The scientists have spoken: enrichment has a Great Dane-sized list of benefits for your dog! Just for starters, it reduces anxiety, prevents boredom, provides a sense of accomplishment, increases overall wellbeing, and enables mental, emotional, and physical satisfaction. Your dog can live their happiest, healthiest lives when they’re regularly learning new things, engaging their minds, satisfying their natural instincts, and exploring novel sensory experiences.
Understimulated dogs, on the other hand, often find dangerous or destructive ways to entertain themselves. If you keep coming back home to chewed-on chair legs and shredded sofa cushions, lack of enrichment could be to blame.
But we can’t always be there to play with our precious pups, teach them new tricks, or take them on adventures. So, what’s a loving pawrent to do?
It’s simple: provide enrichment activities your furbabies can enjoy on their own! Enriching your dogs’ home-alone time can improve their quality of life, and it can keep them safe and out of trouble. You’ll come home to the most contented version of your furry friend.
Read on to discover four home-alone enrichment ideas!
1. Remote Training Sessions
Training is one of the most effective forms of enrichment. Training helps your dog learn some basic commands, and even more advanced fun tricks. You can even teach your dog how to like being home alone!
But how is a training session a form of home-alone enrichment? Well, you can actually train your dog remotely! You can use the Furbo Dog Camera to speak to your dog when you’re away and practice some exercises.
And don’t forget to use the camera’s treat-tossing feature to give your doggo some positive reinforcement for their good behavior!
Your dog will love the mental stimulation of learning something new, not to mention the chance to bond with you even while you’re away.
Note: Before you start using your Furbo, help your dog get familiar with it! This way you’ll ensure all your remote training sessions are a success!
2. Cognition-Boosting Toys
Encourage your dog to practice problem solving with an interactive toy, like a treat-stuffed puzzle, flip board, or snuffle mat. You can pick up a premade option, such as KONG, at your local pet store, or create your own with an online DIY tutorial.
Different dogs enjoy different home-alone enrichment toys, so keep an eye on your Furbo footage to figure out your own pup’s preferences.
If you’re making DIY dog enrichment toys, ensure you avoid bones, ropes, and rawhide. These things aren’t suitable for unsupervised play because small pieces can break off and become choking hazards for your pup. ⚠️
3. Instinct-Satisfying Adventures
Searching for rewards satisfies dogs’ natural hunting and scavenging instincts. So hide some treats and toys in dog-safe locations around your home, and let your furry friend channel his wild ancestors by sniffing them out!
Make sure to peek at your intrepid adventurer’s progress with your Furbo. You’ll also get Real-Time Smart Alerts so you can see if any explorations take an unexpected turn.
As a bonus, you’ll get extra adorable puppy playtime footage you can share with #CaughtOnFurbo 📸
Not up for letting your dog roam the whole house? Provide a more contained adventure by making a “busy bucket”. Layer treats, old towels or pillowcases, and toys in a sturdy bucket. This homemade dog enrichment activity will fulfill your furry friend’s wildest dreams of digging for treasure!
4. Sensory Stimulation
Since unfamiliar sights and sounds grab dogs’ attention and provide endless stimulation, try mentally engaging your dog with some TV time! If your furbaby tends to spook easily, steer clear of content that contains potentially upsetting noises, like shouting, gunshots, or fireworks.
Instead, flip to the DOGTV channel, or search YouTube for playlists designed to keep dogs entertained. Some discerning doggos would rather get their sensory stimulation by people-watching, so try placing a cozy bed or blanket near a window with a good view.
Ready to engage your dog’s other senses? Fulfill his need for novelty by providing a toy with an unfamiliar scent, a new flavor of treat, or some distinctively textured bedding.
Busy Dogs = Happy Dogs
Keeping your pet’s paws busy when they’re home alone is a great way to ensure their emotional well-being. So always look for new puppy enrichment ideas and try them out with your furbaby!
No matter what your pets’ favorite form of home-alone enrichment turns out to be, Furbo is here to keep them safe and happy. Furbo 360° Dog Camera lets you keep an eye on your pup, and talk to them remotely if you see them starting to get bored.
The Furbo Camera also lets you provide positive reinforcement for your pup when they interact with the enrichment activities you left them. And with our Smart Alerts, you can react immediately if anything goes wrong.
