‘Puzzle feeders’ are a hit on social media! Do we need to make mealtime enriching for our dogs?
It’s all over the internet: dogs get puzzle challenges at mealtime.
What is the idea behind that and why is that a good idea?
Or is it not?
As always a straightforward answer is hard to give, but it is possible to discuss the different factors that play a roll to come to the right answer for your dog. Because, you have heard this before: it depends on the dog.
Food is one of the basic needs of each and every living being. For wild animals number 1 on their list of activities is ‘secure food’. For some species that means a lot of effort, for other species food is easy accessible.
In captivity our pets rely on us for food, they can’t go out and find it themselves (some can, but we often label that as ‘bad behaviour’ when they start counter surfing, lol).
There are many opinions on whether or not a dog should ‘work for their food’. I will try to stay away from that discussion in this blog, because I think the ‘truth’ in this discussion is not easy to find. Let’s just observe our individual dogs instead.
The reason people ‘ditch the bowl’ and give food in a slow feeder and/or puzzle instead is diverse:
Because their dog doesn’t want to eat from a bowl
To slow their dog down, because they ‘inhale’ food
To let their dog work for food
To offer their dog enrichment
To add a physical activity to the dog’s day
Let’s look at those reasons a little bit closer.
1. The dog that doesn’t eat from a bowl
It’s really true: there are dogs that don’t eat from bowls, can you imagine! When food is accessible and easy to get, you would think that was the first choice.
The reasons that dogs don’t want to eat from a bowl need to be investigated further, because maybe there is something else going on. Reasons can for example be:
They don’t like the spot where the bowl is: on slippery flooring, the bowl too low, the bowl too high or in a busy part of the house.
They don’t like the material the bowl is made of or maybe the shape of the bowl.
Their appetite is not stimulated enough to get started. The smell of the food normally activates the GI tract (production of saliva and the feeling of ‘hunger’). Maybe the food in the bowl doesn’t do that enough.
So before making the statement a dog doesn’t like to eat food from a bowl you might want to experiment a little with the variables that are in play and see if that makes a difference for your dog.
2. The dog that ‘inhales’ their food
Many dogs are extremely food motivated, resulting in ‘inhaling’ their food instead of eating it.
Things to consider when this happens are:
Is the bowl in a safe spot? Which means: are there other pets or maybe small or bigger humans around that the dog might consider as a ‘threat’ to their food?
Does the dog have a past where food was hard to get?
Is the bowl on the right height and/or flooring for the dog? When it’s physically hard to get the food out of the bowl the dog might just want to eat as quickly as he can.
Just like with the dog that doesn’t eat from a bowl it’s good to see if changes in the circumstances will change the dog’s speed of eating.
3. The dog that has to ‘work for their food’
There is nothing wrong with working for food or rewards. Everyone can make their own decisions on how they think about that. I personally choose to give the main part of the daily food allowance in a bowl and do puzzle sessions with the rest.
I like to add my thoughts to the decision making process: when a living being is very hungry it is hard to focus and concentrate, the feeling of hunger just takes over. Frustration is around the corner in that case and a frustrated dog is not an enriched dog. Another aspect is that in the (semi) wild the animals have ‘easy food days’, where the food is easily caught or found and ‘difficult food days’, where they need to do a lot of effort to get food.
My advice is to stay under frustration threshold if you choose to let your dog work for food and also to change difficulty: give your dog ‘easy food days’ too.
It’s also interesting to consider that activating the seeking system with for example scatter feeding will be way more rewarding for most dogs than making it hard with a difficult puzzle or frozen food, because of all the good hormones that are being released when they are searching and sniffing for their food.
4. Offering the dog food enrichment
Food enrichment is popular, it’s actually the ‘core business’ of Puzzle Dog! Using a dog’s daily food allowance for enrichment sessions is an option, but it’s good to consider the same aspects as mentioned under the last paragraph ‘the dog has to work for their food’.
Enrichment is only enriching when you stay away from frustration. Just hitting the edge of frustration is fine, those are the moments that the brain is ‘sharp’ and solving skills are activated. But it depends on the dog if this is something that is appropriate to do every day.
Finding out what kind of food enrichment is enriching for your dog is important and also what time of the day suits you and your pup for each of the activities. For some activities you really want to be present and use the Hersenwerk method, working on enrichment and bonding at the same time. Other food enrichment needs less supervision and can be offered at moments you don’t have time to really be present.
5. Adding a physical activity to a dog’s day
This is a new one I recently became aware off. Things like chasing a treat ball is considered an extra physical activity for dogs.
And thinking about it: the chasing can also fulfill some of the dog’s needs! So that is a positive, but before you jump on that wagon it’s good to consider safety of the activity and health factors.
As for the safety: make sure your dog is on a non slip surface while interacting with a treat ball, slipping and sliding while chasing can cause several injuries and navigating and controlling the legs is difficult. And to work with a treat ball some precision in movement is needed.
Health wise there is an interesting consideration to make too. As a child I always learned to sit down while eating. Moving and eating was considered not to be healthy. Searching info on that on the internet, that statement hasn’t changed: “Walking while or after eating may interfere with digestion and could lead to an upset stomach in some cases”. So asking a dog to eat his whole meal while chasing a treat ball (or another food dispenser) might be asking for trouble!
To come to a conclusion on this subject:
Look at the dog in front of you: what does he need, what does he show you. Also look at yourself: what are your motives to offer mealtime enrichment? Then see what works for your dog and yourself.
Don’t copy and paste what other people do, but do what works for you.
Puzzle Dog is an expert in guiding people and their dogs in their 'puzzle journey'. We use the dutch Hersenwerk method in our work. Hersenwerk is a harmonious interplay between humans and animals, based on sensory experience, customization and freedom of choice.
In our guidance we focus on the individual dog and their human; customizing the puzzle activity will make it enriching for both of you! You can find our courses in the Puzzle Dog Academy.
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