Are you poor and love your dog more than life itself? Same. Here is a list of five free/very cheap at home enrichment games for your dog.
1. Scatter Scavenger
Supplies Needed: dry kibble
Need to amuse your pup while you get ready for work? Take the kibble you would feed them for breakfast and strategically hide it all over the house. He will have a blast and become suspiciously silent as he engages his inner tracker to hunt down his breakfast.
To teach your dog to this game, start by asking him to sit and watch. Then, being very obvious, toss some kibble into the middle of the room and say “search” or whatever word you want to use. Most dogs get it immediately and quickly begin snuffling up the kibbles and using their nose to look for more. If your dog is confused, point out the kibble and praise him obnoxiously when he finds one.
Try this a couple of times until they get it the picture. Then, put your dog in a room, close the door, and start placing the kibbles in all sorts of fun spots. Note: try not to let the kibble roll under furniture, if your dog's enthusiastic, they may knock over a chair to get to their goodie.
Searching for food is part of every animal’s instincts and is known as the seeking system. In the pet dog scenario, we rob dogs of using this crucial part of their brain by plopping their meals into a bowl every day.
Engaging the seeking system in your dog’s brain is the equivalent of doing a puzzle or reading a book. It’s a low stress opportunity for him to practice his problem-solving skills and build up his confidence.
Swap out boring meals in bowls for a much more fun game of Scatter Scavenger.
Warning: If you have multiple dogs and one or more struggles with resource guarding, do not play this game with both dogs at the same time. Separate them and have them play one at a time.
2. Treasure Chest
Supplies needed: kibble, disposable empty plastic containers.
Optional: cardboard boxes, hollow plastic easter eggs
Once your dog understands the basics of the “search” cue and has played a few rounds of Scatter Scavenger, it’s time to take on a more advanced challenge. Instead of just leaving the kibble out in the open, hide a few pieces in an old Tupperware or yogurt/cottage cheese container. Poke some holes in the top so your pup can catch the scent more easily.
You can also purchase or thrift plastic easter eggs and use those as containers.
You can even use small cardboard boxes like cereal boxes, or even an old Amazon box or mailing sleeve. Now hide these little treasure chests all over the house and watch as your little puppy pirate sniffs out his treasure.
If your dog doesn’t get it right away, lead him to a “treasure chest” and cheer him on as he opens it. Make sure he’s nice and hungry so he has some incentive to embark on this search. If kibble isn’t tempting enough, try adding a tiny morsel of hot dog to add to the scent.
To make the search even more challenging, try hiding a container inside a box, inside another box.
Pro tip: If your dog guts stuffed animals or cracks open tennis balls, use these shattered remains to house tasty snacks instead. Stash a few kibbles in these discarded toy remains and add them to the treasure hunt.
3. Blanket Burrito
Supplies needed: blankets, kibble
Warning: Don’t use easily frayed woven blankets or fabrics with lots of loose long threads. These can be ingested on accident and cause some serious injuries.
Stick with thicker fabrics that don’t easily unravel and fray like fleece, faux fur, sherpa, cotton, or jersey knit materials.
Lay the blanket/fabric out flat on the floor. Start in one corner and sprinkle a few kibbles, then roll the blanket up a few rolls. Sprinkle, roll, and repeat. For maximum enjoyment, load up multiple old blankets/sheets and make a big pile for your dog to dig through.
They will have to use their paws and nose to find the kibbles and then find a way to get them out. Dogs natural enjoy digging, so this is a great way to scratch that instinctual itch.
4. Box Shredding
Supplies needed: cardboard boxes, enthusiasm
Warning: If your dog is a garbage eater and ingests nonfood objects, skip this game. Ingesting tiny amounts of cardboard isn’t going to harm your dog, but consuming larger amounts can be harmful.
Though unpleasant to visualize, dog’s teeth were designed to rip and shred flesh from bone. Obviously, your pet dog is no longer hunting live game for survival, so this acts a safer substitute to satisfy his need for shredding.
Bonus benefit: you get help breaking down your boxes for the recycling bin.
Grab your stack of Amazon boxes, old cereal, soda, or seltzer boxes and spread them all over the floor. Call your dog over and begin enthusiastically ripping a box to shreds. At first your dog will probably be very confused, and then very excited. Encourage him to join you and praise him as he begins to tear that box into cardboard confetti.
Yes this does create a mess, but cleaning up cardboard scraps is better than cleaning up the splinters of the table leg because your pup got too bored.
Be sure to save these cardboard scraps for the following enrichment game!
Warning: Now that he recognizes boxes as an object to shred, be sure to put your packages out of reach until you're ready for your little destroyer to have at ‘em.
5. Dig Pit
Supplies needed: cardboard scraps, XL cardboard box, plastic kiddie pool or laundry basket, kibble
Find an XL cardboard box, old laundry basket or plastic kiddie pool (depending on the size of your dog) and toss a few kibbles in the bottom. Then cover the kibble with a layer of cardboard scraps from the previous enrichment game. Add another layer of kibble and then another layer of scraps. Be sure to use small to medium sizes of cardboard so they have more to dig through.
Use the “search” cue and have your pup jump in and start digging around. You can also do this with plastic bottles as well, but the noise of crunchy plastic is a bit loud, so I prefer the cardboard option.
You can also use the cardboard scraps to create a more complex terrain and play Scatter Scavenger Level 2 by hiding kibbles and goodies underneath the cardboard remnants.
You don’t need expensive treats and toys to meet your dog’s needs. Creativity and love are more than enough. If you have any creative at home games you’ve developed, please comment, and share below!
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