Looking for ideas on how to infuse your dog’s feeding times with fun?
Then you’re in the right place! This 5 minute blog shares some of our favourite meal time enrichment ideas
When it comes to ditching the dry, joining the Rawbellion and feeding a fresh, raw dog food diet the jury is no longer out. Nutritional science evidences that switching to this natural approach is one of THE best choices you can make to support the health of your doggo.
Yet, aside from ‘WHAT’ you feed, ways to enrich your canine pal can be found in the ‘HOW’ too.
Dogs are all about fun !
In your dog’s world play and food are of the highest priority (you are important, but sorry to tell you food and play is irresistable), so when you combine the two together you have the ultimate dog party.
Tactics designed to get your dog using his brain and to work for his food based rewards, will keep him busy, tire him out and make the act of eating far more pleasurable.
As such, Natural healthy treats can be utilised as a tool to enhance mental and emotional health too.
Here are our four favourite food enrichment activities
Licki Mats
An ingenious invention!
Lickimats are designed by vets to deliver a whole new feeding experience for your dog. The raised surface encourages licking behavior, gently stimulating the tongue, releasing endorphins and providing a host of well-being benefits. The perfect way to entertain dogs home alone, calm canines in distress, encourage supplement consumption and foster mealtime enjoyment.
Slow Feeder or Puzzle Feeder Bowls
If you have a four-legged eager eater this is a great option health wise. Dog’s that gulp down their food often ingest air (aerophagia) as well as food which can cause it to swell up and bloat. If that dog then runs around or plays, they are at greater risk of the stomach flipping over to cause a GDV (gastric dilatation and volvulus).
A slow feeder does what it says on the label: Slows up the ingestion of food so the dog swallows less air.
For any dog a puzzle feeder will turn meal time into a problem-solving game that taps into a dog’s natural behaviours. In the wild, for a dog to eat they needed to put in the work, so puzzle feeders are a great way to not only slow down eating, prevent overeating but also to encourage mental simulation; in turn reducing boredom.
Fishing for Sprats
This one is for all those water loving dogs. The perfect treat time fun game, simply throw a handful of sprats into a paddling pool and watch the delight and dedication your dog displays whilst focusing on the mission in the moment; to get the sprats from the water into the belly.
Treat Hide and Seek
For a dog this is the ultimate game. Using their most powerful sense, to sniff out and find high reward treats. Combining reward and play is super enriching to a dog. Seeking out food, as mentioned above, is a practice innate to dogs and by encouraging them to work for their food you are delivering nourishment to mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
Guaranteed to get tails wagging and chops drooling. We love our training treats for this one; nutritious, healthy and high reward to our doggos.
Author- The ProDog Team
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