Why you should let your dog play with their food this Easter
Easter is one of those special times of year where food becomes even more fun than usual for the humans in the household! Egg-stravagant chocolates, egg hunts, and treats from the Easter bunny – children and adults alike can revel in the fun that Easter brings.
So why not get your beloved dog involved as well? Minus the chocolate of course!
Easter is the perfect time to start making food a little more fun for your pups.
Introducing food play time!
What is food play time?
Essentially, food play time is anything that involves feeding your dog in a fun and playful way. This could incorporate all of their meals and snacks, or could just be limited to snacks if you are set on feeding meals from a bowl. There are so many benefits to making food times fun for our four-legged friends, and we just know that they’ll love you even more for it!
Benefits of food play time
Energy expenditure
Sniffing, chewing, gnawing, hunting and thinking all use up lots of energy for our pups. This is especially important when the April showers make outdoor play and dog walks a little bit more tricky. Allowing dogs to play with their food as part of their feeding routine is a great way to keep them occupied, use up energy, and prevent any boredom-related undesirable behaviour (just think of the slippers you could save from potential destruction!).
Oral hygiene
Raw bones and treats which are generally harder in nature and require a lot of chewing and gnawing are great ways to keep your dog’s oral hygiene in check. The abrasive nature of bones and harder treats helps to reduce plaque and softer foods becoming lodged in gaps in the teeth. Nobody likes dog breath, so a welcome benefit of food play time is the boost to oral health that it provides. Looking for a nice, clean, long lasting chew? Check out our antler bars!
Mental stimulation
Dogs are naturally curious and intelligent animals, and need to use their brains just as much as their legs. Mental exercise is crucial for a happy and healthy dog, and encouraging them to ‘think’ as part of their feeding routine is a great way to maintain good mental health. Read our dedicated mental exercise blog post here for further tips and to find out more about the benefits!
Endorphin release
Dogs are naturally playful creatures and, as pack animals, they are renowned for their playful antics with each other. Seeing as many households have just one pet dog, their canine contact playtime is often limited to their daily walks. Letting dogs use up their playfulness in other ways – such as at their feeding time – is ideal to boost their happiness levels and let them release those endorphins (the happy hormones!).
Ideas to make food fun!
Get stuffing!
Moo tubes, otherwise known as cow trachea, are great for stuffing with your dog’s raw food or other raw treats. Dogs love to use their minds, paws and mouth to get every last morsel out. Or you can opt for our marrow bones, which are already packed with delicious marrow for dogs to spend hours devouring.
Hide and Seek!
Hiding food and treats and letting your dog use their sniffing powers to seek them out is a fantastic and relatively easy way to incorporate food play time into their days. Did you know just how powerful a dog’s sense of smell is and how important using it is for them? Take a read of our sniffing superpower article to learn more. Easter is the perfect time for this activity and they could have their very own Easter ‘egg’ hunt with our extensive range of raw treats and bones!
Invest in some feeding accessories
There are plenty of alternatives to the standard dog bowl that can make feeding a little more fun, time consuming and energy burning. The Lick N Snack licking plate is a great option. It encourages licking (which has a soothing effect for dogs) and can help digestion by slowing down particularly speedy gobblers!
And last of all - have a wonderful, fun Easter!
