Your dog has had a decent walk, eaten a proper meal, and is still pacing. Or chewing the skirting board. Or redesigning the lawn. Or shadowing you round the kitchen looking for something — anything — to do. That restlessness is very rarely naughtiness. It is usually a dog whose brain has not been used today.
Dog Enrichment by Dr Anna Muir is a practical book of activities that meet those needs using things you already own. No subscription boxes, no gadget cupboard, no trip to the pet shop.
Who this book is for
- Dogs who struggle to switch off and settle in the evening
- Busy households who want something genuinely quick to set up
- Working breeds and clever dogs who need a job to do
- Dogs on restricted exercise — recovering from injury, or on vet advice to rest
- Families who want the children involved in something useful with the dog
What is inside
- Activities built from everyday household items — boxes, towels, muffin tins, plant pots, the recycling
- Graded easy to hard, so you can pitch each activity at your own dog rather than guessing
- Options for however much time you have, from a two-minute set-up to a proper afternoon project
- Games built around choice, problem solving and breed-specific behaviour — sniffing, shredding, digging, foraging, chewing — so your dog gets to do what they were built to do, in a way you can live with
- Something for everyone in the house, two legs or four
It is a physical book, posted out to you.
What changes
Enrichment is not a treat you give a dog for being good. It is a daily need, like exercise or sleep, and meeting it changes the temperature of the whole house:
- A dog who settles more easily, because their brain has actually been tired out
- Fewer of the behaviours that come from boredom — chewing, digging, pestering, barking at nothing
- A dog who is better at coping with being left, because there is something worth doing when you go
- More confidence, because problem solving is a skill dogs get better at with practice
Who it is not for
This is an enrichment book, not a behaviour plan. If your dog is guarding food or objects, or is genuinely distressed when left alone, enrichment on its own will not fix it and puzzle feeders can occasionally make guarding worse. Those need proper behaviour support. It is also not a training manual — there are no obedience exercises in here.
Questions people ask
Do I need to buy anything else? No. That is the point of the book. Everything uses household items, and anything edible can be your dog’s normal food.
Will it suit my dog? The activities are graded from easy to hard, so puppies, senior dogs and clever adolescents can all be pitched at the right level.
How long do the activities take to set up? Many take a couple of minutes. Others are longer if you fancy a project. There is deliberately a mix, because some days you have ten minutes and some days you have one.
Can I use it if my dog is on crate rest? Yes, and this is one of the situations it helps most. Choose the calmer, lower-movement activities and check anything new with your vet first.
Is it a physical book? Yes — it is printed and posted to you.
Add it to your basket
£12.99, posted out to you. If you would like ideas to be getting on with in the meantime, our training tips are free to read.
