* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
Dogs evolved in an open world. They could act naturally without unfair repercussions — they had space to run, things to sniff, and opportunities to move their bodies freely.
In today’s human society, though, these things are at a premium for our canine companions. While it’s important our pets can fit into our modern lives, it’s also important we meet their needs! Enter canine enrichment: A movement to provide them with the kinds of experiences they evolved for. Proper mental and physical stimulation can be an important way to prevent unwanted behaviors and improve our pets’ overall quality of life.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to enrichment activities for our dogs. Let’s dive in!
At its simplest, enrichment provides animals with opportunities to satisfy their innate urges. These activities “enrich” their lives by promoting mental and physical wellbeing! If you ever visit a zoo or rehabilitated wildlife sanctuary, you might see signs and hear staff talk about the various forms of enrichment they provide their residents, typically in an effort to emulate their natural habitats so they can engage in instinctual behaviors.
While a domestic dog’s natural habitat is living around people, it’s also true that we’ve come a long way from the early days of the canine-human partnership. Common enrichment activities usually give our dogs the chance to safely dig, sniff, and emulate their predatory sequence (searching, stalking, chasing, fighting, celebrating, and consuming) without causing harm to or disrupting the communities we live in.
Have you ever heard that a “tired dog is a good dog?” While exercise absolutely is important to keep our pets healthy, too much physical activity without appropriate mental stimulation can cause problems. We might create companions whose bodies never feel tired — and who have no idea how to slow down their brains! (Canines tend to develop cardio and muscle strength faster than humans do, so it’s easy to create a dog who can outlast us on the trails.)
Enrichment activities can be the perfect solution here. Paired with appropriate physical exercise, things like food puzzles, snuffle mats, and thoughtful training sessions can keep your dog entertained without running either of you to the ground.
Our modern world can also be overwhelming for our dogs. Their senses of hearing and smell are much more keen than ours — stimuli that we barely notice (like city sirens or apartment building air fresheners) might be absolutely deafening to our pets.
Natural behaviors like sniffing and chewing can help our dogs relieve anxiety and feel more comfortable with their surroundings. In fact, there’s evidence that sniffing lowers a dog’s heart rate even as they walk. What’s more? The simple behavior of eating (food or treats) can also calm our dogs down.
And they don’t just reduce stress from potentially scary or overwhelming experiences. Enrichment activities can also build our dogs’ confidence in the first place! By learning to interact with a range of objects and move their bodies in various ways, our dogs learn that challenges aren’t scary — they often lead to good things.
Which brings us to the importance of thoughtful socialization!
When we think of socialization, it’s easy to picture directly engaging with other people in social contexts: talking with friends and family, playing games on a sports team, or heading to a work happy hour. In reality, though, proper puppy socialization is more about exposure than interaction!
So what does that all have to do with enrichment? Enrichment activities can be the perfect way to gradually expose your dog to new experiences in environments they’re already comfortable with! Instead of feeling pressured to chase all the unique socialization spots in your local community, you can provide puzzle toys or obstacle courses inside your own home.
Every dog deserves enrichment — but the right enrichment activities aren’t one size fits all.
And so on. When in doubt, get in touch with your breeder or professional trainer. They’ll help you understand what your dog was bred to do and how you can fulfill their breed-specific needs!
The opportunities to provide your dog with enrichment are endless. Just because they might not like a popular toy, be as quick with certain games, or have different preferences than your neighbor’s pet doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong. It simply means that every animal is an individual!
Experiment with a few different enrichment activities to figure out what your own dog likes best.
We’ve broken down the main categories of canine enrichment, but it’s important to remember that many fun activities will overlap. The best outlets for our dogs combine several of the below elements to provide as much fulfillment as possible!
Food enrichment has become incredibly common. In fact, most enrichment toys are specifically designed to feed our dogs’ meals in new and engaging ways!
Why the surge in popularity? For one thing, food puzzles are a particularly great way for pet owners to first test the enrichment waters. Every dog has to eat — and most of us have plenty of things already lying around the house that we can use to spruce up their meals. It’s often low effort but high impact.
Some examples of food enrichment for your dog:
Giving our dog’s problem-solving challenges is a great way to productively wear them out and build relevant skills for navigating the world around us! These activities are commonly called mental stimulation. At their best, they work both our pets’ bodies and their brains.
