Budget friendly enrichment ideas for your dog

Egg Carton Puzzle

Here’s something I find fascinating: your dog’s wolf ancestors spent much of their day hunting, foraging, and figuring out how to find their next meal. Fast forward to today, and your pup gets a bowl of kibble served twice a day without much effort. Comfortable? Definitely. But that bright, curious mind still craves a challenge.

The good news is that keeping your dog mentally stimulated doesn’t have to be expensive. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing simple DIY enrichment ideas made from items you probably already have around the house. They’re easy to put together, budget-friendly, and a great way to keep your dog happy and engaged.

Heads up: All of these activities should be supervised. Never leave your dog alone while they’re playing with any puzzle or enrichment toy.

Egg Carton Puzzle

Before that empty egg carton hits the recycling bin, put it to work. This one is satisfying to watch because your dog has to nose open each little compartment to find the goods.

What you need:

•        An empty egg carton

•        Treats

Step 1: Egg Carton and Treats

Step 2: Put treats in egg carton

1.      Place treats in the empty compartments.

2.      Close the carton.

3.      Let your dog figure it out.

Arya figuring what this new puzzle is

Arya finding a solution.

Arya figuring it out

This puzzle was new to Arya, the videos are her being introduced the the Egg Carton Puzzle for the first time. There are 3 - 1 minute videos of her figuring it out. It also helped that the carton I used had holes in it, so treats were able to fall out while she played with it.

Pro tip: For an extra challenge, stuff some packing paper into the compartments over the treats before closing. Like the toilet paper roll, this one will get shredded and that is completely fine. Dogs love the shredding process.