Author Name - Brooke Acton
Designation - Co-Founder - Paction
For a new dog owner, the decision to get a pup is like diving into a world of unknowns. It’s that feeling where you don’t even know what you don’t know. Most are aware of the basics: that you must feed your dog and take them to the vet, but there are other aspects including a puppy’s development, time costs and financial costs that are often overlooked (see Paction’s Ultimate Dog Cost Calculator for more on financial costs of owning a dog). Paction is a Canadian tech platform on the forefront of educating consumers so that when Canadians are ready to make the decision to get a dog, they are also ready to be the best possible pup parent they can be!
A topic that has recently received more attention among modern fur mommas and pup parents is that of enrichment. What does it mean to provide your pup with enrichment activities and what are the benefits?
Understanding and creating enrichment opportunities for your pup is important for their development. Although we have a tendency to personify pups, a dog’s mental reality and sensory experience are not the same as a human’s. In some ways, they’re drastically different! For example, a dogs' sense of smell is estimated to be between 10,000-100,000 times more sensitive than a human’s. Understanding this, and nourishing your pup’s reality, is key to helping them reach their full potential in development and to live a satisfying life.
Snuffle mats are an incredible tool that make use of a pup’s developing sense of smell. Making sure your pup gets to utilize their sense of smell is just as important as going outside for some exercise. It’s an activity that uses that very developed olfactory region of their brain. Dogs were evolutionarily designed to be hunters and foragers and a snuffle mat provides an opportunity for them to build confidence at something they were designed to be good at. They have other advantages too, such as slowing down feeding and serving as a healthy outlet to curb other bad behaviours that are driven by inactivity or frustration.
Once you let your pup eat from a snuffle mat, you may notice how much more they prefer it over eating from their regular food bowl. A scientific concept called "contra-freeloading" has determined that dogs actually prefer to work for their food rather than simply receiving it too readily or for “free”. Dogs aren’t the only species to exhibit this tendency and it’s thought that the process of searching and working for food is so ingrained in their biology that it triggers positive reward centers in their brains, releasing dopamine. This feel good hormone enhances their sense of enjoyment and fulfillment. In this way, a snuffle mat is an imperative part of providing your pup with the enrichment that they need for a healthy life.
Snuffle mats and other enrichment activities are just one of several important aspects of being a responsible pup parent. Other topics include choosing the right breed of dog that will match your current and future lifestyles, and educating yourself on how to choose the right breeder or rescue. To read more about these topics and to find a reputable breeder, check out Paction’s other resources.