Enrichment activities are a great way to fulfil a dog’s need to display natural behaviours and an absolute godsend when your dog is physically restricted due to injury or bad weather, ensuring they are mentally stimulated and not bored.
Enrichment is an industry in itself, with games, toys and all manner of other equipment for sale designed to mentally stimulate your dog. For our fearful, anxious or underconfident dogs, we need to think a bit more carefully about how we introduce enrichment into their lives and what form it takes.
For a dog who has had little experience of the world, or little positive experience, novel items can be frightening or worrying. If we add food to a scary thing it should make the scary thing less scary, right? Well, no, not always. If a food toy startles an already fearful dog it can result in suspicion of the food itself. We also have the issue of conflicting emotions; the object is scary but the food is tempting so the dog gets closer to the scary thing in order to get the food. This is not an enriching or mentally stimulating experience for the dog.
Enrichment must be enriching!
Enrichment activities should always be well within the limits of what your dog is comfortable with; this is not about overcoming fears, it’s about making their lives more enjoyable. Daily enrichment activities should be confidence building, mentally stimulating, achievable and most importantly, enjoyable for your dog.
For noise sensitive dogs, the sound of kibble rattling in a toy can cause anxiety and objects that suddenly move underfoot or topple can startle an anxious dog. A fearful or underconfident dog may struggle with complex toys and lose confidence if they are too difficult.
In many cases, simple is best, whether it’s treats scattered in longer grass, a snuffle mat or lickimat, treats hidden around the house or garden (or other place your dog feels safe) for them to find, ensuring your dog can succeed and enjoys it are the two most important things to remember.
Consider the kind of activity that your dog engages in naturally; do they like to sniff, dig, hunt, forage or climb? Incorporating elements of the activities they choose to partake in naturally is a good way to ensure you’re providing your dog with an activity they are likely to enjoy.
Consider too, the level of support your dog might need in order to be successful or to engage in the activity. Some dogs will need supporting through the initial stages until they’re confident to try on their own. Other dogs may prefer to engage in activities, particularly food based ones, away from watchful eyes. The feeling that the food they are foraging for is under threat can cause a lot of anxiety in an insecure or anxious dog.
Enrichment activities can be incredibly rewarding for fearful or anxious dogs, provided they’re carefully considered and appropriate for the individual dog’s level of fear surrounding things such as the environment the activity takes place in and the people and the items included in the activity.
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