“How can my dog be bored when I spend half my paycheck on dog toys?”

I know we, and most of you, likely feel like we are breaking the bank when it comes to providing for our dogs – and consumer spending data backs this up. Dog owners love their dogs and love spending money on them!

So..HOW can so many dogs be bored?

I’m so bored!

First, I think that we often forget that a bored dog is simply a dog whose species specific needs are not being met. This is usually because we don’t understand how novelty and food acquisition are inherit needs in the domestic dog.

Arguably, the scavenger dogs of the past had plenty of novelty in their lives – we didn’t have fences to keep them safe, there were lots of predators to try to eat them that they needed to avoid, and lots of prey animals and garbage for them to track down and eat. We really shouldn’t give our dogs garbage and mice to play with… but we CAN provide our dogs with novelty and a chance to “scavenge” for their meals.

Boredom is worth avoiding. Not only is it an unpleasant and mind numbing state to be in, but it can lead to a myriad of undesired behavior as our dogs seek enrichment.

I just got a great idea from a member of our Puppy Culture Discussion Group for making a homemade teether for puppies, but I think this is an outstanding idea for a dog of any age. These pupcicles can be given as part of a meal, hidden around the yard for a dog to seek out and find, or used during crate time.

Here is our first batch!

Supplies:

1. Muffin Tin
2. Kibble (dry dog food, but canned would work too)
3. If using dry food, a blender.
4. Small meat scraps (here I’m using chicken leftovers)

Spray your muffin tin with no stick spray (optional)

I’m using plain vegetable oil spray.

Drop some meat scraps in the bottom of the muffin tin. These are chicken.

Purée dry food with water to a milkshake consistency (I added more chicken to the blender but that’s optional) fill cups.

Fill nearly to the top with your kibble mixture.

Top with novel kibble (so not your regular kibble), treats, veggies, or other healthy foods (cheerios would be great!). Freeze until fully frozen.

Once your Pupciclies are fully frozen, pop them out, store in a storage bag in the freezer, and use whenever your puppy needs some quiet time!

Babsy really enjoyed her pupcicle, it lasted about 2 minutes.