If you’ve been around for long enough, you’ll already know that enrichment is about outcomes. And if you don’t already know that, hi, welcome! When we observe the outcomes of an activity, we’re watching for what our pets do after it’s over. You may have also met Petey the Wondermutt on the blog or podcast. 

This practice has gained me a useful set of skills. Based on my observations of Petey’s behavior, I can pretty accurately reverse-engineer what he needs and pull out an activity from our enrichment menu. On my menu are go-to activities that I can easily slide in throughout the week and don’t require a lot of planning, which I work around the adventures that do require a plan.

I try to block out time in my calendar for longer Petey activities like walks, as I generally need to get him dressed, put him in the car, drive to the walk spot, pack up and drive home, and then get us both cleaned up. One recent outing to Fido’s Forest (a fenced, private dog park) required three rounds of soaking and washing to get all the mud out of Petey’s paws–which obviously means he had a great time, but extended my clean up time on the other side of this adventure.

Here are most of the variables that go into planning enrichment for the week (in no particular order):

• Weather – Obviously treacherous weather prevents us from our preferred outdoor activities sometimes. 
• The humans’ schedules – This is a big consideration when I’m blocking time. 
• The humans’ bandwidth – Some things are more draining than others, you know? I’m also going to lump budget into bandwidth because it’s not always financially prudent to pay for an outing (like a Sniffspot).
• Petey’s needs – Based on what I’ve observed and what he got to do the previous week.
• The humans’ needs – Our needs to get outside and touch grass don’t always line up…especially because Big Man works outside all day anyway. Sometimes what the humans need is rest.
• Clean-up time – Is this a quick foot wash situation or does he need a full bath? Sometimes the humans also require clean-up!

But not everyone involved in Petey’s enrichment plan takes this same path up the mountain.

 

Variations on a Theme: A Daily Enrichment Plan for the Non-Planner

Unlike me, Big Man is not much of a planner–he’s not going to look at the calendar and the weather and pencil in some adventures a week out the way I like to. So he’s got a different approach to providing Pete with activities if they are home alone together. In a very Big Man move, he shrugged and said, “I don’t put that much thought into it,” when I asked him how he decides what Petey needs. 

Except when he told me what he does, it obviously required data collection and trial and eval, even if that’s not how Big Man saw it. He’s a biologist, by the way–he’s got observational skillz built into his brain. He gave me some examples, and what I heard was how observing Petey’s body language and the outcome of an activity guides Big Man and helps him meet Petey’s needs. This is exactly what I meant when I say I can see what Petey is doing and reverse engineer what he needs.  

Here are some examples:

• If Petey comes into the basement when Big Man is gaming and starts barking at him, he will take him up to the main floor to get a toy so they can play with it together. 
  • He has observed that when Petey barks at him and he goes to get a toy for play, Petey settles and rests after they are done.
• If Petey starts sniffing around the room they are in together, Big Man hides some snacks for him to find.
  • He has observed Petey sniffing around areas where he had previously scattered or hid food for leftover snacks. When he gave him a “find it”-type project, Petey settles and rests after he’s done. 
• If Petey comes into the basement while Big Man is gaming and begins climbing up into his lap (which is not a good place for him to be given his sensitivities to touch and movement), Big Man will either get up and take him outside to hang out in the back yard together, or go up to the couch and lie down where Petey can assume the safe position of laying between Big Man’s legs. 
  • He has observed that when Petey climbs up and tries to get close to him, if he spent some time together in social connection either in the back yard or on the couch, Petey was able to either explore the yard and settle (and did not continue to scale furniture and Big Man’s body), or would rest and sleep. 

 

Enrichment for the Real Pete

So what’s a typical day look like for our spicy boy? Living in the midwest, the seasons factor heavily into our plans. I try to make some kind of outdoor outing or adventure happen 2-3 times a week. When the weather is bad and the sun isn’t out for as long, it may only be once a week. If my mental, physical, emotional, temporal, or financial bandwidth (or any combination thereof) is very low on top of the other variables I mentioned, there may not be an adventure that week, and I rely on the strategies I discussed in the blog Indoor Adventure Time. 

