Daily food, fresh water, exercise, and shelter are essential, but aren’t enough to prevent a dog getting bored, frustrated and stressed. Which leads to problem behaviours. Over time, maybe even a depression and loss of interest. What to do?
The buzzword for it is Enrichment. It’s really just facilitating what dogs naturally enjoy.
It’s all very Sensory – The sights and smells. Sniffing is their superpower. It engages the brain and sparks the intellect. Hide a few treats around your home, or throw them in the bushes. Have brisk walks for exercise but, just as important, are those walks – the glacial ones that devote a good 5 minutes to one blade of grass. Because….
It’s exploratory – dogs are nosey. If they didn’t naturally investigate, we wouldn’t invest in recall training, leads or fences. At home, they gravitate to balconies, see-through fencing, gaps in the hedge. Enable their curiosity – if possible, give them a view of the street to watch the world go by. Switch up the walks in different directions.
It’s physical – playing, chasing, running, writhing upside down, jumping, swimming. Thank goodness for dog parks. If you’re lucky enough to live near a dog beach, there’s nothing doggier than digging. It gets out energy, it’s great for stress reduction, other dogs come over to see what’s happening and join in. Which brings us to…
It’s social – most dogs like to meet other dogs, as long as they feel safe while doing it. It helps if they’ve something to focus on, for instance digging or chasing a ball, so that any social engagement happens casually. Just like people’s touch football teams or knitting groups. More than anything, though, it’s you – your attention, validation, your cuddles and play.
It’s variety – A change is as good as a holiday, as they say. What’s enough variety for one dog will be stressful overstimulation to another. Some will happily sit at an outdoor cafe to people-watch, or love a car ride, or guests coming over. This next one often gets overlooked but we think our extremely long-lived dogs would bear us out on this – there needs to be variety in meals. Not the same taste every day for eternity. There is great joy in the novelty of flavours, smells, and textures. As older age puts limits on physical enrichment, dinner can still be something to look forward to every day.
It’s choice – Where safe and reasonable, allow your dog some options. Offleash parks are great for this freedom of expression – whether to run, play, sniff, or sit and watch? At home, if the dogbed is by the door but he/she keeps sleeping by the window, maybe move the bed. A few considerate little adjustments go a long way for a fulfilled, contented life.