Ditch The Bowl - Make Food More Rewarding!

Making your dog work for their food will be rewarding, mentally and physically. Instead of feeding them in a bowl, be inspired by all the ways you can make their meal times more of a fun challenge. Dogs are scavengers so making scavenging a fun part of eating their meals is a great way to let them get that natural behaviour out in more positive ways!

Why should I ditch the bowl with my dog?

  • Improved mental stimulation burns some of their energy each day - especially those with busy brains / high drive!

  • Chewing is calming and using their nose is rewarding and tiring

  • Helps dogs work on frustration and calming themselves down when excited

  • Helps dogs develop problem solving skills and creativity

  • Great for puppies or ‘clingy’ dogs to practice being on their own, especially for crate training

  • Slows down fast eaters

  • Can also encourage ‘fussy’ eaters to start eating

  • Excellent for elderly or injured dogs as mental exercise (more tiring than physical!)

  • Provides a great opportunity for sound desensitisation e.g. Fireworks (playing sounds quietly at first while they’re distracted and doing something calming and enjoyable) Good playlist on YouTube here

  • Can reduce barking outdoors by feeding them in that space so they spend longer practicing calm, quiet behaviour out there and start to learn to ignore surrounding noises / triggers (because they’re so busy sniffing and eating)

  • Many of these also provide a great distraction and way to keep your dog busy and quiet when you have visitors (especially when they arrive)

  • You can also increase mental stimulation (and duration) to the next level by adding nosework – hide some enrichment toys / puzzles at mealtimes (indoors or outdoors) so they have to sniff them out then solve them!

VIDEO - You can see some of the ‘Ditch The Bowl’ ideas in action in the 3 minute ‘Enrichment Compilation’ video on this page.

Ditch the bowl ideas

  • There are so many ways to make meal times more fun and rewarding for your dog - you don’t have to spend a fortune!

  • Raw feeders I’ve noted some specific ideas for you below this list as well

  • Get creative with DIY options

    • Scatter feeding - scatter their food on the floor or in the grass then let him sniff it out! They may need a bit of help from you working this out at first, but they should quickly get the idea.Hide food inside a rolled up towel or yoga mat, in a cardboard roll with the ends twisted or inside an egg carton with the lid closed*

      • ‘Snuffle Mats’ are a slightly tidier version of this if you don’t want food all over the floor

    • Towel enrichment - this blog post has some great ideas for transforming towels into a variety of fun enrichment options for your dog!

    • Cardboard fun - put food inside egg cartons or cardboard rolls with the ends twisted*

    • Plastic bottles are great for putting dry food in and leaving the lid off so they have to knock it around to get the food out. You can also cut holes in plastic bottles / containers, or create a DIY spinning bottle game

    • Freeze food in ice cube trays or muffin trays for hot days

    • Other DIY puzzles include the muffin tin game or hiding food between stacked cups or bowls.

    • Scatter bowls / boxes - you can also sprinkle their food into boxes or large plastic bowls filled with scrunched up paper, plastic balls and other safe objects for them to navigate their nose around to find their food. This is excellent for anxious dogs as it helps to build up their confidence and optimism about new things as well as getting them used to having different things (textures, shapes, movement) touching their face!

    • Sound bowls / boxes - as another extension, including ‘noisy’ objects like cans, bottle caps or bells (for example) can be a great way to reduce sound sensitivity while they’re eating (note that chewing is very calming for dogs)

    • Tasting platter - create a fun sensory experience for your dog which will also help you discover if they like different tastes and textures! Create a selection of small tasters of different meats, seafood, veggies, fruit, even a little bit of cheese or some new dog treats. If you’re worried about what is safe to feed your dog PET First Aid and Training (NZ) have a great summary of harmful foods here.

  • Slow Feeders instead of bowls (you can also add water or broth to these and freeze them for an extra challenge on hot days)

  • Puzzles, interactive feeders or food toys

    • One of my absolute favourite toys at the moment is the Planet Dog Orbee-Tuff SNOOP and I use it for normal food as well as treats

      • This video is a great example of seeing it in action with lots of different dogs - I haven’t met one yet who doesn’t enjoy it!

    • The Snake toy is hugely popular and now available from Kiwi Canine - they have a great store with LOADS of other goodies too!

    • Shine Pets is another Kiwi-owned store who have an amazing store full of fantastic enrichment toys as do Constructive Canines and Enriched Canines.

    • Kongs – for those of you who’ve bought one of these but your dog - or you - weren’t quite sure how to use it, there are some great resources for how to stuff a Kong based on dogs of all ages and experience.

  • Stuffed toys or Boredom Busters

    • In addition to specific food toys, you can also put food inside pieces of material stuffed in a toy such as the Jw Hol-Ee Roller ball which they then have to pull out and unravel (available from Shine Canine) – the material can be washed and used again if you’re using raw or wet food. See pics at the bottom of this post for how I’ve used this idea.

    • This blog post also has some additional ideas for making the Hol-Ee Roller ball more challenging, including ideas of dogs who aren’t food motivated

  • ‘Licky mats’ are good for wet / soft food and easy to clean - Kiwi Canine has several options including the LickiMat Tuffs and UFO’s

    • You can also stick these to the wall or attach them to something then smear with peanut butter or other soft food to keep your dog distracted while in the bath or being brushed or having their nails trimmed!

Raw Food Options

For those of you who feed raw using some of the following to feed them al or part of their meals is a great option – they’re all pretty easy to clean or throw away:

  • Slow feeders are all plastic or silicone so they’re pretty easy to use then wash available from Constructive Canines, Shine Pets, Kiwi Canine and most pet stores

  • The WestPaw Toppl, the Snake Toy and lots of the food toys from Kiwi Canine are great options (they also have Kongs)

  • Kmart and Pet.co.nz also have loads of great puzzles which you can put meat in and rinse off

  • Use the Muffin Tin game

  • Put food between stacked bowls or cups

  • Put food inside egg cartons or cardboard rolls with the ends twisted*

  • Freeze food in ice cube trays for hot days

  • Silicone Mats from Kmart (as an alternative to ‘Licky Mats’) are great for smearing mince on

  • Hide food inside plastic eggs which you can usually find at discount / $2 shops (for those dogs who won’t destroy them)

  • The Jw Hol-Ee Roller ball idea above – putting bits of meat inside pieces of material then stuffing them into the ball (to be supervised so they don’t ingest the material as well!)

  • You could even put food on small plates / bowls / jar lids and hide them under sports cones around the back yard!

*A note on cardboard – please make sure you supervise them so they’re not eating ingesting the cardboard. Also if you normally keep cardboard boxes or other cardboard around on the floor, your dog will start to think they’re all treat containers! So either move the cardboard or look at alternative options if you don’t want a mess!

Get inspired! There are loads of other creative ideas online, especially on social media if you want some inspiration!

ONLINE DOG STORES (NZ OWNED & OPERATED) with great enrichment toys

Stuff Dog Food Toys
Augusta Graysondog food, meal times, enrichment, dog toys, boredom busters, snuffle mats, interactive feeders, licky mats, canine enrichment