I’m curious to know how many Sitters utilize enrichment Feeders (such as Kong, Toppls, Snuffle Mats, Puzzles) while sitting a dog or cat, if the owner has them and approved their use?
If they are used, do owners prepare them in advance and freeze them, so Sitters can just give them? Or do Sitters prepare them as well (stuff with goodies and freeze)?
Do sitters find them helpful or a nuisance?
I was asked to feed a cat on my last sit his biscuits (Kimble) via a tower he had to do some work with to get these. Like a 3 level tower with a few paw sized holes down the side. This was my first time using such but the cat was very adapt at grabbing all biscuits with his paw or mouth.
I’m a big fan of mind stimulating toys and games, both commercially manufactured and human-interaction derived. I use these if an owner has them available. I’ll happily prep Kongs and such during a stay.
It was a good distraction for a year-old pup I sat who had a lot of energy and wanted to chew everything in sight. The host provided them. I stuffed and cleaned, rinsed and repeated.
At home, we use them with our dog. We pick carefully, because he gets discouraged if they’re too hard. But he typically enjoys them. We even take them on road trips sometimes.
I think they can be great, especially if you have something like a work Zoom call scheduled and can tell that a dog thinks it’s time for their next walk and is likely to put in a guest appearance midway through. They can also be good as a distraction if they appear agitated or anxious when home owners have just left - I’ll sometimes sit quietly and have a cup of tea so that I’m ‘there’ but not doing anything much, and by the time they’ve sussed out how to get to the biscuits they’ve usually forgotten their owners ever existed!
A D.I.Y. version is to roll some dog biscuits up in an old towel, and twist it all around to make it tricky to get the biscuits out. I wouldn’t use treats for this - just some of their usual dry food if they have that.
However, I also think it’s good for dogs to have proper down-time. If they’ve had a decent walk with plenty of sniffs, it’s both physically and mentally rewarding for them, and they need to be able to switch off and learn to settle. Constant mental stimulation can make it difficult to wind down, so ultimately I would probably only use enrichment feeders as a distraction if I needed to, rather than just because…
You can’t really use them all the time anyway if they’re meant to stimulate, because most pets get bored if they’ve figured them out and they become too easy or routine. Like we rotate our dog’s enrichment toys and give them only sporadically, to keep him interested.
I think of those toys separately from most Kongs, where they’re stuffed with say peanut butter or such. There’s no enrichment in just making them lick over and over — that’s more like a treat, except they last longer. Like a kid licks an ice cream and isn’t mentally challenged.
Enrichment Feeders aren’t all meant to challenge - Kongs are great because licking is naturally very soothing for dogs.
Are people only familiar with Kongs or have any used Toppls (similar concept, different shape)? We feed our pup dinner in a Toppl each night and have left it open for the sitter to use that or feed in a bowl. Our preference is the Toppl because it relaxes her for the evening but don’t want to ask that if it’s really uncommon either (she can and does eat meals out of a regular bowl).
I take the word “enrichment” to mean it stimulates them to use their brains. But sure, other folks can interpret as they will.
The ones I consider as enrichment for example require the pet to figure something out to get the treat. Yes, licking can be relaxing, but to me that’s not enriching in this context.
Yes, I’ve used Toppls for sit dogs. Not my own, because he does better with other types of toys.
I’ve seen the roll treats in a towel but I personally avoid it. We leave towels hanging on a rack in the kitchen and don’t want her thinking all towels are up for grabs LOL.
We’ve done a few sits where the dog dog was used to having a Kong, typically when the owner was about to go out. One used peanut butter with the odd treat hidden inside and froze it, another just put a few treats in a Kong bone. In both cases we made up the kings once the pre-made ones were used up.
It would be interesting to try other types of enrichment feeders. We have also sat for dogs who would play a game of hunt the kibble if someone hid a few pieces around the room.
We have a sit that includes a former sniffer dog this summer, so it will be interesting to see how they keep him busy!
I have used them, and am likely to use them if the homeowner points them out and/or shows me how.