Canine enrichment is such a buzzword these days. If you are on dog Instagram, you’ll hear about it a lot in dog training, because it’s a really important part of fulfilling your dog’s needs! Just like physical exercise and quality nutrition, cognitive enrichment for dogs is like mental exercise. It fulfills a dog’s need to THINK, and it can be a healthy outlet for natural behaviors like chewing, foraging, licking, and sniffing.
There are lots of different types of enrichment: sensory enrichment, social enrichment, environmental enrichment, and physical enrichment. When it comes to dogs, I think physical enrichment, like play and exercise, is the most common. After all, the phrase “a tired dog is a good dog” is pretty common, and most people understand dogs require physical exercise to get their energy out.
But, physical exercise is not enough to meet our dogs’ needs. Just like humans, dogs get bored, which is why mental stimulation is so important! There are lots of ways to incorporate more cognitive enrichment activities into your dog’s life, and one of the easiest is through enrichment toys. There are a ton of dog enrichment toys on the market, from interactive puzzles to toys that encourage satisfying dog behaviors like chewing and licking. You can use these toys to boost your dog’s confidence, increase your dog’s resiliency and ability to learn new things, and they provide an outlet for basic canine instincts, helping your dog feel fulfilled and happy. Simply put, enrichment toys allow your dog to just be a dog.
If you are on the hunt for some easy and simple dog enrichment ideas, here are my personal favorite dog toys you can use to help fulfill your dog’s needs.
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Enrichment Activity: The Best Toys to Fulfill Your Dog’s Needs and How to Use Them
There are loads of dog enrichment activities you can try, from games to training. Although there are a lot of enrichment ideas you can do with your dog, sometimes, you just need a quick activity your dog can engage with on their own. Toys are one of the easiest enrichment activities for dogs, because they require very little from you: just get the toy set up and provide a little supervision. The dog toys in this list are all beginner level and are not meant to frustrate your dog by being overly complicated, which is a crucial component to successful enrichment!
Enrichment toys are great to use while you are getting ready for work, cooking dinner, or if you simply need your dog to leave you alone (hey, we’ve all been there). You can use them to occupy your dog (like when you have guests over) or help them decompress after a stressful situation (like fireworks). They are also a fantastic way to stimulate your dog when you are unable to give them as much physical exercise, whether that’s due to your schedule or to bad weather. One of my favorite enrichment ideas for dogs is to put out multiple toys and interactive puzzles for your dog to create a super fun “obstacle course” for them to work through. This helps make the enrichment toys last a little longer, and gives your dog more choices. More choices = more interesting!
A Snuffle Mat
This snuffle mat from PAW5 is one of my favorite dog enrichment toys. What sets this snuffle mat apart from others is that it is machine washable and can be tumble dried, so sanitizing it is a breeze! It’s also super durable and stands up will to chewing/pulling, unlike the felt versions.
June, whose primary love language is receiving gifts, LOVES sniffing out treats, and the snuffle mat provides the perfect opportunity for her to use her nose. It is also, by default, an excellent slow feeder if you feed kibble! The whole concept behind a dog enrichment mat is that engages a dog’s instinct to scavenge; they must nose their way through the shag to find and pull out bits of food.
One of my favorite ways to use the snuffle mat is to bring it to vet visits. It’s easy to keep tossing a few treats onto the mat for the dogs to sniff out, which gives them a fun and positive activity to focus on during what is otherwise a very stressful situation.
You can also take this dog enrichment activity to the next level at home by putting the snuffle mat inside a box or covering it with a towel. This creates an additional challenge for your dog, as they have to tear through the box or “dig up” the towel to get to the treats.
A Classic Kong
The Classic Kong is like the OG of enrichment toys (at least to me it is). It’s so classic that it is literally in the name. I really like this puzzle toy for your two reasons: 1. You can use treats or a spread (like peanut butter) for a challenge that isn’t too difficult, and 2. There are a ton of different sizes and densities available! There are puppy, classic, extreme, and senior options so you can choose the Kong that fits your dog’s needs. Need some ideas of what to put in your Kong? Check out this awesome post over at Dog Friendly San Antonio for some great ideas!
