Enrichment - The Harmony Model

Enrich your dog’s life so she can be herself in your world, and you can enjoy it with her.

Dogs are extraordinary creatures with an exquisite set of species-specific needs, behaviors, pleasures, and hobbies. When we bring a dog into our lives, we may be surprised, delighted, or dismayed (or all of these!) by our dog’s tendencies to dig holes, to chase small animals, to find the unattended roast on the kitchen counter, or to stop every three feet to sniff a new bush. What looks to us like an inconvenience, a bad habit, or an inexplicable desire are often real needs, interests, or typically canine appropriate behaviors. Behaviors such as:

• Digging
• Chasing
• Dissecting/destroying toys or other items
• Chewing
• Foraging/scavenging/hunting
• Sniffing
• Resting 
• Playing
• and many other species appropriate behaviors 

These dog-specific behaviors will find a way to express themselves, even if we try to suppress them. And we shouldn’t! It should be in a dog’s bill of rights that he is allowed to be himself, maybe especially in these quintessentially canine ways. But that doesn’t mean you cannot have a happy dog and a vegetable garden, or a nice rug, or an unchewed shoe. What it means is that in order to live in harmony with this very special species, we as their human guardians must harness the power of enrichment. Simply put, enrichment means providing your dog opportunities to engage in activities that meet his needs, bring him joy, and help him cope with his modern life. Enrichment opportunities are for your dog what a book, movie, good laugh with a friend, or even the occasional mindless scroll through the lighter side of social media might be for you. They bring joy, fill your cup, help you cope when things are more restricted or stressful, and help you remain fulfilled. Same for your dog!

Because our modern homes and environments often don’t naturally present convenient places to express these canine needs, enrichment is an important part of living in harmony with our dogs. Enrichment, simply, is creating opportunities for your dog to express natural behavior in an appropriate way. 

Signs you need more enrichment in your life

If you find yourself struggling to get your dog to settle, rest deeply or cope with small stressors in daily life, you may be running on an enrichment deficit. The same could be true when you see those typical dog behaviors but they’re dialed up to 11: like barking excessively, bouncing off the walls, destroying your possessions, or “demanding” attention. Though these are not exclusively or always a sign of an enrichment deficit, seeing them together is a good set of indicators that the harmony you seek depends on offering more enrichment, different types of enrichment, or both. 

Types of Enrichment

Movement and exploration

Dogs of all ages and abilities need to move. But how much they need to move and in what ways will differ from individual to individual. And where and how they move will determine how enriching this exercise can be. 

Have you ever seen how your dog moves his body in an open area, without any interference from a human being? If we drew a line of his path, it wouldn’t look anything like a straight line. Most dogs move back and forth, speeding up and slowing down, moving directly toward some things and arcing toward or around others. If we drew that line of their path over, say 20 minutes, most dogs’ paths will look like a “scribble,” or a tangled ball of yarn.

Enriching exercise involves allowing your dog to move as freely as possible, in an environment with as many interesting things as possible. For some, that might mean a leash-free romp or hike. For others, a walk through a city park on a longer leash (think 3 meters or 15 feet), where you let him lead you where he’d like to go at the pace he’d like to go (if possible) might meet the same need to move freely in their environment. 

Pay attention to your dog’s pace, and be persistent. If your dog has rarely or never experienced the ability to move where she wants or when she wants out on a walk, you may find that she runs and seems never to slow down. If possible, choose a few times for that over-the-top energetic dog where you can fully satiate her desire to move: keep exploring until her pace slows to a trot or even a walk. Often once dogs like this learn that this moment of freedom will be a regular occurrence, their explorations become less frantic. 

Or alternately, the first times you try this, your dog may sit and stare at you, unsure where to go next. If your dog is comfortable in the environment but perhaps just confused by their newfound freedom (how would you know? Communication is the harmony key to telling these scenarios apart!), help her along. You might toss a few treats in some grass (bonus sniff enrichment!). Or model your interest in the environment by wandering and checking out parts of the area yourself (I know you might feel silly, but trees really are interesting, and dogs can learn from our social modeling!). Avoid staring back at your dog (which can keep some dogs gazing at you rather than interacting with their world), and show her what moving freely looks like, maybe adding some goodies to get her started.

In sum, exercise is enriching to the degree that it allows dogs to:

• Move freely
• Choose their path, speed, and places to stop
• Is offered in safe-feeling environments 
• Is the right length to meet their individual needs
• Sniff, dig, track movement (or birds, other animals, or even the blowing of leaves!) as desired

Scenting and sniffing

Perhaps one of the biggest gaps between the species endowments of dogs and humans is in our abilities to smell. For many dogs, their powerful sense of smell seems to be the primary sense with which they engage their world, much like sight for many sighted human beings. In fact, this difference may explain some of those differences in movement we mentioned above– depending on sight might lead us humans to walk steadily in straight lines toward the destination, where the twisting and turning paths of odor, which wafts on the breeze and settles in some areas more than others, might make that “scribble” movement of dogs much more sensible. Because we are so scent-blind, so to speak, we must be deliberate about offering chances for our dogs to use their noses.

We can enrich our dogs' lives through scent opportunities by:

•  Taking specific sniffing walks even around the neighborhood, stopping wherever your dog can safely sniff and allowing him to sniff as long as desired. 
• Hiding food, favored toys, or treats inside and outside the house and allowing our dogs to use their noses to locate them.
• Introducing new or interesting smells to “smell poor” environments, like private backyards. Again, scattering a few treats in different locations, bringing in natural, novel smells like leaves from a forest or park, objects with other animal’s scent signatures (like a saddle pad from a horse, or perhaps some straw from a rabbit hutch, the sky’s the limit here), are all possible ways to add scent enrichment.

