If you’ve been told “just use a Kong” for dog enrichment but your pup isn’t food motivated, has dietary restrictions, or gets too excited around treats, you’re not alone. And you’re definitely not out of options!
I have Labradors, and they’ll do anything for food. But over the years, a lot of people ask me about non-food dog enrichment. Kongs and Toppls get so much attention, but there are tons of ways to enrich the lives of all dogs without using food or treats.
Just last year, my dog Lucy was battling cancer and had to be on a special fresh cooked diet. Suddenly, all those snuffle mats and busy boxes were off the table. I got creative with scent games and simple passive enrichment activities.
Honestly, all dogs should have access to enrichment that doesn’t involve food. There’s a whole world out there. So let’s dig into the ideas in this blog post.
Why Your Dog Needs Non-Food Enrichment
As a Certified Canine Enrichment Technician, I work with many dogs who need non-food enrichment for various reasons. Some of your reasons could be…
Medical and Dietary Restrictions:
- Food allergies or elimination diets
- Prescription diets that don’t allow treats
- Weight management
- Dogs who aren’t food motivated
Behavioral Challenges:
- Dogs who get overstimulated by food
- Multi-dog households where food creates tension
- Resource guarding
–> I was recently dog sitting for a pup who was resource guarding around my dog Burt. So I used safe non-food activities like playing classical music for them.
Practical Reasons:
- Diversifying enrichment beyond food-based activities
- Situations where food isn’t convenient (travel, too much mess, etc.)
- Safety concerns with food-stuffed toys for aggressive chewers
Remember, enrichment should always be fun, never frustrating. By definition, enrichment needs to add something positive to your dog’s day. And there are a TON of ways to do that without using food or treats.
The Science Behind Non-Food Enrichment
Neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp discovered that animals have emotional systems for SEEKING (we might describe that as enthusiasm) and PLAY (which we can describe as joy).
As he explained in this TED Talk, when animals are seeking, “the feeling is not pleasure. The feeling is enthusiasm.” This seeking system is activated by searching and exploring, not just getting the food.
Dogs feel more joyful when they’re allowed to explore, sniff, solve puzzles, or just play. Environmental enrichment engages natural behaviors like investigating and problem-solving.
Some dogs actually prefer non-food rewards like toys or attention.
Want even more unique enrichment ideas? Download my free Easy Dog Enrichment ebook with activities you can start today!
Passive Dog Enrichment Activities
Passive enrichment helps your dog decompress and learn to relax. Even high-energy dogs need to know how to embrace boredom!
Do A Little Porch Sitting
Encourage your dog to sit WITH you on the front stoop, porch, or park bench. This is “sit and watch the world go by.”
I have a YouTube playlist of sit and watch the world go by with my dog Lucy. As food-based enrichment because less convenient for her, we really enjoyed passive enrichment like this.
Watch this video to learn about some of the benefits and check out the playlist to watch alongside your pup.
Watch DogTV
There’s a DogTV app for your smart TV with science-backed programming designed for dogs’ senses. Turn on DogTV for your pup while you’re home doing things or leave it on when you go out.
Even if it doesn’t seem like your dog is “watching” TV, having this programming on will add variety to their day and is a grat form of enrichment.
Make Environmental Changes
You don’t have to go on a trip to give your dog a different view on the world. You can add a little variety to their life by switching up their surroundings!
This is as simple as rearranging furniture, positioning their bed with a different view, or adding art and mirrors at their sight level.
Play Classical Music
Studies show that classical music is calming for dogs. A 2018 study found it can slow heart rate and breathing while decreasing emotional distress. Classical music is also proven to lower cortisol levels and help lower anxiety.
If you’re not a classical fan, reggae is the second most calming music genre! So pull up a playlist and play some music to enrich your dog’s day.
Explore Desensitization Sounds
You can find playlists on Spotify or YouTube with household or environmental sounds. These can be enriching for your dog because they add novelty to their day and introduce them to things they might not hear otherwise.
For example, your country dog might find city traffic sounds interesting. Or your city dog might enjoy hearing some farm noises. Always start with low volume and gradually increase over a week.
Active Dog Enrichment Activities
Active enrichment is probably more of what you were imagining when you clicked on this blog post. I hear ya! So, let’s start with physical enrichment. That’s all about getting your dog’s body moving in different ways. And, you guessed it… adding variety to their day!
Physical Enrichment for Dogs
Make a Surface Circus
Bring out your inner kid and play Floor is Lava with your dog! Gather household items like pillows, blankets, toys, or even pool noodles. Set up a course where your dog walks on various surfaces.
The pillows challenge their balance. Stepping over a pool noodle changes their paw awareness.
Take Terrain Walks
You can work this enrichment into your dog walks by seeking out different surfaces to walk on. Your dog feels the world through their paws. So switching from concrete to grass to gravel to mulch to brick… It’s all interesting and builds confidence!
Obstacle Course
Similar to surface circus but with jumps and tunnels. Find inexpensive agility kits online… I love this one that has a bunch of cones and hurdles that you can set up in different ways. Or, you can always use household items like broomsticks balanced on pillows.
