Puppy enrichment means giving your puppy safe, gentle chances to explore, sniff, chew and solve little problems, in short sessions with plenty of sleep in between. It helps build a confident, well-adjusted dog and gives a busy puppy something better to do than chewing your skirting boards.
This guide is for the first weeks and months. For what changes as your puppy grows, see puppy enrichment by age.
Four rules for puppy enrichment
- Keep it short. A few minutes is plenty for a young puppy. Several short sessions beat one long one.
- Protect sleep. Young puppies need a great deal of sleep. An over-tired puppy is often bitey and frantic.
- Go gentle on growing joints. Avoid jumping, stairs, long walks and repetitive chasing. RSPCA Australia warns that over-exercising puppies can affect bone and muscle development.
- Supervise everything. Puppies explore with their mouths and swallow things.
Ten starter games
1. Snuffle mat meals
Part of each meal hidden in a snuffle mat or rolled towel. Easy foraging from day one. Snuffle mat guide.
2. Treat under a cup
Put a treat under a plastic cup while your puppy watches, and let them knock it over. The first step towards scent games.
3. Texture trail
Lay out a towel, a doormat, a piece of flattened cardboard and a rubber mat, and scatter treats across them. Builds confidence with new surfaces.
4. Sound and sight introductions
Pair new sounds (the vacuum at a distance, the hair dryer) and sights (an umbrella, a hat) with treats, at a level your puppy is comfortable with. Let them approach in their own time.
5. Name game
Say their name once, reward when they look at you. Builds attention and a foundation for recall.
6. "Touch"
Hold your hand near their nose and reward the bump. A simple, useful first trick.
7. Cardboard box explore
An open box with a few treats and a toy inside to investigate. Supervise so they don't eat the cardboard.
8. Frozen teething toy
Soft puppy food in a puppy-sized rubber toy, lightly frozen, can soothe teething gums. Frozen food enrichment.
9. Gentle handling
Touch ears, paws and mouth briefly, paired with treats, so vet visits and grooming are easier later.
10. Easy hide and seek
Step around a corner and call once. Celebrate when they find you. Keep it on one level, with no stairs.
A sample session plan
| When | Session |
|---|---|
| After breakfast | Snuffle mat (3 minutes), then nap |
| Mid-morning | Name game and "touch" (2 minutes), then nap |
| Midday | Texture trail (3 minutes) |
| Afternoon | Treat under a cup, then a frozen teething toy |
| Evening | Gentle handling with treats, easy hide and seek |
Common beginner mistakes
- Doing too much: long play sessions, long walks, constant visitors.
- Rough play that rewards biting.
- Leaving chewable toys, mats or cardboard with an unsupervised puppy.
- Using lots of extra treats instead of part of their daily food.
- Forcing a nervous puppy towards something scary. Let them choose.
Sources and further reading
Lives with Henry, a Hungarian Vizsla, and wrote his weekly enrichment plan by hand for months before turning it into this app. Not a vet or a qualified behaviourist: the guides draw on everyday experience with a high-drive gundog and on published guidance from animal welfare organisations, which is linked where it is used.
