You’ll hear us talk a lot about enrichment over at Greyhound Rescue HQ. But what exactly is and why is it such a crucial activity for your hound? We’ll explain what it is below, along with some simple ways to get started.
What is enrichment and what are the benefits?
Enrichment activities are an important part of keeping dogs healthy and happy. Giving your hound activities that challenge their minds, exercise their bodies, and stimulate their senses can help reduce stress, improve behaviour, and increase their overall wellbeing. Enrichment activities can range from providing stimulating toys and puzzle feeders to interactive games and obedience training.
Additionally, enrichment activities can allow dogs to explore their environment and engage in activities that promote natural behaviours, such as digging and searching for food. By engaging in these activities, dogs can stay mentally and physically active and become better adjusted to a variety of environments. Ultimately, enrichment activities can help create a healthy, positive bond between the dog and the owner.
Six fun enrichment games for your dog!
Here are six easy enrichment games for your hound to help keep them entertained and mentally stimulated:
Puzzle toys
There are many fun and engaging puzzle and treat toys that are great! Make sure that you supervise your hound at first to make sure that they aren’t trying to eat the puzzle itself. Make sure to always start simple and build up the difficulty on the toy. If your hound gives up then there’s a good chance that it is just too tricky for them.
We love the Nina Ottosson Hide ‘n’ Slide Interactive Puzzle!
DIY puzzles
You can make a treat puzzle with a cardboard box, rolled up towel, or toilet roll. Put some treats and kibble inside and have your hound figure out how to get them out. You can level it up by making it like a pass-the-parcel with multiple layers, or including some ‘decoy’ items in the box such as toys, balls, or empty boxes.
Nose Work
Have your pup to use their nose to find hidden treats. Start by having your hound watch you hide one treat and slowly add more as your hound gets more familiar with the game. Once they understand the concept you can hide the treats while they’re not in view. Set up a series of challenges by putting treats under plastic cups or under teatowels, level it up again by putting treats at different heights (eg. on top of a low table).
Hide and Seek
Hide treats or toys around the house or yard for your pup to find. Make the game more challenging by having them wait for your cue before they start searching. In order to do that you’ll need to attach a cue to the act of finding the toy, learning and practicing that cue is great enrichment too!
Obstacle Course
Set up an obstacle course in your backyard or living room and have your pup weave through it for treats or toys. This is a great way to help your hound practice their agility. Be sure to work on one challenge at a time and increase the difficulty as your hound learns.
Go on a sniffari!
A sniffari is simply a walk where there’s no imperative to get to where you’re going and you allow your hound to smell everything to their heart’s content. Many dogs find that the sensory input really tires them out and they will sleep well afterwards!
Find more great enrichment tools by clicking here.