Types of enrichment

 What is scatter feeding?
Scatter feeding is basically throwing your dog's meal or treats across the ground and letting him/her search it out.

Why scatter feed?

• It slows eating down as your dog has to sniff it out, meaning it is a great replacement for a slow feeding bowl, and can reduce the risk of bloat. You can make it as easy or as challenging as you want, depending on your dog's experience of sniffing activities and his/her confidence levels. It can also help burn a few calories if your dog is on a diet, as it provides additional exercise.
• It can help with picky eaters, as dogs can become more interested in food if they have to look for it as it becomes more of a game to them, a problem to be solved.
• It is mentally stimulating as your dog has to search out his/her meal. It can help relieve boredom as they areactively engaged in doing something, and can reduce that mid-evening hyperactivity some dogs, especially younger ones get, as it utilises the brain and helps tire them.  It provides a puzzle for them to solve ... where has my owner hidden my food?  And as they get good at sniffing activities you can make it more challenging for them.
• It engages your dog in natural behaviours and gives your dog permission to sniff.  If you have a very sniffy dog it may help reduce the need to sniff when out and about as you are providing those opportunities at home, especially if you scatter the food over a greater distance, either in the garden or through the house.
• It can replace the need for a walk - it’s your (the owner’s) get out of jail free card.   Mental exercise is as tiring, if not more tiring, than physical exercise, so encouraging your dog to search for his food will help tirehim/her out.  This makes it perfect for younger dogs who may need less exercise while they are growing to protect their developing joints, or the older, arthritic dog that struggles with that walk.
• It can help reduce stress, over arousal or frustration.  Sniffing helps reduce a dog's arousal levels, so offering your dog opportunities to scatter feed after a stressful incident can help them recover mentally, emotionally and physically from the effects of the stress.  You can also use a smaller version of scatter feeding during a walk to distract from a potentially arousing situation.

So how do you scatter feed?
Simply you throw your dog’s food across a space - it can be your kitchen, living room, lawn, patio.  Dry food generally works best but you can also scatter vegetables, fruit, raw food, cooked meat, your dog's favouirte treats.
I generally use my dog's kibble, carrots, blueberries, tiny peices of cooked meat.

You don't need alot of space to scatter feed ... scatter across several rooms, across the lawn and flower beds in your garden, anywhere really! 

Word of warning: if you have a dog that rescource guards food an another dog, scatter feeding them separately is going to be more successful for them, and less stressful, so perhaps scatter feed one whilst giving the other a kong or chewing activity in it's crate or another room.

Two cocker spaniels enjoying a bit of scatter feeding instead of a walk.