WEEKLY ENRICHMENT PLAN 🧠🐶🐾
We've put together a weekly plan you can use as a guide to provide your dog with different and daily enrichment activities, both indoors and outdoors! Enrichment is also where I recommend you start when tackling any dog training concerns and/or to simply ensure that your dog feels as mellow and happy daily, as this can help naturally manage and prevent undesired behaviours.
Follow it to the best of your ability and tailor the activities to best match your dog's needs. You can bookmark this page on your phone's home screen or on your browser for quick access.
You can also print or write down the different ideas and write them down somewhere the entire family can see and help out with, like a magnetic calendar on your fridge. Google calendar sync option now available.
MONDAYS
Monday Munchies:
Make your Monday fun! Bring out all of your dog's favourite toys, especially puzzles and snuffle mat-like toys and hide a few pieces of your dog's food inside them. Bonus points if you set this all up while your dog isn't looking.
Monday Mess
It's okay to be messy sometimes. Give yourself a moment to be messy by moving furniture around, or putting some of your used laundry on the couch and let your dog snuffle. You can also let your dog shred cardboard or carton (so long as they won't try to eat it) to their heart's content, especially as a way to wind down from other activities, or a walk.
Monday Mindfulness
Go out of your way to show your dog what type of behaviours you're happy with, when around other people. Do this by taking your dog to a public place, like the entrance of a mall or store (take as much space as you both want) and as your dog watches people walk from close or afar, but chooses to check back in with you an look at you, be sure to reward!
Monday Mentality
Your dog's mental well-being is incredibly important, and it's important that you come up with productive ways to strengthen it. This where you will need to get a little bit more creatie, as this exercise is different for every dog. For example, if your dog is unsure about people or dogs, practice going somewhere where you can find both, but at a distance, and encourage any positive choices or attempts your dog makes, such as sniffing in their direction instead of walking away, or simply looking instead of barking.
TUESDAYS
Tuesday Travels:
Take your dog somewhere they've never been before! Socialization starts with making it so our dogs get to experience different smells, sights and sounds in all kind of environments. This helps them gain experience and comfort, which are essentials that discourage unwanted sociallization misbehviours.
Tuesday Tests
Are there any tricks or lessons that your dog knows well? Awesome. It's time to put those to the test. For example, if your dog knows sit, have you tried practicing getting consistent sits close to a dog park (preferable fenced)? If that's too hard, perhaps try the same activitiy with the front door wide open and your dog on a leash! It's really just about practicing what your dog already knows well, but in different, more distracting and new environments.
Tuesday Time Trials
How long can your dog hold a sit, or a down, or maybe even a paw? This requires a lot of focus (aka thinking skills) and you can start by simply waiting a few more seconds than the times before, prior to rewarding them. So for example, ask your dog for a sit, and count until 10 seconds before rewarding by saying Yes and giving a treat. If this is too hard, lower it to 5 seconds, otherwise, keep adding more time! This is something you can log and keep track of.
Tuesday Temptations
Can you trust your dog around their favourite treat, or around their favourite toy, or perhaps around the dinner table without close supervision? If not (or if not yet perfectly), no worries. Being able to resist all types of temptations in all situations is usually something only service dogs ace above others, but it's not an impossible task. Start with asking for a dog or a sit, and place your dog's favourite toy closer and closer to the ground and to them. As you notice that they fight the urge to grab it, be sure to reward by saying Yes and giving them a piece of their kibble!
WEDNESDAYS
Wednesday Wind Down:
The last two days have provided quite a few different and challenging activities for you and your dog to do together and grow from. This and more can require that your dog take a mental break and recover. As they do so however, there's nothing wrong with you going out of your way to praise and reward them with a small treat (small pieces so that you can do it more often without worry) as to let them know that you're happy anytime they choose to just settle and relax.
Wednesday Walk Wonders
Ready for something really fun? One of the easiest ways to add to your dog's enrichment is through their walks. You were already going to spend time taking them for a walk, so why not make the most of it? On your next walk, bring with you either a tug and pull toy, a ball, and/or a food puzzle or their favourite snuffle mat along with some treats. Bringing toys and activities with you will do wonders for your bond, as they will make it easier and more rewarding than ever for your dog to choose to focus on you, which makes it easier for you to guide them as you need, and praise desired behaviours.