The classic Kong satisfies your dog’s urge to chew and lick, both of which are therapeutic behaviors. This makes the Kong a great enrichment toy for dogs who need something to occupy themselves during stressful events like fireworks or thunder storms or even crate training! It’s also dishwasher safe, which makes it super easy to keep clean and disinfect after use.
Outward Hound Interactive Squirrels Plush
In all honestly, I held off on buying this interactive squirrel plush for a long time because it looked like a gimmick. No way this toy would engage the dogs, and no way would it last long enough to be worth the money. Well, I was dead ass wrong, my friends. This toy has been worth EVERY STINKING PENNY, and it’s still going pretty strong over a year later!
Margot and June would play with this thing for HOURS if I let them. I put the squirrels in the tree, and together they have a blast ripping them out and then running around squeaking the squirrels. Then, I collect the squirrels, stuff them back in the tree, and we repeat the game. I have yet to see either pup get bored of stuffing their face into the tree trunk to “catch” a squirrel, and it’s one of the toys that first got Margot to start playing tug. This interactive toy is a great outlet for a dog’s prey drive since they have to “hunt” for the toys.
This is the type of enrichment activity that I like to do when I’m just feeling lazy. It’s easy playtime, and you get to interact with your dog without having to go ham.
Kong Wobbler
Yeah, I know. Another Kong product. But this Kong Wobbler definitely earns its place on this list of toys that provide cognitive enrichment for dogs! You can use it as a slow feeder (it fits a whole serving of kibble) or a treat dispenser, and it’s a little more challenging than some of the other dog puzzle toys on this list. In fact, you might have to show your dog how it works at first- tap it or knock it over so the treats spill out. Most dogs get the hang of it pretty quickly, and once they figure it out, move out of the way!
Like the Classic Kong, the Wobbler makes your dog “work” for their food, and it plays on their instinct to scavenge. Plus it’s just really fun and highly rewarding for your pup to knock this toy around, and it can be a great confidence building enrichment exercise! I like to use the Wobbler when I need to keep the dogs out of my way, like when I’m working or cooking.
Toppl
West Pay makes a ton of great enrichment toys for dogs, but one of my favorites is the Toppl. West Paw’s zogoflex toys (like the Toppl) are infinitely recyclable, meaning if your dog damages the toy you can send it back to them to be repurposed into a new toy. They are also machine washable!
Toppls are great slow feeders if you feed soft food, like fresh food, raw, or canned. It’s also a popular toy to FREEZE, creating a “pup-sicle” of sorts for your dog to lick and chew on. A frozen toppl is perfect for teething puppies (the chill soothes their gums) and is also useful for making this enrichment activity last a little longer. The other nice thing about the Toppl is it is a really easy puzzle toy for dogs, keeping the enrichment frustration free. I like to prepare a Toppl and freeze it for stressful events, like fireworks.
Lick Mat
Lick mats are one of the easiest canine enrichment ideas out there. They are incredibly easy to set up (just smear a spread or some wet food across the surface and you’re done), and they last a fairly long time without your dog getting frustrated. Plus, licking is a therapeutic behavior that helps calm your dog down, much like a toddler sucking on their thumb. You can also freeze a lick mat in advance to make it last even longer, or to provide a fun enrichment activity for a hot day.
Because lick mats are slow and steady, I like to use them for stressful events. We have this lick mat that sticks to a wall for bath time, and it’s made an enormous difference! June, who needs frequent baths due to her allergies, has learned to completely relax in the bath while she goes to town on a peanut butter lick mat.
DIY Dog Enrichment Ideas
I like to ensure I have a decent variety of enrichment toys on hand so that I can frequently rotate toys and keep things fresh and interesting. However, enrichment toys can also be expensive! In addition to all of the dog enrichment toys that you can buy, you can also DIY enrichment toys at home. I like to DIY enrichment for dogs using things like paper, cardboard egg cartons, muffin tins with tennis balls, old towels, cardboard toilet paper tubes, and more!
What are some of your dog’s favorite enrichment toys? Share in the comments below, and don’t forget to pin this post for future reference.
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