What is meant by environmental enrichment?
Environmental enrichment is the process of changing or adjusting how a pet lives to increase physical activity and typical behaviors. Adjusting a pet’s home setting with food, positive training, novel objects, or sensory enrichment can reduce a pet’s stress, help them to stay mentally engaged, and improve the quality of their daily life.
Dogs and cats require dedicated time for mental stimulation to fulfill natural behaviors like foraging or hunting for food, play, sniffing, scratching, and territory marking. Enrichment can help provide this stimulation.
There are three general ways to use food for enrichment: offering opportunities to forage or hunt; offering new types of food, such as something of a different texture; or providing novel ways to feed, such as with food puzzles or during training.
What pets benefit from environmental enrichment?
Any pet can benefit from environmental enrichment, but it can be particularly helpful for:
- Pets that are overweight or are inactive
- Pets that eat food too quickly
- Pets displaying behavioral problems
- Any healthy pet that spends at least 50% of each day inside
- Pets in obedience training
- Pets training for outdoor activities such as agility competitions, long-distance hiking, or search and rescue work
Why use a food puzzle instead of a food bowl?
Published studies over the past 15 years have demonstrated positive benefits for dogs and cats that use food toys or puzzles (novel feeding methods). For example, dogs living in kennels and fed with food toys were found to bark less and were more active than dogs who did not get the toys. Another study found that dogs preferred to work for food or other rewards rather than receive them for free.
For inactive or overweight dogs and cats, novel feeding is an inexpensive way to keep them working for food. You can toss some or all your pet’s daily food allotment across the room, the house, the yard, or even a staircase, to force them to increase the number of steps they take each day. There are many anecdotal reports of pet owners getting their overweight dog or cat to lose weight simply by tossing part of their daily food instead of placing it in a food bowl.
Animal behavior consultants have found that foraging toys and food puzzles also help decrease boredom and reduce aggressive behaviors in cats. There are many online sources for do-it-yourself food puzzles, but consult your veterinarian before making them to ensure they are safe.
How can I improve my pet’s environment using food or treats?
You can use food to improve your pet’s environment in many ways. Here are a few ideas:
- Replace the pet’s food bowl with an ice cube tray or muffin tin to deliver kibble or canned food for one or more meals each day (or even just a few times per week). The pet must remove food from each compartment, so it extends the total time they need to eat their food.
- Lay out a towel and sprinkle your pet’s dry kibble evenly across it. Then roll the towel up and give it to your pet to slowly unravel and reveal the kibbles. To increase the level of difficulty, you can tie the towel in a knot. Be sure your pet only does this under supervision.
- Give your pet a food puzzle – either homemade or bought. Food puzzles slow the rate of eating, while also keeping the pet mentally stimulated. Food puzzles can be designed for both dry food and canned food. Some puzzles are simple enough for a dog or cat to quickly figure out, while other puzzles are more complicated and require you to show your pet how to get the food.
What is the best food to use for environmental enrichment?
Discuss enrichment ideas with your veterinarian, and they can advise you on the best foods to use.
- For dogs or cats who are highly food motivated, you can use some of the pet’s regular food. If you feed dry kibble, use part of your pet’s daily allotment in a food puzzle or as a training treat. If you use a loaf-style canned food, make small meatballs to use as training treats.
- Low-calorie commercial pet treats can be convenient and sometimes low cost. Investigate commercial options for dog or cat treats at your local pet food store and look for those that contain fewer than 5 calories per piece.
- Dilute any of your pet’s favorite flavors (e.g., peanut butter, chicken broth, juice from a can of tuna) with a small amount of water and pour into an ice cube tray to make flavored ice cubes.
- Try gently warming a tasty liquid and pouring it over dry kibble or mixing it in with canned food to make a “gravy”.
Which food items should I avoid?
Avoid feeding your pets alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, fatty foods, grapes, raisins, marijuana, onions, tobacco products, and xylitol sweetener, which is found in many human products. Find more information about toxic foods on the ASPCA website.
