Want ways to ease separation anxiety and boredom for your dog? Why not stimulate his or her mind? Possibly while you are off at work or school, and your dog sits home alone waiting for you, don’t you think they would like something to do? Imagine if you were home by yourself for seven or eight hours a day five days a week with no human interaction, you’d want something to do, too. Maybe some of you would pull out a puzzle or read a book anything that would keep you entertained and your mind occupied, but your dog needs help from you.
They need mental stimulation just like we do! A great way to keep them busy is by feeding them in a more challenging way than just eating out of a bowl…that’s boring! Change it up! Try mixing in some wet food and stuff it in a Kong toy, there are also great puzzle toys such as Busy Buddies, Zogoflex etc. for dogs that will only provide food when they accomplish whatever it is that the toy requires them to do— even if that’s just rolling it around on the floor!
Or try freezing a wet / dry food combo in a toy and leaving it with them for the day, most dogs will work at it until the food is gone; however, there may be some picky ones out there that choose not to work for their food. These guys may require a little extra something mixed in or it could be that they just need time to get used to the idea of “working for food”. Keep in mind that this can also be a sign that your dog might be a little too heavy and doesn’t need or want the food enough to work for it.
Feeding your dog this way can also help you control their weight since they are working for it and it’s not quite as easy for you to just throw “a little extra” in their bowl or mix in some of last night’s leftovers. Making them work for their food can reduce the amount of side treats they’re given too, since they are occupied for longer and I think they feel more satisfied when they are done! I know from personal experience that my dog prefers to eat out of her Kong toy, every morning she knows where she gets fed and sits and waits in front of the fridge (I generally pre-make her food just to make my mornings a little easier), she gets super excited as soon as I hand her the her toy, she’s off to eat every last piece that’s in there. It usually takes her about 10 -15 minutes to eat her breakfast out of the XX-Large classic Kong, not an extremely long amount of time but definitely longer than when she’s fed out of a bowl.
This brings up another good point, if you have a food guzzler (many people with labs will know what I’m talking about!) then this easily slows them down, no more inhaling their food, it takes time and effort to eat automatically slowing your dog down. It even helps with eliminating some health risks such as bloat. This doesn’t mean that your dog can only be eating out of toys or other puzzle games, a bowl is still an acceptable way of feeding just make sure you change it up! For example I feed my dog in a Kong every morning and out of a bowl at night.
One final suggestion for feeding your dog in a new, creative way is when training: a meal of kibble can easily replace a bag of training treats. Many people don’t have the time to do this in the morning before work / school. So if you are rushed maybe your pup gets to eat out of toy in the morning and is fed dinner while training, life is already more interesting for them and for you. This also helps build a stronger bond between you and your dog, YOU are their new food source, now that’s a good reason to listen!