Boredom Busting

Scavenging comes naturally to dogs. In fact, they would spend most of their day acting on this instinct if they didn’t have us presenting them with the same quick bowl of food every morning and night. Herein lies the problem, what is your dog to do with all this extra time on his paws?
 
All dogs should receive walks and reward-based training, both of which are effective ways to combat boredom. You can also introduce enrichment toys and activities that involve sniffing to find food, as this will not only harness your dog’s most powerful sense, but will also provide an outlet for his natural scavenging instinct, helping to occupy your faithful friend.
 
Some ideas include using part of his daily food ration to stuff Kongs and Buster cubes, or scattering dried kibble onto a clean area of grass outside for him to sniff out and eat. You could even try sprinkling some treats into a cardboard box containing large pieces of scrunched up old newspaper, so that your dog has to really rummage around to try and find his food rewards.
 
Teaching your dog to follow a scent trail is enjoyable too. To do this, place some strong smelling cheese into an old sock and allow your dog to sniff it. Next, take your dog into a different room and leave him there for a minute whilst you slowly drag the sock along the floor to a hiding place (whilst your dog is new to the game, you can also place a few treats along the scent trail to make it easier). Bring your dog back into the room containing the scent trail and encourage him to begin sniffing along it, remembering to praise him as he moves along. When he finds the sock, reward him with the cheese from inside it! Begin with short and easy trails initially, until he gets the hang of the game.
 
Activities such as these require minimal owner time and effort, but are a great way to enrich your dog’s life and reduce the potential for boredom related behaviour problems. Also, taking your dog to a well-run doggy daycare is another great way of enriching your dog’s life too. ©