Happiness and wellbeing: enrichment for your pet

Many pets are left alone for long periods of time without much entertainment, and they get bored. Tell tail signs are chewing, scratching and rearranging the living room, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Looking after your pet’s mental health is part of their basic care. Bored and anxious pets often exhibit unwanted behaviours, have poorer physical health and a trickier relationship with their owners.

Engaging in physically and mentally challenging activities encourages smarter, healthier, well-mannered pets

Enrichment is all about giving your pet something new and exciting to do that encourages good behaviours. Challenge their problem solving skills, and make them work hard for rewards, keeping little minds occupied throughout the day.

A dog’s sense of smell is 40 times more powerful than ours, so adding something new to sniff at can keep them occupied for a while. Puzzle feeders are a great way to create a reward-based challenge, keeping your dog’s brain focused on a fun task.

Cats are little ninjas when it comes to using their paws. Those little beans can get into anything, so it’s a great idea to encourage them to use these skills for good! Hide treats inside paper bags around the house and set them a real challenge to get a tasty snack.

Little creatures all have distinct personalities and a unique set of needs. However, many small rodent species love tunnelling, climbing and digging, as it’s part of their natural behaviour. They all need lots of space to run, explore and hide if they get spooked, all of which should be easy to provide.