The Life-Changing Magic of Dog Enrichment
Dog enrichment has a whole lot of buzz these days and for good reason: it’s really important. But WHY is it so crucial for our dogs? First, let’s define enrichment. It actually originated in the zoo world through the efforts of zookeepers who were focused on zoo animal welfare. Dr. Markowitz, who was a leader in zoo animal welfare, said, “Enrichment should be a synonym for ‘more like nature.’” Believe it or not, dogs are captive animals too. Enrichment is about meeting all of your dog’s needs as closely as they would be met in the wild (aka letting them do super natural dog behaviors). [Disclosure: The page may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
These days, it’s easy to associate a lot of expensive toys, puzzles, and pretty looking photos on social media with enrichment and while those things are awesome, (yay frozen Toppls* ha!), they are not the only type of enrichment. Nature is $0 and usually extremely enriching! Keep reading for examples of enrichment, why it’s so important, and why it can be magical for your dog.
How Natural Enrichment Activities Can Help Meet Your Dog’s Needs
What do you notice about the little dog, Sully, in the post above? While Instagram Reels only allows for 30 seconds of video, I will tell you that she spent 30 minutes systematically gathering the best sticks she could find. This was all her idea. Do you notice how many reinforcers she comes into contact with?! She is independent and has agency (this is a big deal for a dog who lives in captivity in a one bedroom city apartment). She hears the creek and the bugs and the rocks moving. She feels the water and the variable surfaces. She smells all sorts of things. So much sensory stimulation. She had to use her brain to figure out how to dislodge and carry some of the sticks. She used her muscles to climb all over rocks. She shredded the sticks after she gathered them. All I did was put her in an environment rich with reinforcers (where she felt safe) and let her choose what to do.
What is enriching for one dog may not be what is enriching for the next (meet your dog’s individual needs), but health and meeting needs are always our first two goals and considerations. Check out “Canine Enrichment for the Real World”* by Allie Bender and Emily Strong from Pet Harmony to learn more about enrichment!
Why Natural Dog Enrichment Behaviors Aren’t ‘Bad’
What’s on your list when you think of all the little (and big) things you need to do today to take care of your dog? Maybe it looks something like: Breakfast ✅, Bath Time ✅, Vet Appt ✅, Training ✅, Decompression Walk ✅, Exercise ✅, and Dinner ✅. Bringing a dog into your life comes with a HUGE amount of responsibility. It starts to shift how you look at some of those responsibilities when you remember that your first job is to show them love. And that isn’t just a task. It is a gift that we GET to love these incredible animals who teach us so much about life.
Loving them is not just how we feel about them. It is how we treat them and how we show up for them. It’s how we make THEM feel -- safe, empowered, and fulfilled. The world often lifts up dog behavior as “good” when it is centered around humans’ needs. We LOVE training and will always celebrate it (and to be honest, done well, it is a deeply loving thing to do with your dog). We *also* want to keep celebrating dogs doing natural dog things and remind ourselves that behavior does not need to be centered around humans in order for it to be considered good. Giving dogs opportunities to engage in these natural dog behaviors like running, chasing, shredding, and digging is not only incredibly important for their wellbeing, it is also one of the ways we get to love our dogs. Dogs need to be able to behave in ways that are natural to them. As it turns out, getting to experience watching dogs do that works wonders on our own wellbeing. The video above features some awesome dogs from our TOC Fam doing some delightfully dog things.
For some of our favorite enrichment products like toppls, snoops, and snuffle matts, check out our Amazon store.*