Mealtime enrichment

Many of the behaviors we’ve listed above as species-specific, such as foraging, chewing, dissecting, and even moving and scenting are all part of a dog’s biology, and they are all integral to finding food. So it’s natural to think about bringing more of these behaviors into mealtime! Feeding out of a bowl is efficient, but is a missed opportunity for enrichment for many dogs. Instead, consider how you might make mealtime more interesting and species appropriate by:

• Changing the bowl. There are many commercial options: including slow bowls, lick-mats for wet foods, snuffle mats, interactive feeding toys. You can also search for DIY interactive feeding toys to see options that use items you likely already have on hand or can source easily, like tea towels, cardboard boxes, egg cartons and more. 
• Changing what’s in the bowl (or mat, or feeding toy). like us, many dogs gain joy from variety in their diets. Choosing safe and appropriate variations of flavors, textures, and foods is an easy way to up the enrichment value of a meal. This could mean adding a nutritious new food to your dog's meal, like yogurt, green beans, or pieces of chicken, blueberries, etc. If novel foods are off limits, that doesn’t mean novelty is! If your dog has allergies, you can still change it up by soaking his dry food, freezing it, occasionally using the wet food preparation (many special foods have both) to change texture and taste. Checking with your vet about any food you wish to give your dog is the first step, especially if her dietary needs or restrictions are complex.
• Using some part of a meal for training or socialization. By keeping food aside and teaching new skills, reinforcing old ones, or by including in positive proactive socialization experiences, you can meet your dog’s nutritional needs while also building harmony with other elements of the Harmony Model.
• Foraging  for food.  While we humans tend to eat in one place often sitting down and eating from a single area or plate, most dogs do not naturally consume their meals this way. Beyond changing the bowl, you can also dispense with it altogether. Scattering food on a floor, in a grassy or leafy patch, or making a trail of a few pieces that lead to the main event are all ways you can allow your dog to forage, even in the modern human world.
• Don’t forget the chews. the pet industry often frames items designed for dogs to chew as special treats or as “chew toys,” but the truth is that, for many dogs, chewing is not a nice to have extra but a necessity. Especially for young dogs and puppies, chewing is a must! Pay attention to what your dog likes to chew, what textures, edible or toy, etc. and deliberately offer her chances to do so. You can offer her specific edible chews or you can also prepare her meal in a way that involves chewing. By using a stuffable soft food toy, and either freezing it or giving it unfrozen, your dog will need to lick, chew, and work to consume her meal.

Good mealtime enrichment is an easy way to build more joy and more dog-specific behavior into your dog’s life. You’re going to feed him anyway! Consider which options are appropriate for your individual dog and, as with free movement, introduce them at a level where your dog is happy and comfortable. Many dogs who have only been fed from a bowl are initially a bit bewildered by enrichment feeding, and will need some very easy adjustments. If you are introducing foraging, for instance, you might start by scattering kibble on a flat surface, such as a cookie sheet or hardwood floor, before moving to grass. Or if you are using a DIY food puzzle, like kibble in an egg carton, you might start by leaving the egg carton open, so all your dog has to do is learn how to retrieve his meal from each divet. Once your dog is enthusiastic and successful, you can up the challenge. 

Choosing enrichment for your dog

Your dog comes with species-specific behaviors (like chewing, digging, barking). They may have some behaviors that are more common in some breed groups (like chasing moving objects, adoring, holding or collecting items with their mouths, or an even more superpowered tendency to use their nose, for example). But most importantly, your dog is an individual, with unique needs, wants, and considerations. When thinking about how enrichment might bring harmony to your life with your dog, think about what you are comfortable providing and about what your dog tends to do. A dog who spends a good deal of his efforts checking the counters for scaps is telling you he could use a little more foraging in his life. A dog who barks at every passing leaf might benefit from a sniffy walk, free movement, or both. 

Try new enrichment 3+ times before making a decision about whether your dog is truly uninterested, and change up what you provide. 

And think about each enrichment category on a weekly or monthly scale, rather than a daily one. It can feel overwhelming to come up with some new way to feed your dog, to allow him to sniff, dig or chew, or to find the time and location for free movement every day, and in most cases you don’t have to. Instead, notice how you can add these small changes a few times a week, or choose one enrichment activity a day rather than trying to hit all of them. Notice how your dog’s behavior changes as you add them. Are you seeing better rest? Better tolerance of all those little stressors of daily life? Perhaps a little less of those behaviors that were driving you a bit batty, like barking all the time? This is great information that you are on the right track, keep going! 

Enrichment for harmony

Enrichment is good for dogs, yes. But not only is this good for our dogs, it’s key to harmony for those of us who share our lives with dogs, as well. Dogs who have learned to enjoy chewing their own appropriate items aren’t motivated to choose your heirloom dresser, or the edge of your favorite rug. Dogs that have a fun, interesting place to dig are less likely to choose your recently planted garden as their digging spot. And dogs that are satisfied and allowed to be dogs are prepared to socialize and learn. And the benefit of enrichment often goes far beyond preventing unwanted expressions of those exact behaviors– it can improve the welfare and behavior of your dog generally.