I’m gonna be honest here; while I may be a professional animal caregiver, I absolutely have lazy days with my own pets. It’s nearly impossible to be “on” all the time, and even the most dedicated pet parents sometimes just need an easy day. When I just don’t have that extra energy to spare, I fall back on a few of my favorite, nearly effortless hacks for ensuring my pup, Fermi, still gets some much needed and fulfilling enrichment time.
#1 Scatter Feeding & Snuffle Mats
On one level, I’d tell you that this is nothing more than tossing treats or kibble haphazardly around the floor or the lawn and calling it good. But on a deeper level, I’d say this amazingly low-effort activity is actually a fantastic way to encourage your dog to eat slower, relax, and work both mental and physical muscles.
When the weather is nice, I like to toss my dog’s breakfast in a clean part of the lawn (read as: not her potty zone), and leave her to it. Depending on how widely I scatter the kibble, she could be out there for upwards of 15-20 minutes foraging. The one downside is for a while, she gets really locked into the notion that now there is ALWAYS kibble to be found outside, and pesters me to let her back outside.
Looking for a more controlled version of this activity? Consider investing in or making a snuffle mat. Snuffle mats do a great job of mimicking rooting around in tall grass or other substrate for kibble, while containing the mess. There are nearly endless styles of snuffle mats out there, from simpler designs that look like shag carpet, to more elaborate mats with hidden pockets and other puzzling features. I have two types at home, a DIY fabric mat, and a silicone mat (that we LOVE).
#2 Paper Carton Shreddables
I keep paper towel and toilet paper tubes, as well as egg cartons and small boxes stashed away to turn into super simple puzzle/general destruction games for Fermi. These can be as simple or elaborate as I have the energy and motivation to make them. Bend one end of a paper tube inwards to close the end, drop in treats or kibble, close the other and, and presto! For a little added flare, you could cut a few treat-sized holes in the tube to make it more of a knock-around puzzle feeder, or just let your dog go full shred mode (that’s Fermi’s favorite!)
Fermi is really good about not ingesting scraps as she tears these up, so for her, I feel safe using a bit of painter’s tape to make the egg cartons and boxes harder to break into. But if your pup tends to eat things indiscriminately, I would avoid this.
#3 Take A Car Ride
Lazy dog days don’t necessarily mean we’re checking out of all our other responsibilities. If you’ve got errands to run and the weather is nice, take your pup along and leave the window down a bit for them to do some visual and olfactory sight seeing. For our pups who are comfortable in the car, taking a little joyride can be a super easy way to add a little pizazz into their day, without requiring much direct input from you.
#4 Rotate the Toy Bin
If you’re like me, your dog’s toy bin seems to magically expand each year. I surely don’t recall buying that bottom layer of toys, and likely neither does my dog! Novelty is a fantastic stimulus for our dogs and an action as easy as stirring up and rotating their toy bin to bring forgotten toys to the surface can really make their day.
If you like to keep things tidy and only have a handful of toys out at a time, try keeping a back catalog of toys that you can swap in every once in a while, when you’ve noticed your dog hasn’t been playing with a current candidate recently. You can say you just bought it for them, we won’t tell.
#5 Take a Nap Together
No, I’m not being glib. Include your dog in the laziness! If your dog has gotten their energy needs met, whether that’s running around the backyard, taking a walk, or fetch in the living room, don’t discount the value your dog can find in simply spending quality time together.
A small 2016 study found that access to an owner could be used as a reinforcer when training a task. In other words, the dogs were willing to work for the simple reward of being reunited with their humans. The companionship was a positive reinforcer to these dogs. In other, other words, you should definitely ask your dog to join in on nap time, or whatever other casual quality time you can offer.
Adding a little something special to our dogs’ days doesn’t have to be a huge investment of time or resources, and even on our laziest days, there are easy ways to provide them with enrichment, while still snagging a good nap for ourselves.