Here are some ideas to keep your puppy busy while stuck during these chilly days!
An important piece to tiring out a puppy is mental stimulation. For many dogs, this comes from sniffing and exploring new places, and you can often tire your pup out faster when they engage in brain games than you could walking around your neighborhood! While new experiences are a great way to give your pup some much needed mental stimulation, this can be really tricky when we’re stuck at home due to weather, health, and/or current events.
So, how do we keep puppies entertained without leaving the house? Feeding enrichment is a great way to provide mental stimulation at home. Feeding enrichment can look like many things: filled kongs, food dispensers, or even DIY puzzles. Feeding enrichment is an excellent way to get your pup problem solving, and it can be easily tailored to any dog.
Food puzzles are a great option for puppies that like to use their nose and tongue to explore. They are generally made for kibble or small treats, and provide extra stimulation at meal or snack times. They vary in difficulty from food bowls with extra grooves to pieces that your pup must remove in order to find their snack. Start easy and have your pup work their way up to the trickier puzzles.
Food puzzles are also a good way to help your pooch slow down during meal times. Check out “DIY enrichment” on our webpage for some ideas of how to make your own food puzzles!
One example of dog-appropriate foods you can use to stuff your hollow-core toys
For higher value food enrichment that your pup can work on in their kennel , stuffed kongs (or any hollow toy meant for stuffing) are a great option for almost any dog. Kongs can be stuffed with many puppy safe foods like (xylitol free) peanut butter, fruit (no grapes), oatmeal, treats, and much more! They are typically very durable, and keep your pup busy while they try to nuzzle, dig, shake, and lick out the filling. Check out the “treats” section of our webpage for filling ideas.
Treat dispensing toys are a great option for high energy pups that like to chase and fetch. These toys can be pushed, nuzzled, shaken, and chased around to receive kibble and small treats in small amounts at a time. Toys like these are great for keeping your puppy active in a small space like a living room or X-pen, but can also be used in larger spaces.
Ozzi loves searching for snacks in his homemade snuffle mat!
Last, but certainly not least, toys like snuffle mats, and mats for licking let your pup sniff and dig for a reward. Hide treats, kibble, pet-safe popcorn, and other snacks in snuffle mats, and smear squeeze cheese, peanut butter, honey, and other pet-safe spreads on licking mats. Always make sure that human foods are pet safe before sharing with your pooch; foods such as some store bought peanut butter can be hiding dangerous additives like xylitol. If you are ever in doubt, give your vet a call first!
Feeding enrichment is also a great way to keep your pet busy and away from people food during the holidays. If you have an easily overstimulated pup, try giving them a kong or other high value treat when family members visit.
Check out the “feeding enrichment” section of our webpage to learn more about feeding enrichment and our favorite treat dispensers, puzzles, and hollow-core/fillable toys.
