"Rule no:1, it has to be fun!"

Hey guys, Wenzdi here from Yes Boy! with another blog.

This time, I wanted to discuss one of the most important parts of dog ownership with you. Enrichment.

So what is enrichment?

The dictionary states enrichment is the act or process of improving the quality or power of something by adding something else.

So, what does that mean for our dogs?

It's become so normal for dogs to just exist within our lives and for centuries that is what has been expected. Over the last couple of decades, the variety of toys for dogs has vastly improved and dogs are quickly becoming more valuable to us. But enrichment doesn't just come in the form of toys. Enrichment for our dogs and enrichment ideas lives must be relatable to the dog.

So what I mean by this is that throwing a dog an Xbox might be awesome for your child, but for our dog, it's not appropriate. To enrich our dog's life it must be something they want to do - chewing, digging, sniffing and chasing for example, and it's providing an outlet for those behaviours that are important.

So let's outline a few natural behaviours, and ideas of enrichment concerning this! Digging Rather than digging in the flower beds, we could use a sandpit with all your dog's favourite toys buried within the sand to encourage them to dig there! Your dog gets to perform natural behaviour and you save your petunias - win, win! Sniffing Playing a find-it and enrichment ideas game in the house to encourage your dog to sniff out delicious treats allows your dog to use their natural foraging skills. Remember to help your dog find the treats until they get really good at this game! You'll be surprised at how efficient that nose really is!

Chewing Long lasting natural treats are a godsend to encourage this behaviour on the right things. Something stinky is sure to keep your dog occupied for an hour or so. My favourites are pizzle sticks (let's not talk about it), deer legs and yak bars. For those dogs that are set on chewing your table leg, a wooden chew might be a good alternative. Coffee, olive and root chews are fantastic! Eating We've all seen the classic Kong, but did you know there are many more alternatives from which to feed your dog from?

West Paw, LickiMat, Outward Hound and Soda Pup are all brands that offer unique feeding toys for dogs. I never feed my dogs from a bowl - a puzzle Feeder makes meals last longer, provides natural enrichment and lessens the risk of conditions like bloat! Chasing There's more than a ball and flinger on the market to encourage a natural prey-drive behaviour from your dog. Tug-e-nuff do a range of tuggies with ends of different shapes, textures and materials so you would be sure to find one your dog loves.

I use one of their pocket tuggies as a reward for a toy-motivated dog of mine! Flirt poles are also a fantastic tool to expel excess energy and giddiness from your dog, and can also help stem unwanted chase behaviours.

So, effectively what we want to do here is encourage our dog to perform those behaviours in a controlled and safe environment, rather than, say, chasing the cat or chewing on the skirting board. Enrichment allows us to provide those opportunities before your dog discovers a way to perform them themselves. Providing enrichment to encourage natural behaviour does not make the dog more likely to perform unwanted behaviour, but rather controls the latter so it isn't an unwanted behaviour, so to speak!

For more enrichment ideas, pop in store to view I Want Pet Food's array of toys, chews and feeders. For training help and advice, as always, visit Yes Boy! on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/yesboytreatsandtraining or email us at info@yesboytreatsandtraining.co.uk "Play is our brain's favourite way of learning.” -Diane Ackerman

Yes Boy Treats & Training