Enrichment is not just a dog training industry buzzword. It’s a serious topic about meeting the biological and psychological needs of dogs.
So, what is enrichment?
Why is enrichment (so) important?
How can you enrich your dog’s life?
Enrichment is essentially about letting dogs be dogs. Dogs need opportunities to express natural behaviors.
Sniff Walks!
The most important and desperately needed at least once daily sniff walk, ideally off leash or on a long line, pretty much sums up enrichment. When dogs are allowed to sniff, they gather critical information about the environment they live in.
Loose Leash Walking and Choice…
Gone (not quite☹️) are the days of marching dogs around on short leashes held taut at our sides as if dogs are our subjects rather than valued canine members of our families. City streets, designed for as many humans to pass one another as possible, are the source of lots of stress for dogs and their people. Generally speaking, city streets are not wide enough to offer dogs the space needed to pass by one another and people without feeling at risk, or compromised. The opportunity to spend time outside in the yard or go to parks and conservation areas rather than pounding the city pavement is a significant stress reducing activity and allows dogs to be themselves.
Many people also use food dispensing toys and chews to keep dogs busy while they wait on us for the next outdoor adventure. It’s both stress reducing and boredom busting and very much the equivalent to us surfing the web, reading or watching television. Imagine not being able to do these things or whatever else you do to relax and unwind!
Enrichment is important because natural behaviors benefit both dogs and their people. Natural (getting outside and exploring) is better than artificial means (passing the time away chewing a man-made rubber toy) by far but artificial means is better than staring into space stress barking for eight hours straight or shredding the sofa or busting out a window!
Enrichment is also used in resolving behavior issues like leash reactivity by offering sniffing as an alternative to lunging at biped and quadruped passers by. Doing so is to not be forced by tight space circumstances that contribute to dogs reacting aggressively.
Enrichment allows many dogs to take the path of least resistance, to go in peace and set conflict and differences aside. In other words, to live a more peaceful life as a result of we humans making different and better decisions on behalf of our dogs.
It’s never too late ask ourselves, as dog owners, ‘not what our dog can do for us but what we can do for our dog.
Whether we call it enrichment or not, it’s about meeting our dogs core needs so they can live their best life too!
Vera Wilkinson
The Cooperative Dog