My dog Burt was resistant to tunnels when we started Barn Hunt (a scent-based dog sport). He wouldn’t do the tunnel, and you need it to get full points! So I made a pillow fort tunnel at home. Once he mastered that, we moved to an agility tunnel. Now he zooms through and loves it!
Here’s a good tunnel, you want one like this with weights to make it safe for your dog.
Doing a tunnel is great physical enrichment that will build your dog’s confidence and the bond you share. Reward them with praise, a favorite toy or some physical affection when they go through.
Digging Pit
If your dog is a digger, why not set up a designated digging area? I recommend a sand pit because it’s less messy than dirt!
Hide scent containers in the sand for them to find and dig up. Berry containers work great. Never use glass containers for scent work with your dog because the glass could break and they could get hurt.
Olfactory Enrichment Activities (a fancy term for sniffing!)
Scent work encourages deep breathing. Sniffing is an instinctual behavior that comes naturally to dogs. It can help them feel calm and relaxed.
Testing Scents Your Dog Likes
Save berry containers or use plastic containers and punch holes in the lids. This is the perfect scent container to let your dog sniff tea bags and fresh herbs safely.
For scent work games, birch is a common scent that is used. I also like lavender… either a few fresh sprigs or a single drop of essential oil. In a pinch, chamomile tea bags are readily available and a fun thing to let your dog sniff.
Here’s a video of me and my dog Burt demonstrating how to do this activity.
Find the Scent Games
Once your dog knows some scents, you can play search games around the house. Start easy with their favorite scent in an obvious spot, then gradually make it more challenging.
Hide and Scent is a great kit that comes with instructions on various games you can play.
Cognitive Enrichment for Dogs
These activities work your dog’s brain like Wordle for dogs! Exercising your dog’s brain is so important to help them age gracefully. You can make it less likely for them to develop doggy dementia and other age-related issues.
Hand Targeting
This is a game that’s included in my Mental Enrichment Activity Pack! It’s a simple game that teaches your dog to touch their snout to your palm. Start easy, then make it challenging by standing across the room or putting your hand behind your back.
The “Which Hand” Game
You would usually play this game with treats, but for my non-food doggies you can use a scent or small toy instead. Be mindful that the scent will get on your hand, so you can only play this and switch hands a few times!
Go To Your Place (and hang out there!)
“Place” teaches patience and how to be bored. It’s important for all dogs to know how to be bored. Especially high-energy dogs who love to run and fetch… don’t overlook working on “place.”
Once your dog knows “place,” you can make it a game by asking them to go to their place from different distances and positions. Slowly build up how long they can stay in their place to teach your dog patience and impulse control.
Trick Training
Dogs don’t speak English, so teaching word-behavior connections is a great brain workout! Try shake, wave, spin, crawl, roll over, and back up. Five to ten minutes of trick training a day is all you need. I like to do a little trick practice whenever I need a break from work throughout the day (I work from home!).
And one last thing to mention… Many dog sports don’t involve food! In fact, it would go against the rules to bring treats in the ring for most sports. My dog Lucy loved dock diving, and we went to agility classes. While Burt does Barn Hunt, which is all scent-based.
Want step-by-step tutorials for mental enrichment games? I created an Activity Pack with 10 unique, research-backed enrichment activities. This bite-sized online course shows Lucy and me demonstrating all activities on video. You can get it for $19 here.
Making Non-Food Enrichment Rewarding
Instead of marking behaviors from your dog with a treat, you can use a clicker. This is actually a better way to mark behaviors you want to encourage because it’s super accurate!
Your dog will quickly learn that click means “YES! I did that right!” Grab an inexpensive clicker tool and keep it in your pocket or dog walking pouch so you can train on the go.
Instead of treats, you can also use:
- Toys as rewards
- Physical affection (my dog Burt loves attention and will do tricks for some loving!)
- Verbal praise like “yes!” “good boy”, etc.
Why All Dogs Need Non-Food Enrichment
No matter your reason for seeking non-food enrichment, all dogs should have these opportunities.
Food-based activities can add up to too many calories and lead to overweight dogs. And that can lead to all kinds of helth problems!
These non-food games provide mental stimulation to keep your dog’s brain sharp. And that’s the key to aging gracefully. Plus, physical enrichment keeps your dog active with strong joints and engaged muscles.
My Enrichment Activity Pack isn’t all non-food based, but you can adjust any activity to work for your dog. The best part? You don’t need to buy anything new. All of my tutorials in there are about using what you already have.
Enrichment is about bonding with your dog and letting them do more of what they love! I encourage you to play all these games WITH your dog and see what they respond to.
You’ll be so happy you did when you have all kinds of fun, new memories together!
More Enrichment Posts You Might Like:
Indoor Enrichment to Entertain Your Dog at Home
The 7 Categories of Enrichment for Dogs
Enriching Herbs to Add to Your Dog’s Meals
Calming Enrichment to Relax High Energy Dogs
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