You have probably already heard of environmental enrichment as one more way to improve the day-to-day life of zoo animals, however, you may never have heard of it in dogs. You should know that enrichment began to be studied in captive species in zoos, however, it can and should be used in all animals that live in captivity, as is the case with dogs.
If you are trying to better understand what is environmental enrichment for dogs and you want to discover some games and ideas to apply in your day to day, you have come to the right place: in this article on our site we are going to show you everything you need to know about canine environmental enrichment.
What is environmental enrichment?
environmental enrichment is a way of improving the quality of life of captive animals through a series ofenvironmental and social stimuli All this allows the animal to express the natural behavior of the species and keep its mind stimulated. It also helps prevent stress, the appearance of behavioral problems and offers a notable improvement in animal welfare.
However, for the enrichment to be effective, you must first know the ethogram of the species, in this way we will take into account all the needs, behaviors and forms of expression inherent to the species.
The 5 types of environmental enrichment
Regardless of the species, environmental enrichment is divided into 5 types:
- Cognitive enrichment: promotes mental stimulation through situations or problems that the dog must solve. In these exercises the dog usually receives a reward as a reward.
- Social Enrichment: Allows increased interaction with other dogs and species, including humans. Dogs are sociable animals and need a suitable coexistence with the different living beings present in their environment.
- Sensory enrichment: the aim is to stimulate all the dog's senses through smells, images, sounds and textures.
- Physical Enrichment - Rotating changes are made to the animal's environment to increase the complexity of the animal, which often leads to increased interest and motivation.
- Nutritional enrichment: new foods are introduced, changes in times and in the way of eating. You can also increase the complexity of this routine.
Enrichment is especially necessary in shelters and reception centers for abandoned animals, where an evident improvement in welfare is observed in the short term [1] however, it is also a great routine for all those dogs that live in a home. Below we will show you some ideas for environmental enrichment in dogs and that you can put into practice yourself to stimulate them. Keep reading!
1. Stimulating games for dogs
Dogs love to play, as it is a behavior that we humans have intentionally promoted during the centuries of domestication. In play sessions with our dog we can use toys and various activities that stimulate social, food and cognitive enrichment.
In the market we will find different types of toys for dogs, from teethers to intelligence toys, which we can use to encourage chewing and mental stimulation. It is convenient to rotate the toys and not always offer the same ones.
However, don't worry if you can't spend a lot of money, on our YouTube channel you will find various tutorials where you will learn how to make easy homemade toys, such as the homemade KONG for dogs that we show you next:
two. Dog training and skills
Dog training is an excellent tool that can help us work on social enrichment, cognitive enrichment and physical enrichment, as well as, this routine will help us strengthen obedience and bond with our dog.
Dogs who are especially nervous and/or have behavioral problems related to anxiety will greatly benefit from a dog training or skills routine, as it teaches the dog to think for itself, to face the exposed challenges and to respond appropriately in different situations. Likewise, it is a pleasant activity for him, which will tire him mentally and physically.
Don't forget that you should always use positive reinforcement in your training sessions and, if you go to a trainer, don't forget to consult the methods used beforehand. Remember that positive punishment causes inattention and a significant increase in stress. [two]
3. Smell exercises for dogs
Seeding or searching is one of the easiest and most fun techniques to improve the dog's nutritional, cognitive, social and environmental enrichment. It consists of hiding bits of feed or food in the home for the dog to find. Smell exercises are especially beneficial for dogs with stress and food anxiety issues, as instead of eating in five minutes, the dog can take much longer to track, find and eatall hidden food.
We will start by spreading the food in front of the dog, placing it in easily accessible places, so that it understands how the exercise works. Over time we will increase the difficulty and choose more complicated places to hide the food. For example, you can put a ration under the cupboard, so the dog has to use its paws to get the food, or hide it under the rug, so he has to pick it up.
This exercise encourages the dog to use its senses and think for itself to extract food from the environment. Do not forget that you will have to go varying the hiding places to make the exercise more interesting and enriching. Likewise, we will prevent the dog from eating too quickly and its consequent he alth problems, such as gastric torsion or suffocation.
4. Dog massages
Relaxing massages for dogs are a great way to improve social and sensory enrichment, while strengthening the bond with the dogand we learn to know him better. We will avoid excessively manipulating certain parts of the body, such as the legs, since they generally show some rejection, and we will enhance the caresses on the head, back and belly if allowed.
There are also some relaxation exercises that we can carry out to learn to calm him down in situations that can make him nervous, such as traveling or visiting the vet.
5. Dog walks and sports
During the walk the dog relieves itself, but this routine also allows it to socialize with other dogs and people (social stimulation), sniff the environment (sensory stimulation) and walk and/or exercise (social stimulation). physical). For all these reasons, it is one of the most important routines of the day.
We should moderate exercise and related activities, such as playing fetch, in elderly or sick dogs, however, it is highly recommended that all dogs perform some type of activity, at least in one of the daily walks. If you don't have time to walk your dog, then you should consider hiring a professional.
Environmental enrichment in kennels and shelters
Enrichment is especially necessary in shelters and kennels, as dogs in these facilities often have high levels ofstress and anxiety , as well as various behavioral problems, such as stereotypes, compulsive actions that have no apparent end. However, the forms of enrichment are more limited in these cases, due to lack of time and resources.
The use of safe and resistant food vending toys, such as the KONG classic extreme, for example, promotes chewing, It makes you stay mentally active, predisposes you to move more and offers you a different way of eating than usual. Likewise, dogs tend to use lower barking frequencies and an increase in well-being is observed. [3]
On the other hand, it is ideal that dogs, being social animals, can live together in groups of two or more individuals, since thereby increasing social behaviors, activity, and exploratory behavior. If this cannot be the case, it is recommended that the staff dedicate time to the dog on a daily basis.
Other forms of Dog environmental enrichment from shelter:
- Change the usual walking route and allow him to sniff and explore.
- Perform physical exercise, except in those cases where the dog notably increases stress.
- Brush and bathe all handling-tolerant dogs.
- Make use of music to stimulate the dog's hearing, preferably outside the kennels.
- Practice basic obedience exercises to be able to reinforce them, such as sitting.
- Avoid complex exercises or exercises that stress the dog.
- Plant outside the cages, preferably in a wooded area.
- Use anti-voracity feeders to avoid stress at me altime.
- Substitute frozen foods for kong in coolers in summer.
