By: Robin Sockness©
Your dog’s feeding
time is an exciting and very important part of his/her daily routine but just
because it’s routine doesn’t mean it should be boring! The key is with meal
time is enrichment protocols that you put into place by providing your dog with
outlets for natural, dog behavior.
Dogs are
natural foragers and like to problem solve.
They experience a “eureka” feeling when working on food challenges.
Working on a food puzzle is rewarding to a dogs because of the tangible reward
such of the food treat.
When dogs
don’t get the opportunity to engage in enrichment and they lack outlets of
natural behavior, they can develop all sorts of difficulties. Dogs need to
chew, dogs need to chase, dogs need to sniff and track. Dog food puzzle toys can provide all those
outlets for your dog.
Dogs enjoy foraging
and scavenging for food - it’s a natural
behavior for them. How many times have
you had your dog gather up a non-food item and devote plenty of time to destroying
it?
Ditch the
traditional food bowl!
- Food bowls do little to encourage interaction between your dog and you;
- Food bowls do little to teach the dog that good things come through from you;
- Food bowl feeding wastes rewarding opportunities;
- Your dog would prefer to work for his/her food;
- Our typical feeding routines encourage a sedentary doggy lifestyle;
- Using their brains is important for dogs and modern feeding practices of twice day dump it in the bowl don’t require much brainpower for your dog;
- Food bowls are a modern day human convenience!
The Shell Game – Grab 3 cups or pet food bowls. Put your dog in a sit/stay, put a few pieces of food under one cup and shuffle them around. Tell your dog “find it”! When they choose the right cup, reward them with the food.
Buried Treasure –Take a couple dog blankets and layer them into a pile, randomly tossing kibble in the nooks and folds. Your dog will enjoy rooting through the pile to find the blanket pile to find the treasures!
Treat Dispensing Toys – There are great treat dispensing toys and puzzles on the market. Nina Ottoson makes some of our favorites.
Treasure Hunt/Hansel and Gretel – Place your dog in a sit/stay. Create a trail throughout the house, dropping kibble at regular intervals for them to follow. You want them to be close enough together that they stay interested, but far enough apart that they have to work a little to find them all. Bonus points if the trail leads to a food puzzle!!!!!!!!
Training and Socialization – If you have a puppy, then use some of the food for training! Take food with you when you are socializing your puppy to create happy experiences.
My dogs have some favorite puzzle toys.
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