Since I work remotely full time, I am generally home throughout the day to respond to Petey’s requests for attention and activities. They are similar to what Big Man has observed when he is home with Petey, but it is worth noting that Petey does not solicit play from me very often, which is a great example of how every member of a household has a different relationship with their pets. This is especially heartening to me because Petey has a long history of conflicted and aggressive behavior toward Big Man, which factors heavily into our use of management throughout the house. 

The following example is what Petey’s enrichment looked like throughout the day when we were able to get out and about. I’m going to point out the corresponding categories of enrichment for this first example so you can see how they fit into an enrichment plan. This is an adventure day we had recently because the weather was perfect, and it was a Saturday so I wasn’t working. Here’s what his enrichment for the day looked like:

• Nap upstairs while I got groceries (independence, safety, security, calming)
• Sniff groceries (sensory stimulation, species-typical behavior)
• Car ride sniffs out the window (sensory stimulation)
• Long walk in the woods on a nature preserve on 20’ longline (physical exercise, sensory stimulation, species-typical behavior, environment, social interaction)
• Digging in the woods on walk (physical exercise, species typical behavior)
• Chasing THE HOSE! (physical exercise)
• Bath (hygiene)
• Car ride home w/ nap and music (sensory stimulation, calming)
• Shared chinese takeout w/ me while I watched TV (social interaction, species typical behavior)
• Dinner in a takeout container (nutrition, foraging)
• Snuggs on couch w/ me (social interaction, calming)

After a big adventure like this, the following day is a rest day. Here’s what it looks like:

• Naps upstairs in several spots while I worked downstairs (independence, calming, safety, security)
• Long term calming project (LTCP): Pupsicle w/ frozen goat milk (species typical behavior, calming, mental stimulation)
• Nap w/ me (calming, social interaction)
• Freework dinner (foraging, species typical behavior, mental stimulation, nutrition)

As far as outcomes from activities, the adventure day example has a great mix of activities that are up-regulating/arousing (digging, chasing the hose, sensory input of the woods and woodland creatures), and down-regulating/de-escalating (sniffing, snacks, time with me). Combined with being physically tired from walking and exploring different terrain, running, and digging, prioritizing rest the next day was important. 

Here’s a typical day when we are not going on an adventure and I have stuff to do:

• AM nosework session around house
• Nap with window open while I worked on a blog
• Fresh mozzerella stuffed in a toy while I did the dishes
• Upstairs nap time while I cleaned and waited for Big Man to come home 
• Nap w/ Big Man upstairs
• Shreddy dinner in trash tent (a small pop-up x-pen tent that contains the shredding mess)
• Snuffle in toy bin for rogue treats
• Rest in crate while people watch TV and occasionally toss a Cheez-It over the gate

This example was from a week where spring storms were rolling in and out, I had plans to drive to Ohio to see my parents, and I had house stuff  to do. I needed an indoor activity that I knew would tax Petey mentally and get him moving around a bit as well. Shout out to nosework! We are still working up to tracking odors, so we do short rounds with food hidden at different levels (floor, low shelves, table, up on couch, window sills, etc.) and with lots of structures to move around (up and down stairs, around pillows and blankets, on and off furniture, etc.). He goes into his crate while I set up, I release him and cue “search,” and once he’s found all of the hidden snacks (it was mozzarella pearls this time), I cue him back to his crate and start again. He usually takes a long nap after a 30-45 minute nosework session. 

 

Enrichment for the Latchkey Pete

I didn’t always work at home, so I wanted to provide an example from back when I was out of the house 9-10 hours a day. Here again you’ll see a day off where I was able to prioritize an outing, plus a rest day for Petey when I was working.