Some examples of cognitive enrichment for your dog:
We addressed the potential dangers of too much physical activity (without appropriate mental outlets) above. But there’s no denying that exercise is important for our dogs to live their best lives! The key is to vary the type, length, and intensity of their activities to avoid creating a bored “super athlete.”
Some examples of physical enrichment for your dog:
Dogs are social mammals. While not every dog loves strange people or other animals — and there’s absolutely no reason they need to! — it is important to provide our pets with plenty of opportunities to interact with family members and friends.
Some examples of social enrichment for your dog:
Our dogs have the same main senses we do (though their abilities differ — human eyes are better in the daylight while canine noses and ears put our own to shame). To change up your dog’s enrichment, spend some time thinking about what they see, hear, smell, taste, and feel! (After all, variety is the spice of life.)
Some examples of sensory enrichment for your dog:
Anyone who has known the love of a dog will tell you that they make our lives better. They help us learn new skills, meet more people, embrace novel challenges, and ultimately become stronger, smarter, more caring people.
It’s the least we can do to enrich their daily lives, too!
There is so much misinformation out there, we want to make sure we only provide the highest quality information to our community. We have all of our articles reviewed by qualified, positive-only trainers.
This is the trainer that reviewed this article:
Beth Joy, CPDT-KA, PMCT
Owner and Lead Trainer Unleashed Joy Dog Training - Mt. Airy, MD.
Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA)
www.unleashedjoy.com
Does your dog ever growl when you walk by their food dish? Maybe they get possessive of treats, carrying them far away and giving you side-eye when you start to approach — or snarling at your other pets or children if they get too close.
As almost every dog owner is aware, the nose of a dog is an amazing thing. Just as they can pick up sounds we can’t hear, their sense of smell and ability to pick up scents is well beyond ours. In fact, dogs have 40 times the number of olfactory receptors as humans.
All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
Ah, poop. We humans think it’s disgusting… but many of our dogs seem to love the stuff. If you’re wondering why your canine companion tries to eat feces (either his own or that of other animals) you’re not alone!
Do you have a water-loving dog looking to burn some energy? There are countless dog parks to visit throughout our country — but some of them become far too hot in the midday sun to be safe for your pets to play. That’s why we’ve put together a list of some of the best dog water parks throughout the United States! At these locations, your pup can frolic, splash, and swim to their heart’s content.
* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
Does your dog destroy every toy you give them? Is your house littered with remnants of fabric and stuffing of all different sizes? Are you tired of investing in “indestructible” toys only for your pup to still dismantle (or worse, get bored of) them in just a few days?
You’ve been told that your dog needs regular exercise. There’s a reason “walking the dog” is a classic daily activity: Frequent excursions give your pup a chance to stretch their legs, experience the world, maintain a healthy weight, and spend time with you! Consistent physical activity will also improve their strength, muscle tone, coordination, and mental ability over time.
* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
Many dog breeds have gotten a bad reputation over the years for being dangerous. Rottweilers are among them — as a large working breed, they’re often thought of as aggressive.
Your dog is reactive. They’ll see another dog, person, or other stimulus in the environment (like a car or bike) while out on a walk and suddenly go crazy at the end of their leash. The barking, lunging, and growling feels embarrassing for you — and it’s clear that your pup isn’t having a great time either.
* All Sniffspot articles are reviewed by certified trainers for quality, please see bottom of article for details *
Do you have a reactive dog or suspect you may have one? You’re not alone!
Does your dog ever growl when you walk by their food dish? Maybe they get possessive of treats, carrying them far away and giving you side-eye when you start to approach — or snarling at your other pets or children if they get too close.
From 2009 to 2020, there was a 40 percent increase in the development of public dog parks. Designated spots for canine exercise have become commonplace in every major city in North America — many pet owners won’t even consider renting an apartment that doesn’t have its own fenced-in pet area for their canine companions.
Thousand Oaks, California has been a safe haven for Sniffspot host, Jen, since childhood. Having grown up in busy Santa Barbara, Jen, an introvert from an early age, would seek out solitude and serenity away from tourists attractions and droves of people visiting from elsewhere. “My grandparents own 60 acres about a 30 minute drive from here, and I grew up spending every summer and every holiday visiting them on the ranch,” Jen explained. “In Santa Barbara, we wouldn't go to the beach on the weekend because that's where everybody was, so you'd find places off the beaten path where the tourists weren't. For me, the ranch was just my happy place.”
