Sniffing, licking, and chewing are all soothing to a dog. Scatter feeding, snuffle mats, and chews are all essential in our repertoire of enrichment activities. But you know what else is extremely satisfying and regulating to dogs? Biting, tugging, kill-shaking, and dissecting.
If we want to look at the predatory sequence, we must honor the dog as an actual predator. Predators spend a lot of energy hunting, seeking, searching, and eye-stalking their prey. They then chase, catch, and kill. THEN they dissect and ingest. If you are missing any of these activities, then it's possible that your dog is not feeling fully "satisfied" by his or her enrichment time.
Of course, certain breeds are specialized to emphasize pointing, stalking, and retrieving. But we also have breeds that are specialized in chasing and bringing down large prey. This is why choosing the correct activities for biological fulfillment is essential. This is why relying on puzzle feeders and snuffle mats may not be enough for your dog to truly be “enriched.”
You will want to look at other activities such as: Tug Work, also known as Bite Work, and Drag Work, also known as Canine Resistance Training. Resistance training is a great way to condition your dog and prepare them for an actual weight pull competition, although many people do drag work with their dogs and never take them to competition.
You may also want to look into:
- Barn Hunt
- Dock Diving
- Fast CAT
- Agility
- Scent Work
- Flyball
Other activities that can help fulfill your dog’s natural drives are: swimming, digging, hide-and-seek, and strenuous hikes that include varied surfaces for them to climb over and through. Giving your dog challenges for them to solve where they can make choices for themselves, such as picking their way through a boulder field, is absolutely essential for increasing emotional capacity and confidence.
My point is: you can’t just let your dog sit on the couch all day and then give them a snuffle mat for dinner and call it good. I mean, you can, but if you see your dog for what he truly is: a predator, a hunter, and a team player, you will WANT to see him reach his full potential by giving him different challenges in varied activities.
Dogs evolved beside us as hunting partners, which you can learn more about by reading The First Domestication. Honoring their true instincts and natural drives is a great way to make sure their physical and emotional health is truly optimal. Many times, addressing their biological fulfillment resolves many behavioral issues, which are just symptoms of frustration and lack of appropriate channels for their energy.