Wednesday (day off):

• AM snuggs on the couch w/ me
• AM back yard time
• Breakfast in a cereal bowl I had just eaten out of
• Cemetery walk on 20’ longline
• Back yard hose chase
• Nap time upstairs (gate up in hall, access to two rooms)
• Rest/lounging downstairs
• Shared lunch w/ me
• Nap on couch w/ me
• Afternoon chew (trachea)
• Sniffing the rain and observing out upstairs window
• Upstairs nap
• Dinner in a leftovers container
• Toy play w/ me
• Sniffed lavender bath bomb and hung out in bathroom while I was in the bath

Thursday:

• AM snuggs on couch w/ me
• AM back yard time
• Breakfast on plate I just ate off of
• Home alone naps
• Lunch w/ me
• Home alone naps
• Dinner destructible in the back yard
• Long term calming project: Frozen cheese stick in a WestPaw Qwizl

 

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together

Petey’s enrichment chart is overly complicated because of who I am as a person, but I wanted to share an excerpt so you can see how it compares to the days that I have shared above. Many of the categories of enrichment (including independence, instinctual behaviors, mental exercise, physical exercise, and sensory stimulation) have options that are fairly easy for us to access. For example, a trip to the private dog park checks a lot of boxes for us because he gets to be off leash and romp in the woods. It does, however, cost money, require a reservation, a trip across town, and usually clean-up time. But it tends to be doable most weeks. 

I use Google Sheets to keep track of Petey’s enrichment plan. I have broken my plan out into specific activities that fit the categories of enrichment because that’s how my brain works.

Pet Enrichment Plan Overview

Category	Activity	Need met?	Agency?	Plan
Independence	“Office Hours” behind gate upstairs without humans	Somewhat. Encourage more office hours w/ LTCP	As much as possible – multiple areas for rest and activities.	Start to do more office hours this year now that Tiffany works from home full time.
Instinctual Behaviors	Chasing, digging, exploring, chewing, barking, etc.	Yes. Regular decompression walks and time at Fido’s Forest.	As much as possible.	Increase decompression walks with improving weather. Improvements to sensory garden.
Mental Exercise	Nosework	Yes, he seems to enjoy it, and he usually settles well after a session.	Yes, he can opt out and also ask for help.	Working toward tracking scent vs. snacks, but really enjoys tracking the snacks.
Physical Exercise	Play (toys, hose, etc.)	Mostly — often depends on weather. Can solicit play with humans. Free movement during off-leash time at Fido’s. Hose time when possible for joyful romping.	Yes. Can solicit play with humans. Free movement during off-leash time at Fido’s.
Sensory Stimulation	Quiet sniff/observation time	Mostly? Sensory garden/yard time.	Yes, can retreat inside or ask to stay outside.	Revamping sensory garden for the warmer months.

I talked a little bit about planning and blocking time, but I also wanted to share what this looks like. There are only three activities on the schedule that involve Petey: Tuesday 4/22 @ 7 pm we have a spot booked at the private dog park (Fido’s Forest), on Wednesday 4/23, I have a block of time to work on the sensory garden, so Petey will chill outside with me while I work hard and he lounges on the picnic table and sniffs the wind or checks out the new configuration of tires, blocks, and hay bales I make for him. On Thursday 4/24 I have time blocked to drive us out to a nature preserve that I know fills up with wildflowers in the spring, meeting some needs for both of us!

Because Enrichment Shouldn’t Be Another Full-Time Job

Remember, enrichment is also for humans! Time blocking and sliding in activities from our enrichment menu help me alleviate the daily pressure of making sure Petey’s physical, mental, and behavioral needs are met. And that gives me time to enjoy my scruffy bestie and meet my own human needs.

The truth about enrichment for dogs with behavior issues is that fancy puzzles and frozen meals that look like works of art are not remotely part of the plan. When the minimum time needed to pack Petey up and safely get him for a walk is 1.5 hours, it’s not a daily occurrence. We need simple, proven strategies to get us all through the week. Meeting the needs of the members of this household isn’t fancy or glamorous, and it’s always a work in progress. 

Now What?

What data are you collecting and tracking around your pets enrichment needs? Do you have a pretty good idea of how certain activities affect their behavior? Do you know how to utilize those observations to provide activities throughout the day or week? If you are struggling to help your pet with behavior issues, ensuring their individual needs are met can be overwhelming. Reach out to our team if you need help. We can turn what you already know about the non-human members of your family into an actionable plan that brings your household relief!

Here’s to harmony!

-Tiffany