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- Egg Carton. I don’t eat eggs myself, but I give them to Sitka a few times per week. I save the egg carton for the easiest enrichment activity ever. Take your dog’s meal and fill the egg slots with a few pieces each, close the box, and voila, instant dog enrichment game!
- Towel. This is one of my go-to enrichment activities for my dog when I want him to work a little for his food, but I don’t have time to work on training drills or new tricks.
- Muffin Tin + Tennis Balls. This enrichment activity couldn’t be easier! Simply take a muffin tin, add food to each compartment, then cover each one with tennis balls.
- Hide n’ Seek. I love this game for travel days or when we’re staying in a hotel room. It’s super easy and a lot of fun! It doubles as an impulse control training exercise and puts their nose to work.
- Why Enrichment Games?
- Seven Homemade Enrichment Games
- Do You Have Any Favourite Homemade Games?
Just like us humans, dogs need exercise and enrichment to stay healthy both mentally and physically. They need enrichment to prevent boredom, build a closer bond between you and stimulate the senses. A good way to ensure your dog’s mental health is good is enrichment games for your dogs! Enrichment games come in all shapes and sizes and can range f...
A simple homemade enrichment game can be created at home with toys, recyclables and your dog’s favourite treats. There’s no cost involved which is perfect if you want something quick to entertain!
Has your dog played any of these brain and enrichment games? Do you have any new games to share? Let us know in the comments below!
- Evieb
- Hide & Seek Muffin Tin Treat Game. Stimulate your dog’s mind and their whiskers with this easy to set-up muffin tin game. Hide treats underneath tennis balls and let your pup sniff them out!
- Stuff Treats Inside This Rope Ball Surprise Toy. Hiding treats can be fun and enriching for both you and your pup. Tie some spare rope into a monkey’s fist, but before you finish, slip in some dry food or a dog treat!
- DIY T-Shirt-Wrapped Water Bottle. It’s the perfect chew toy for a pup that likes crinkle sounds. (Let’s hope you like them too!) How It Works: Find empty water bottle.
- Test Their Wits With This Tennis Ball Treat Puzzle. Make a cut along the seam, stuff with your dog’s favorite treats or dry kibble, and voila! (Best part?
- Muffin Tin Puzzle. I love the idea of taking things from around your house and making them into a super fun dog toy! For this puzzle, you’ll need to grab a muffin tin, some treats, and up to 12 balls (no biggie if you don’t have 12 balls, I’ll share swap ideas in just a second).
- Busy Box. Also called an enrichment box, foraging box, or destruction box, a busy box is a super simple DIY interactive puzzle. You start with a basic cardboard box (like an old Amazon box or, soda can box, LaCroix box, cereal box, etc.)
- Towel Roll-Up. In the busy box, I like to add a treat-filled towel. Basically, I grab a clean washcloth or dish towel and roll treats inside. Well, this alone is a great game for your pups!
- Snuffle Mat. A snuffle mat is a popular nose work, brain game. It consists of fleece fabric strips tied onto a sturdy backing. You hide dog treats inside the fleece — behind the many folds and even deep inside where the fleece meets the backing — for your dog to sniff out, find, and then eat.
- Frozen Food-Storing Toys. Kongs are most popular, but there are several other types of toys perfect for enticing your dog’s appetite. Fill the toy with anything from peanut butter to yogurt and put it in the freezer.
- Spin the Bottle. There are several variations of this fun game, and it’s easy to make your own set-up at home. Dog owner, Mila Vujovic used a tension rod and an empty two-liter bottle with holes cut into it to create an enrichment activity for her two dogs.
- Hide and Treat. Hide the treat is a game you can play almost anywhere and with any kind of treat-containing equipment. The basis of the game is to hide treats and let your pup use their nose to sniff them out.
- Doggy Tether Ball. For dogs that love to chase and play with balls, tether ball is an active way to release energy. The schoolyard game comes with its own set of rules, but your dog will have fun trying to catch the ball as it swings on the rope.
Say “find it” and toss a treat close to your dog. When your dog gets the treat praise your dog. After you dog starts to get the game slowly start making it hard. Once dogs learn the game you can begin hiding treats for your do to find. Or, take a walk at your dog’s pace allowing your dog to stop, sniff and take in the scents; Learn more:
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Close the other end and hand it off to your dog. Towels and tea towels. Take one of your dog’s towels and crumple it up with some treats inside. To get the treats, your dog has to sniff and dig and work his way around the towel. Scent work. My dogs love scent work. You need some empty boxes or bowls.