Wednesday Waiting Wall
Separation anxiety isn't really fun. And unfortunately it's something that can happen to any dog, at anytime, no matter how well you've practiced and trained with your dog. Some are simply more social than others, when it comes to having company around, and thus this is why I think this exercise can do a lot for you both. Start by walking to the door, if your dog chooses to stay where they were like on their bed or your couch, be sure to reward that. Next, start increasing the difficulty of this exercise (you can do it randomly and unpredictably throughout the day) by going to the door and putting your jacket on and off, before rewarding your dog if they remained calm. Practice this until you get to the point of being able to step outside and close the door without your dog feeling too worried, ensuring that you reward very little bit of progress you see. And make sure you take your time!
Wednesday Wheels
Whether it's a challenge being around skateboards, rollerblades or bicycles, now is the time! (You can do this to practice being inside the car too.) Go through any of those by placing them at a safe distance from your dog and letting him/her go towards it. As they do, be sure to praise and reward any progress you see. Do keep it short and sweet, but if you find your dog is having no issues feeling confident and at ease, you can then engage with the wheels to have them make sounds, or you can even put them on and see how your dog feels. Just be mindful of when your dog might start feeling a tad concerned and stop there, take a break and restart again later.
THURSDAYS
Thursday Treat Trials:
Take your dog to your nearest pet store and let them sniff treats (at a safe enough distance where they're not likely to try to gobble them all up!). As they do, call their name and use their leash to help them quickly walk away from the treats, in order to immediately be rewarded by you with a different treat. This is where you can bring with you a special/rare treat, as this can be difficult at the first. As your dog gets better and better at this game, you can start letting them sniff the store's treats a little more closely and for a little longer, but no rush! Take your time.
Thursday Travels
Take your dog to a shop like Canadian Tire or Home Depot. These kinds of places don't tend to mean a lot to our dogs, as the smells, sights and sounds there aren't some that they'll be too familiar with. However, it's still enough of an enriching, and above all socially stimulating environment, where your dog still needs to practice feeling calm while making good choices. Just be mindful of the duration of time and what your dog can handle. Having your dog wear a backpack or a label that says they're In Training or that they Need Space can be handy as well.
Thursday Thunder
Once your home and your dog is feeling mellow, you can try introducing or reintroducing sounds from your TV or speakers, such as thunder, door bells, barking or even fireworks. The sounds your dog hears may prompt a response (again, this is where you want to make sure that you keep in mind what your dog can handle and start with something that is doable and easy). Before your dog feels the need to respond vocally or at all, or if they remain relaxed and unbothered, go ahead and provide them with a treat or some food. If they're not interested in any kind of food at that moment, it may be an indicator that the exercise is simply too difficult or perhaps stressful for them. In which case, start with really low and even easier sounds like calming background music or nature soundtracks.
Thursday Trippy Traps
While your dog is sleeping in a different room, grab different types of recycling items like boxes, bins and even your dog's toys and scatter the all across your living room. The goal here is to create a little bit of an obstacle course that contains some minimal traps that your dog could fall into, but without hurting themselves. So for example, you can place a towel over a cardboard box and a treat in the middle of it, so that if your dog tries to paw at the towel or treat, it's likely to fall inside the box and your dog then has to figure out how to get it out. You can also block entrances to other rooms with boxes for your dog to jump over every time you walk by. Place different toys around them for your dog to have to be a little more careful of where they step. Be sure to praise and reward all efforts and adjust the different challenges to fit your dog's demeanour and comfort level.
FRIDAYS
Friday French Fries:
This is probably the easiest of them all. Go for a drive with your dog and get a bag of french fries at the drive thru! If your dog is uncomfortable or afraid of being inside the car for long, you can perhaps walk to the restaurant and place the order from your phone. You put in a lot of time and effort in providing your dog with everything they need, so don't be afraid to treat yourself! Just bring your dog for the ride and reward them with their own treats, anytime you see a behaviour you like.
