novel objects
- Social
- Positive Training
- Foraging
DIY Puzzle Feeders!
The video below is a great example of how easy and fun it is to provide very simple mental and physical enrichment for a very smart and energetic dog!
You can read my article "Stimulate Them" to learn more about all of this, here.
When we limit ourselves, or our dogs, we also limit our view of what is possible. ~ Ken Ramirez
