ALL ABOUT ENRICHMENT
DEFINITION TIME
What exactly does “enrichment” mean? It’s a pretty broad term: enrichment is anything incorporated into an animal’s life or environment with the goal of improving the animal’s welfare. That covers a lot of options! In some cases, enrichment can help meet an animal’s basic needs (such as comfort and companionship). For example, something as simple as a soft bed or quiet place to rest can be important enrichment for a lot of animals. Enrichment can also be used to engage and challenge an animal mentally or physically. Trick-training, food puzzles, and interactive playtime can be great types of enrichment for keeping an animal’s mind and body active.
You’re probably already incorporating enrichment into your pet’s lives, whether intentionally or not. Things like playing fetch with your dog or cuddling with your cat count as enrichment! But if you’re looking to improve or spice up your pet’s life even more, we’ve got some ideas for you. We’ve focused on enrichment for cats and dogs here, but the concepts can apply to any type of creature you might have.
WHY BOTHER?
Enrichment can greatly improve an animal’s quality of life, reduce their stress, and just make them happier. And isn’t that what we all want for our pets? But there are many benefits to enrichment for pet guardians, too! Many common behavioral problems can be lessened or eliminated by incorporating more enrichment into the pet’s life (often in combination with training and environmental management strategies). For instance, if your dog barks incessantly at everything that moves outside, keeping their mind occupied with a game of tug and then a Kong can ease them into a nap when you’re trying to work from home. Or if your cat likes to paw your face all night for attention, giving them a good play session before bed can help both of you sleep peacefully.
THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS
Enrichment can be designed to address all of the various aspects of an animal’s natural instincts and needs. To simplify things, we can divide enrichment into a few broad categories.1 Here’s a brief explanation and some common examples for each category (although most enrichment can fit into multiple categories).
Occupational (Exercise): Occupational enrichment includes both physical and mental exercise. Walks, teaching tricks, and playtime are all common examples that are fun and engaging for both cats and dogs. Anything that gets their bodies or brains working hard is great enrichment!
Nutritional: Food, the great motivator for so many animals! There are endless ways to transform both treats and your pet’s regular meals into valuable enrichment. Animals in the wild don’t get food handed to them in bowls, they’re used to working for it. So things like Kongs, puzzle feeders, toys with food trapped inside, and even hiding food around your house can simulate natural behaviors of hunting, foraging, and eating prey.
Social: Most companion animals not only enjoy social contact, they need it for a good quality of life. The ideal amount of social contact of course varies across species, and between individuals within species. But for both cats and dogs, having another member of the same species can often provide valuable companionship. Of course, nothing can replace quality time with their favorite humans.
Environmental: For pets that spend most or all of their time inside, your home is their whole world! Simple additions like cozy dens for dogs and vertical spaces or wall perches for cats can provide both entertainment and safe, secure places to rest.
Sensory: Animals experience the world with a different set of senses than humans. You can take advantage of their excellent noses with activities like hunting for treats, long walks to explore the smells of the word, or even checking out the groceries when you come back from a shopping trip. You can also help keep your pet entertained when you’re not around by stimulating their other senses, for example by playing some calm music or giving them a nice view out a window.
Click here for some enrichment ideas specifically for cats and for dogs!
KEEP IT FRESH
One of the key components for successful enrichment is novelty. While animals love routines, schedules, and predictability in a lot of things, they will easily get bored if given the same entertainment every day. But they aren’t good at generalizing, meaning that changing just one small aspect of a piece of enrichment can make it seem entirely new to your pet. Some tips for keeping enrichment fresh:
1. Put toys away when you’re done. You can leave some out if your pet engages in solo play, but keeping them out of sight will make them seem like new when you bring them out again.
2. Rotate toys and other enrichment objects. Similar to tip #1, the same thing every day is no longer as fun or challenging. So, as an example, if you give your dog a Kong today, use a snuffle mat tomorrow, and a puzzle feeder the next day. For cats, frequently changing the lures on their wand toys can keep them interested.
3. Keep teaching new tricks. If trick-training is your pet’s thing, challenge them to learn new things in addition to running through their existing repertoire.
4. Use a combination of high-value treats and regular food. If your dog gets amazing delicious chicken for everything, the chicken won’t stay exciting for long. Experiment to find the most boring option your pet will work for (kibble, for example), and use that for everyday training and enrichment. Reserve the best options for special treats and particularly important training.
SO MANY OPTIONS! HOW DO I KNOW WHAT’S BEST?
Enrichment isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of thing. Your pet’s individual personality and history will impact what kinds of enrichment will be most exciting and enjoyable for them. Animals can get frustrated with tasks they can’t complete, so start small and gradually increase the difficulty level. For example, if you want to start using puzzle feeders, first get one that doesn’t have too many manipulable parts. And be cautious of things that are too exciting if you have multiple pets that like to compete. Make sure everyone has their own enrichment and enough space to engage with it on their own. Also, keep in mind that while some animals will love anything you give them, others will be pickier or will take a few attempts to figure out how to interact with a new toy or puzzle.
And finally, enrichment doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated to be effective, so don’t worry about not being able to attach a catio to your apartment, or take your dog on marathon hikes every weekend. The best enrichment is what works for both you and your pet!
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