It was raining cats and dogs, mum and paw were at work, I’d run out of tasty treats and the squeaker in my chew toy had stopped squeaking.

So, there I was, mooching round the house, when I noticed mum had left her computer on.

Well, being the inquisitive hound that I am, I hopped up into the chair and typed in 'BORED DOG'.

Well, after looking at a few images of dogs shredding toilet rolls and chewing shoes (which I stored up for future use), I came across something called canine enrichment.

BRAIN FOOD

BOW WOW!!! Talk about mind blown. Turns out us pooches are highly intelligent and need activities that allow us to engage in our natural behaviours such as playing, chasing, smelling, chewing and scavenging.

Here’s a few examples: 

1. Food enrichment

Dogs like to eat. (D’uh.) But we also like to play. So why not combine the two and make our  dinner time entertaining by challenging our senses at the same time.

Alternatives include slow feeder bowls or hiding food under various items and making us dogs sniff them out.

2. Rotate our toys

Just like you hoomans, we get bored if we play with the same toys over and over again.

So rather than just give us one toy to play with, rotate our toys around so we have something new and different to play with every day.

3. Teach us new tricks

We love to learn new tricks. They stimulate our mind and help us build confidence.

And there’s heaps of fun tricks you can teach us, including shake hands, play dead, roll over, spin and walk backwards.

4. Play games with us

Us canines are hardcore gamers. So why not build us an obstacle course or box fort, play hide and seek, build us a flirt pole, or hide treats around the house or garden.

5. Scent games

We are 10,000 times better at smelling things than you hoomans are. So, it makes sense if you give us activities that involve us sniffing things out.

These can include hiding food in a sand or ball pit and letting us snuffle it out. Or putting our dinner in different places and letting us track it down.  

Puzzle feeders are a great way to engage our mind while engaging our stomachs. They force us to use our minds and noses to unearth food and give us a small reward each time we do.  

If you're not sure which enrichment toys are right fur you, the Kazoo Krew are here to help. Feel free to email us with any questions or reach out on Facebook or Instagram and our furiendly team will be in touch.