An important element to keep your pet happy and healthy is to provide regular enrichment while keeping their environment safe.
In addition to regular exercise, there are many ways that you can provide your pet with a mental workout from your home.
For dogs:
- Use a treat mat or a stuff a puzzle toy (like a Kong) with yummy food like peanut butter.
- Being natural sniffers, dogs will take a liking to anything that involves hunting and searching. Hide their favourite snacks around the house and let them find their way around the nooks and crannies – kind of a scavenger hunt but for dogs. You can also play hide and seek and see how long it takes your pooch to find you—a great time pass for both.
- Engage your dog in short, empowering, training exercises such as targeting your hand or a particular object, or learning “sit”, “down” and “come. If your pup already knows the basics, look for trick training books or videos to learn more advanced skills like “spin” or “roll over.”
For cats:
- Cats generally enjoy sparkly shiny toys and something to chase around. You can spark interest in your kitty with a simple flashlight or a laser pointer – an endless source of fun for curious cats or simply roll up a piece of paper or leave out a cardboard box or bag to play in!
- Freeze some treats into cubes and let your cat try to reach it. It will occupy at least 15 minutes of their time to focus and play. Once the ice melts, she’ll get a delicious reward for hard work.
- Train your cat to learn useful behaviours and fun tricks like “sit”, “come”, hand target, “shake” and fetch.
Hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, and similar small pets also need quality cardio, so make sure to keep them appropriately entertained. You can make a DIY obstacle course out of toilet paper rolls, cardboard boxes, toothpicks, or other safe home supplies.
These enrichment ideas are great ways to keep your furry friends happy, healthy and on best buddy behaviour.
