Welcome to the Wednesday Dogs of Dogster! Every Wednesday, we share a narrative from one in every of our Dogsters. This week is about Kate & Gizmo, her scruffy Pug combine.
Gizmo’s a wise little dude, and particularly once I first adopted him, he wanted a lot of leisure and enrichment, for each thoughts and physique. My canine coach gave me an ideal bit of recommendation: meals are his favourite time of the day, so why would you waste that on a bowl? His breakfasts and dinners rapidly grew to become the perfect time of the day for each of us, as I devised elaborate video games and he joyfully unraveled them. Here are a few of his favourite mealtime puzzles and video games:
The Scavenger Hunt
This one is all the time a winner and is the sport I exploit most frequently. I take the kibble and conceal it all around the home, placing one or two items alongside the windowsill, inside his toys, beneath furnishings, on every step of the staircase, and actually wherever that he can safely attain. It takes him not less than half an hour, relying on how intricate my hiding is, and he spends not less than that lengthy re-checking every place to see if he missed something. This sport additionally works effectively with the opposite concepts on this record, and typically I’ll mix it with the snuffle mat or the Puffin Game (see beneath) to actually give him a problem.
The Puffin Game
Gizmo is the proud proprietor of The Puffin Game, a gradual feeder from an organization known as Fable Pets. It’s just like the classic Kong Wobbler, however the Puffin Game is considerably tougher. Both of those feeders have a weighted base and a prime that unscrews so you’ll be able to add the kibble. The distinction is that the Puffin has a spinning insert that you need to use to set the issue stage, from a easy gap to a bit tunnel the kibble has to journey down to achieve the opening. And sure, Gizmo’s is all the time set on laborious.
Because Gizmo is such an excellent boy, he’s realized that if he will get the Puffin spinning good, he can get the highest and backside threads to unscrew, resulting in a kibble jackpot! It’s all the time enjoyable watching him get into this super-focused mode, spinning it intensely along with his paws whereas whining with pleasure after which racing round consuming the person kibbles.
The Snuffle Mat
This one is straightforward however oh-so-effective and surprisingly versatile. I’ve an precise snuffle mat – a rubber mat with felt strips tied throughout it, making a comfortable mound with many hiding locations (type of like this one) – however you can too use quite a lot of issues round the home, and even simply your yard!
The snuffle mat idea is that Gizmo has to search through something to find his kibble, partaking his senses of odor and sight. The snuffle mat mainly replicates a area of grass, the place canine scavenging would search among the many blades for one thing they wish to eat. To use the snuffle mat, I take a handful of kibble and weave it in between the felt strips, pushing lots of the items all the best way all the way down to the rubber so he has to do some intensive looking.
I’ve additionally used a crumpled-up towel or blanket and thrown kibble within the precise grass or throughout a patio. Just be sure there isn’t something there that your canine shouldn’t eat!
The Box
Like many people, my housemate and I are responsible of ordering barely too many issues on-line. The upside is that we normally have transport containers readily available, typically filled with cardboard or paper. These outdated containers make the perfect video games as a result of I can let him destroy them as a lot as he needs (getting out some harmful vitality with out ruining any actual toys or furnishings).
To play this meal sport, I sprinkle his kibble into the field, ensuring it lands in several layers of paper or cardboard. If there’s brown paper, I’ll wrap it tightly round a small handful of kibble, then bury the entire thing beneath all the things else. If I’ve smaller containers too, even higher! (Pro tip: these little berry containers with all of the holes are good for this) I’ll disguise some kibble contained in the little containers after which bury them within the larger containers. Finally, I’ll shut the field and flip it the other way up.
Then I level on the field and say “Go discover it!” He has to flip the field over (normally by pushing it over to the closest wall), then use his little snoot to search out every particular person kibble among the many containers and papers. Best of all, he’ll maintain coming again to the field and looking totally, simply in case there’s nonetheless a kibble in there someplace.
The Licky Mat
Although Gizmo is usually a kibble man, he does often have wet food as a special treat. When I give him moist meals feasts, I exploit a licky mat, urgent the moist meals into the ridges and nubs of the rubber mat to decelerate the consuming course of. Sometimes I add dog-safe fruits or vegetables on prime of the moist meals, and hilariously, he all the time rigorously noses them off first so he can concentrate on the meat of the matter. Once he’s carried out licking up each atom of the moist meals, he’ll return and pattern the aspect salad.
Game On!
Gizmo and I’ve a lot enjoyable taking part in these video games at his mealtimes. They help him eat more slowly (inhaling that bowl of kibble in a matter of seconds shouldn’t be it, people), interact his lively little mind, and help him feel satisfied sufficient for a comfortable midmorning or night nap. And I like partaking my mind to provide you with new concepts.
Do you’ve any favourite mealtime video games together with your canine? I’d love to listen to about them within the feedback beneath! Gizmo’s all the time on the lookout for new challenges…