Ellen is the host of Country Pasture Getaway, one of Sniffspot's most popular sniff spots. She has taken the time to write up the lessons she has learned about how to be a great sniff spot host.
Just 20 minutes outside of the busy city of Portland, Oregon, and settled right on the banks of the Columbia River, you’ll find what countless visitors have flocked to the area in search of – mountain views, crisp, clean air, and running water for miles. What you might not expect to find, however, is a hidden oasis designed just for dogs and their people, owned and operated by a farming couple and enjoyed by visitors on two legs, and four.
Fran is the host of Ranch Setting, one of Sniffspot's most popular spots. She has taken the time to write up the lessons she has learned about how to be a great Sniffspot host.
Welcome to the United States Sniffspot top dog trainer list for 2023. This is a list of the top dog trainers in the United States based on votes from the Sniffspot community and the general public. Over 55,000 votes were used in compiling this list. We have only included the top trainers with sufficient votes and the trainers are ordered in terms of the number of votes received. Trainers that tied are ranked in reverse alphabetical order based on first name. All dog trainers on this list are positive reinforcement only, as defined by no force, fear, intimidation, or aversive methods used.
Welcome to the New Jersey Sniffspot top dog trainer list for 2023. This is a list of the top dog trainers in New Jersey based on votes from the Sniffspot community and the general public. Over 55,000 votes were used in compiling this list. We have only included the top trainers with sufficient votes and the trainers are ordered in terms of the number of votes received. Trainers that tied are ranked in reverse alphabetical order based on first name. All dog trainers on this list are positive reinforcement only, as defined by no force, fear, intimidation, or aversive methods used. To learn more about our dog trainer contest, feel free to view the dog trainer contest post.
Welcome to the Michigan Sniffspot top dog trainer list for 2023. This is a list of the top dog trainers in Michigan based on votes from the Sniffspot community and the general public. Over 55,000 votes were used in compiling this list. We have only included the top trainers with sufficient votes and the trainers are ordered in terms of the number of votes received. Trainers that tied are ranked in reverse alphabetical order based on first name. All dog trainers on this list are positive reinforcement only, as defined by no force, fear, intimidation, or aversive methods used. To learn more about our dog trainer contest, feel free to view the dog trainer contest post.
Welcome to the Washington Sniffspot top dog trainer list for 2023. This is a list of the top dog trainers in Washington based on votes from the Sniffspot community and the general public. Over 55,000 votes were used in compiling this list. We have only included the top trainers with sufficient votes and the trainers are ordered in terms of the number of votes received. Trainers that tied are ranked in reverse alphabetical order based on first name. All dog trainers on this list are positive reinforcement only, as defined by no force, fear, intimidation, or aversive methods used. To learn more about our dog trainer contest, feel free to view the dog trainer contest post.
Welcome to the Florida Sniffspot top dog trainer list for 2023. This is a list of the top dog trainers in Florida based on votes from the Sniffspot community and the general public. Over 55,000 votes were used in compiling this list. We have only included the top trainers with sufficient votes and the trainers are ordered in terms of the number of votes received. Trainers that tied are ranked in reverse alphabetical order based on first name. All dog trainers on this list are positive reinforcement only, as defined by no force, fear, intimidation, or aversive methods used. To learn more about our dog trainer contest, feel free to view the dog trainer contest post.
Looking for a space to play with your dog no matter what the weather’s like outside? Look no further than our list of the best indoor dog parks in the United States! These climate-controlled spaces are growing in popularity as pet ownership increases throughout the country. As a bonus, many of them also offer dog training, boarding, grooming, or daycare services on the premises.
Looking for the perfect place to play with your dog? We’ve got you covered! It’s hard to narrow down, but we’ve put together some of the best off-leash dog parks throughout the country so you can plan your next adventure — along with a checklist of what to bring, what to know beforehand, and some frequently asked questions.
Looking for the perfect place to play with your dog in Las Vegas? We’ve got you covered! Take a look at the best local dog parks and plan for your next adventure in Sin City.
Looking for the perfect place to play with your dog? We’ve got you covered! It’s hard to narrow down, but we’ve put together some of the best dog parks throughout the country so you can plan your next adventure. Here’s what the United States has to offer to its more than 90 million canine companions.
Looking for the perfect place to play with your dog in Portland? We’ve got you covered! Take a look at the best local dog parks and plan for your next adventure in the City of Roses.