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Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 28 Apr 2020, 03:09
by mkazin
Even though my boyfriend and I are both home now and walking her even more, our 1.5 EPI girl seems antsy and bored (maybe I’m projecting...)
All the toys I see online to keep them busy and interested are food motivated. We did soak some treats in enzymes but it’s really messy and the treats are really soggy/ I know it’s best to try to avoid treats at all for a while.
Any ideas for non-treat based toys or activities? She loves her bones, so maybe something chewy that keeps their attention could be good.

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 28 Apr 2020, 19:19
by Olesia711
Interactive game playing seems to be better than toys for many dogs.

What i did and do now with my 1 remaining dog is i hide a toy, ask them to find it and then reward them with a tuggy (all my dogs seemed to love playing with them ......pulling on a tuggy on one end with me on the other end ) I used "tugging" with my dog on a dog as a reward.

The great thing about this is that it is a bonding building exercise "with" your dog.
It only take a few minutes and they REALLY seem to like it
ANd it involves NO food...NO enzymes!!! :)

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 28 Apr 2020, 20:55
by mkazin
Fun idea!! Thank you!!

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 29 Apr 2020, 22:38
by Olesia711
You are very welcome! anything "interactive" with their human seems to usually be a good alternative.

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 30 Apr 2020, 05:42
by Jean
a kong squeaky tennis type ball worked for us, its what the services use for their dogs

depending on the size of your dog they do I think, have different sizes

the other thing that worked was pan fried lambs liver and garlic, keep the liver whole till cold chop up and add enzymes, or add before you chop up into dog sized bites, Kara would kill for them, and my cat Titch, sadly neither of them are with me now

Jean

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 30 Apr 2020, 08:56
by Olesia711
that is a good idea for food....... however, here in the USA, you don't really see lamb liver in the store.... there is chicken liver, but that might be too soft.... BUT.... there is always lots of beef liver which when baked is much more firm then chicken liver.
i bet beef liver would work as well as the lamb liver. Funny how different foods are or are not readily available in different countries.

Great idea, thanks Jean.

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 30 Apr 2020, 10:37
by Jean
Hi O I had no idea about that, I imagine any liver would do, for some reason they adore it, all of my dogs included

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 30 Apr 2020, 19:52
by mkazin
Oh yes we gave her liver once before her diagnosis, and she was obsessed. Great idea- it seems like it would mask the taste of the pancreatin really well :)

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 30 Apr 2020, 20:04
by Madelon
There is a great FaceBook group called Canine Enrichment that has LOTS of great ideas and plenty that don't include food. Even taking her on a walk and letting her go/sniff at her own direction instead of where you want her to go is good enrichment. We play hide and seek in the house but we are fortunate as our boy thinks flies/birds/bees (the spicy flies) are the best things on earth and entertains himself stalking them, chasing them and trying to get them LOL.

Re: Ideas for enrichment toys?

Posted: 01 May 2020, 15:26
by Barb
We played "Hide It" with Kolby for years. I actually started it when he was a puppy to burn up some of his energy. We started with just putting the ball under a chair right beside him so he could see it, but I would make him sit before he could go get it. Then I would move it farther and farther away, but still in the room. Each time he would find it and bring it to me, he would get play time with it. Finally, I would hide it in another room and he would really have to go look for it, find it and bring it back.

All this thinking and waiting and then playing used up a lot of energy, physical and mental.

We taught the grandkids to hide it, which made them feel very powerful ....and which made him love the grandkids even more. Every time they came to visit, he would take the ball to them.We had to make sure he didn't get too pushy. LOL

Barb