Dog Parenting on Low Battery

5 Easy Enrichment Strategies for When You’re Low on Spoons

This post originally appeared on my instagram, which you can find here.

As a dog guardian with a chronic illness, I know what it’s like to wake up and have a “low spoon” day where you feel like garbage, but you’ve still got living creatures depending on you. I know how frustrating and guilt-inducing it can be to not be able to engage in more physically demanding activities with your dogs, like long walks or hikes.

Low-battery days happen to everyone. Maybe you’re chronically ill as well, and these days are part of your everyday reality. Or maybe you’re moving through a season of grief, stress, injury or illness that’s draining all your energy. Whatever the reason, low-spoon days can make dog parenting feel extra overwhelming.

The good news is that your dog doesn’t need you to be at 100% battery to have a good day. She doesn’t need a long hike or a complicated training session every single day. There are lots of low-effort activities that can make these tougher days just a bit easier on everyone.

The following enrichment ideas are rated by battery level (according to my own experience – yours will vary). I’ve classified them as ultra-low, just plain low, or medium-low battery.

I didn’t include kongs, lick mats, and other enrichment toys because I wanted to focus on things you can do without much prep beforehand. But it is invaluable to have a frozen kong or lick mat ready to go when you need it! And I do love snuffle mats and puzzle toys as well.

Obviously, please use your judgment as to whether these ideas will work for you and your dog(s). Not every idea is perfect for every dog or human. These are just jumping off points to get you started!

1. Treat or Kibble Scatter: Ultra-Low Battery

Okay, you’ve got ultra-low battery. You’ve got like half a spoon left and it’s bent. I want you to literally just throw a bunch of kibble or small treats on the floor. Just scatter them across as big a space as you manage, and let your dog hunt for them. If you can get outdoors and you have a grassy area to toss treats in, that’s even better. After all, the grass is nature’s snufflemat.

2. Find the treats (sometimes called “Find It”): Low Battery

This is the slightly more sophisticated version of the treat scatter. This time you’re going to go through the effort of hiding treats or kibble throughout a room.

If your dog has never played this game, let her observe you hiding the treats (from behind a gate if needed). Then, when you’re all done, release her and say “go find it!” (or whatever cue you want to use). Watch as she uses her nose to find all the hidden treats!

You can put treats under pillows, inside shoes, hidden under a pile of dog toys – get creative!

3. “Sniffari”: Medium-Low Battery

Sniffari time! Take your dog out on a long line (or a flexi lead, I don’t judge) and bring her to the nearest, most-interesting-to-dogs patch of grass you have in your area. Then you can just sit or stand while your dog sniffs to her heart’s content.

Sniffing engages your dog’s brain, providing excellent mental enrichment. It also serves as stress relief for your dog and can lower her heart rate and help her relax. All these benefits, and all you need to do is supervise!

4. Box enrichment: Medium-low battery

If your dog likes shredding cardboard, congrats – just throw some boxes on the ground and you are done (till clean up time that is).

If your dog is uninterested in cardboard all on its lonesome, try putting some tasty treats inside a box and then closing it up. If you have a very clever dog, you can even stuff a small box with treats and then stuff THAT box into bigger boxes and make it more of a challenge.

(Obviously, don’t do this one if your dog ingests cardboard!)

5. Flirt Pole: Medium-low battery

A flirt pole for dogs is like a giant cat teaser toy – it’s just a pole with a string and a toy or “lure” on the end to get the dog to engage and chase it.

Playing with the flirt pole is great for lower energy days. All you have to do is move the lure for your dog to chase, but meanwhile your dog is running hard and getting out a lot of energy!

If your dog doesn’t want to chase the lure, try experimenting with different toys tied on the end – fluffy squeaky toys, grippy rubber toys, fleece tug ropes, whatever you can tie on there.

A flirt pole is best used outdoors, especially if you have very fast dogs who are reckless in the pursuit of prey (looking at you, whippets). However, if you have a nice, big, clear space indoors with non-slip flooring and you’re able to keep your session more low-key, indoors may work in a pinch.

And one final note…

I want to reassure you that even if you can only do a little bit on some days...

Your dog still loves you.

Your dog is lucky to have you.

And your dog can live a healthy and happy life with you.

If you need a dog trainer who understands what it’s like to deal with low-spoon days, I’m currently taking new virtual clients. Your training plan is always personalized to both your dog’s needs and your needs as a human. You can contact me here.