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If you’re bored, there’s a possibility that your fur friends are bored too. Enrichment encourages smarter, healthier and more well-behaved pets. Challenging puzzles and games that keep them thinking engage your dog or cat mentally and physically, and help reduce the anxiety, boredom and frustration associated with being indoors.
“Enrichment is great for outside too,” Tulsa SPCA trainer and assessment manager Angela Rodriguez said. “It’s perfect for bored backyard dogs!”
With an eye to volunteers working from home, we put together this list of enrichment for our dogs and cats — and yours.
“All animals need enrichment activities daily. We hope that you’ll be able to enrich the lives of your own dogs and cats,” Rodriguez said. “And if you want to donate any of these items to the Tulsa SPCA, we use these items with our own animals in the shelter and in foster care.”
Please remember to keep your eye on your animal while they play with any of the items listed here, and immediately take away damaged items.
“Supervise any new enrichment activity to make sure it’s safe for your pet,” Rodriguez said. “We don’t want them ingesting non-edible items.”
ENRICHMENT AND COMFORT FOR DOGS AND CATS
No-sew blankets are easy to make and they keep dogs and cats comfy and warm. You can make small ones for cats and bigger ones for dogs.
Pets enjoy scavenging for their food and it makes meal time (the highlight of many pet’s days) last longer!
SHREDDABLE RECYCLABLES
Hide treats or a whole meal in these shreddables so pets can engage in species-appropriate behaviors like shredding, digging, ripping and dissecting to get to the food.
- Toilet paper and paper towel tubes
- Small/Medium cardboard boxes
- Empty paper egg cartons
AUDIO FOR ANIMALS
- Books on tape or Audible for dogs
- https://icalmpet.com/
- Classical music
DOG ENRICHMENT
Dog rope toys are great for heavy chewers. Made from any old t-shirt and a tennis ball, these toys are interactive, durable, and machine washable. Please make the braids nice and tight!
Make this toy to help your dog work on impulse control and give them a high-energy workout in just a few minutes.
THINGS TO CHEW
- Nylabones
STUFFABLES + STUFFIN’
- Kongs
- Westpaw Zogoflex Toppl, Quizl, Tux
- Foods to stuff Kongs/Zogoflex: plain yogurt, no-sugar-added canned fruit, low-sodium canned veggies, spray cheese, canned tuna, low-sodium canned chicken, canned pumpkin, low-sodium broths/stocks, no-sugar-added peanut butter
Pro tip: Try freezing any of the above!
What do dogs love more than eating dinner? Getting food, enrichment, mental stimulation and play all at the same time.
TOUGH PUZZLES
When shopping for these items for your animals or Tulsa SPCA’s, please use Amazon Smile. If you shop from our Charity List, items will ship directly to us.
- JW Hol-ee Roller Treat Dispensing Dog Ball: mediums and larges
- Starmark Bob-a-Lot
- Busy Buddy Waggle
- Kong Genius
- Busy Buddy Twist and Treat
- Frisco Rubber Double Trouble
- Frisco Rubber Flying Saucer
- Busy Buddy Tug-A-Jug
- Busy Buddy Magic Mushroom
- Busy Buddy Squirrel Dude
- Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble
- Busy Buddy Barnacle
- Kong Wobblers
CAT ENRICHMENT
Use the t-shirt scraps left over from making the dog throw toys (above) to make these huggable toys cats lick, kick and enjoy for countless hours. Catnip toys enrich the lives of the cats at the Tulsa SPCA.