Friday Fools
Pause for a moment. Forget about your stressful day, your annoying colleague and your stubborn downstairs neighbour and simply focusing on being silly with your dog! That's right, turn into a clown, a chicken, or an alien and make weird sounds, gestures and overall just act a fool! Your dog will either join in on the crazy fun and act silly with you, or look at you with a confused look the first few times you try this. Either way, it's a fun way to connect, be with one another and be free from the pressures and expectations of life for a moment.
Friday Fearlessness
Bring out an object in your home that your dog isn't keen on. Something like the carpet cleaner, or perhaps the blender. Items that potentially cause a little bit of doubt and uncertainty. Bring them out and simply let your dog sniff them, do not turn them on or move them around. Just let your dog sniff them and as he/she does, don't wait too long before saying Yes, and guiding them away from those objects before rewarding them. This will teach them that you're happy that they felt curious enough to inspect, and that you wanted them to do so for only a moment, by showing them that they can walk away the next. Take your time with this. And whenever you happen to use these items as you normally would, be mindful of your dog by helping them take even more space away and rewarding.
Friday Friend
It's Friday night! And sure, you'd love to go out and party a little, but before you do, why not schedule a walk or playdate with another dog you know yours likes being around interact with? This will be new and special enough that your dog will feel calm and relaxed afterwards. If your dog is shy and timid, you can reach out to another dog who is as well, and they can practice just being in each other's vicinity, as you reward any small efforts and indicators of curiosity and leave it at that.
SATURDAYS
Saturday Shopping Spree:
Run errands with your dog to places where they are allowed like Homesense, Canadian Tire and different pet stores. This way, your dog essentially becomes your errand buddy and you not only check things off your list, you also get to provide them with a fun outing that you both enjoy.
Saturday Snuffle Scavenging
It's time to pull out all the stops! Bring out your dog's food puzzles, snuffle mats, boxes, containers and everything you can think of, for you to hide only a few of your dog's favourite and smelliest treats within. Bonus points if you have your dog waiting in another room and if you let them go at their sniffari without any assistance from you.
Saturday Socialization
Let's hit the dog park! But in a way that your dog is comfortable with. If your dog is shy and timid, go to the dog park and simply practice walking around the perimeter, rewarding your dog for choosing to continue to walk on with you and not focus or worry about the dogs inside the park as he hears, sees and smells them from afar. If your dog is super confident and wants to go in, practice this exercise as well, as a way to not only strengthen your bond and focus towards one another but also to help your dog practice patience. The better your dog does and communicates with you, the sooner you can invite them into the park for some fun play.
Saturday Staring
Find an open field or park where other people and dogs walk by on-leash. Pick a bench or a spot that's not too busy or crowded and hang out there. Without asking your dog to sit or lay down, let them stare and watch others pass by. But be ready to reward them with a treat, your voice and your touch whenever they break focus from them and pay more attention to you.
SUNDAYS
Sunday Scaries:
Gently bring out an object that your dog is not really into, like their hair brush, nail clipper, or perhaps their leash, harness etc. Put it on the ground and let them just sniff it. If your dog feels unsure, you can encourage them to take space after sniffing and getting close. If your dog feels comfortable, you can proceed to encourage more contact, otherwise, just take it slow, short and sweet.
Sunday Specialty
Does your dog love play fetch, play fetch like never before! Is your dog a pro at running and jumping, do just that! Does your dog like to sit and eat? Do that together too! The point of this is to strengthen your bond with your dog by doing something that feels easy, fun and natural to them!
Sunday Sightseeing
Find a brand new park or hike to go to and if the destination allows it, bring with you a long leash so that your dog can freely sniff around to their heart's content. You can still work on rewarding any good behaviour you see your dog doing, such as giving you consistent eye contact or walking by others people nicely. But the main purpose of this activity is to explore, discover and just be together, somewhere completely new to your dog.
Sunday Scentwork
This game can become as challenging as the type of tasks police and scent detection dogs do. But you can start with something as easy as hiding one smelly treat in 2-3 different boxes and waiting for your dog to let you know which one he/she thinks contains the scent. From there, you can add more boxes or containers for your dog to have to sniff through, as well as add other smells to throw off your dog. The point is to get your dog using his or her amazing nose AND communicate to you each time they find where it's coming from!