I recently received a lovely message from someone named Amber, who had just finished reading Canine Enrichment for the Real World. She was particularly interested in exploring non food enrichment for dogs, and wanted to find ways to enrich her dog's life that didn't rely heavily on treats or food-based activities.
I enjoyed responding to her email so much that I realised this topic could be helpful to many dog guardians - so I thought I would share it with a wider audience through this blog post!
Why Consider Non Food Enrichment?
Food-based enrichment is fantastic and has a well-deserved place in our dogs’ lives. I use it regularly with my own dogs and in client sessions. However, many online resources focus almost entirely on food, which can sometimes create issues.
Because food is such a powerful reinforcer, a dog may engage in an activity even if they’re uncomfortable, simply because the food is there. We want enrichment to be choice-based, enjoyable, and stress-free.
Exploring non-food enrichment activities helps:
- Give your dog greater agency and control
- Reduce over-reliance on treats and food toys
- Bring variety and novelty into their environment
- Support emotional wellbeing, not just mental stimulation
and best of all, many options don’t cost anything!
Non Food Enrichment Ideas for Dogs
1. Sniffaris
Let your dog choose the route on your walk. Allow them to sniff for as long as they’d like. Sniffing is deeply calming and mentally engaging.
2. Bring the Outdoors Indoors
If your dog is on rest or limited exercise, collect natural items from your usual walk: leaves, feathers, bits of bark, grass, and safe natural scents. Spread them out for sensory exploration.
Here’s some inspiration - Honey enjoying a walk-from-home during an injury.
3. Scentwork Games
Play “Find it” games using toys, praise, touch, or play as the reward instead of food. Scentwork supports confidence, problem-solving, and independence.
4. Destruction Boxes
Use cardboard boxes filled with paper or safe scrap materials and let your dog tear, shred, and dismantle. Shredding is a natural canine behaviour and can be incredibly satisfying.
5. Explore Different Textures Underfoot
Try surfaces like artificial grass, bark, bubble wrap, soil, sand, carpet runners, blankets, or rubber mats. Dogs have incredible feet and get so nuch feedback about their environment through their paws!
6. Dig Pits
Indoors, a child’s paddling pool with blankets works brilliantly. Kingsley loves to ruck in a pile of blankets! Outdoors, create a dedicated digging zone and observe what textures your dog enjoys most.
7. Doggy Parkour
If your dog enjoys climbing or balancing, encourage exploring logs, low walls, steps, benches, or safe natural structures. Great for texture, general movement and for improving proprioception!
8. Visual Enrichment
Introduce visually interesting items like windmills, flags, mirrors, or moving mobiles to spark curiosity.
Understanding Your Dog’s Preferences
The heart of any effective enrichment activity, but particularly with non food enrichment, is observation. Notice:
- What your dog gravitates towards
- What they avoid
- How they interact - do they engage calmly, or are there signs of frustration, stress or over-arousal?
This helps tailor activities to their unique personality.
All About Enrichment Products to Support Non Food Enrichment
If you enjoy having dedicated items on hand, I offer:
Long-lasting Non-Food Chews
Briar roots and olive branches
Shredding Toys
Cage shredding balls, fleece balls, and wool balls (the wool balls have been especially popular!)
If you already own snuffle mats or puzzle toys, try swapping food for:
- Toys
- Dog-safe scents such as essential oils (on cotton pads inside a hiding pouch)
- Sheep’s wool for shredding, or other interesting smells like cat hair, leaves, pinecones etc
I hope this guide has inspired some new ideas for enriching your dog’s life beyond food. Feel free to reach out through my website or send a DM if you’d like help finding activities tailored to your individual dog.
And thank you again to Amber for sparking this conversation!