DYI Canine Enrichment ideas you can make your dog for free!
If you have you ever Googled “canine enrichment toys” and looked at the suggested products, you’ve probably noticed that they can be quite pricey, and you may have also noticed that many are simply variations of the same product. Don’t get me wrong, I own and love many of these store bought products, however I like to have a lot of variety in my enrichment toys, especially when I am incorporating the toys into a longer game like a treasure hunt.
So what is the solution? Get creative! Here are a few of my favourite DIY canine enrichment toys which are easy to make, free and use materials you likely have laying around the house. I hope these ideas inspire you to come up with your own DYI enrichment mini projects!
Note that when I say “treats” I am referring to any food reward, my favourite option being a portion of my dog’s daily food allowances.
WARNING: These DIY enrichment toys are all very much destructible so please make sure you supervise your pets while playing with them. It is your choice if you want to let the dogs destroy the toy as part of the game, I prefer to take the toy away once it is empty but this is simply because I want to reuse it again later. If you do decide to let your dog destroy the toy (which is often hilarious to watch) just make sure they don’t swallow it!
Empty Plastic bottles
Rescue some empty plastic bottles from the recycling for these easy DIY ideas. You can use any plastic bottle that is food safe, for example Coke bottles, milk bottles, water bottles, juice bottles. Once you have a few saved up, try some of these ideas:
Fill a dry paddling pool or other enclosed area with empty bottles (works best if the bottles have the lid on so they are bouncy), then throw some treats into the bottom for your dog to find. This game is great for building confidence!
Fill a bunch of empty bottles with different treats and let your dog work out how to get the treats out. This game can sometimes be challenging, so if your dog looses interest try using a smaller bottle with a bigger whole at first and fill it with more treats. Once they learn how to get the treats out of the easy bottle you can try with the harder ones.
Put a plastic bottle inside a sock and tie off the end. Use this as a sensory toy to help build confidence by encouraging/teaching your dog to pick it up in their mouth or putting their paws up on it.
Poke a hole in opposite sides of the bottle about half way down and thread a long piece of heavy string through the holes. Make sure the holes are big enough so that the bottle can spin freely on the string. Tie both ends of the string to two sturdy anchors (for example trees, fences or heavy furniture) at the dogs nose height, making sure the string is nice and tight, then fill the bottle with treats. The dog will need to work out how to spin the bottle to get the treats to fall out.
Empty Toilet & Paper Towel Roll Tubes
Possibly the cheapest idea on this list! Save up your empty toilet roll and paper towel roll tubes and use them on some of these DIY ideas:
Fold over both ends and seal some treats inside. Do this with a heap of empty tubes and fill a basket with them to make a lucky dip or grab bag game for your dog.
Make a set of Christmas Crackers/Bon Bons. Get an empty toilet roll tube, wrap it in some pup safe paper and twist it at both ends to seal some treats inside. These festive treats are not just for the festive season!
Get a box and fill it with toilet roll tubes all standing up on their ends to create a bunch of little wells. Fill each one with treats and let your pooch go crazy working out how to get them all out.
Tennis Balls
Most people have a few tennis balls laying around, but you can use any type of small ball for these ideas, you can even roll up a pair a socks into a ball, or use tightly screwed up paper:
Get a muffin tin and fill each hole with a couple of treats, then place a ball over each of the holes. You may need to experiment with different types of balls so it’s not too easy and not too hard for your dog. Muffin trays can be noisy when placed on hard surfaces, so if your dog is nervous of loud noises play this game on carpet or a rug instead.
Find a box, basket or bucket and fill it with balls then throw some treats into the bottom for your pup to dig out.
If you have a good chewer cut a slit in a tennis ball and fill it with treats, when they bite down on the ball it will open up and let the treats out. Play around with different shape and sized cuts to make it easier or harder to solve, just make sure they don’t swallow the ball!
Fabric
Old t-shirts, fleece blankets or towels is all you need for these Canine Enrichment DIY ideas:
Cut a towel into 3 strips length wise, then braid the pieces back together and tie or sew the end to fix the braid. Stuff the folds and creases of the braid with treats for your dog to sniff out.
Tightly roll or fold up a towel or blanket adding treats in different pockets.
Scatter some treats on the floor and lay a blanket or towel over the top scrunching it up slightly. This one is especially good for small dogs or those who find the other games more challenging.
Cut fabric into thin strips and find/make a container which is covered in holes like a Holee Ball, or cut holes in a large plastic bottle or small box. Stuff the fabric strips into the container leaving only the ends sticking out. Then poke some treats inside amongst the fabric and watch as your dog enjoys disembowelling their “prey”!
Paper & Card
Wether you go recycle bin diving or visit your local craft store, you will find 101 ways to turn that paper and card into DIY enrichment toys. Here are some ideas to get your started:
Fill a box, washing basket, dry paddling pool with screwed up paper and throw some treats in for your dog to find.
Make an oversized book using flat card and paper and taping them together along one side (the spine of the book). Then put some treats between the pages for tor dog to find. Tip: for best results make the pages all different heights and also add cardboard pages throughout the middle of the book, this will make it easier for the dog to turn the pages to get to the treats.
Fill paper grocery bags with treats. This is a really good confidence building game as the dog needs to put their head right inside the noisy bag to the treats.
Find a large piece of paper that makes a bit of noise when you crinkle it up. Lay a piece of it on dry grass, thick carpet or a plush rug and place treats in the middle. You want the paper to be large enough that your dog needs to step across the noisey paper to get to the treats. This is a nice easy confidence building game for nervous dogs.
Fill an egg carton with treats and close the lid. You can remove the tabs which hold the lid closed if your dog has trouble getting into it.
