We know a dog who could probably have a full-time job.
He’s an active young Lab who runs several miles with his person, comes to daycare multiple days a week, plays with other dogs, swims, sniffs, explores and participates in enrichment activities. He gets plenty of exercise and plenty of stimulation. Like many people who love an energetic dog, his family naturally wonders what else they can do to help him get all that energy out.
But we find ourselves looking at this dog and wondering something different.
What if getting more energy out isn’t what he needs? What if, instead of another activity, he needs more opportunities to practice coming down?
Sometimes the best enrichment for a busy, active dog isn't another game, another run or another exciting experience. It might be a long chew in a quiet space, a slow sniff without a destination, licking something delicious from a frozen toy, or simply having an opportunity to lie down and watch the world without needing to participate in it.
We spend a lot of time thinking about how to keep our dogs busy. Maybe we should spend just as much time helping them learn how good it can feel to be still.
We’ve Come a Long Way With Enrichment
Not very long ago, the standard advice for caring for a dog was fairly simple: feed them, walk them and give them some toys. Today, we understand that dogs need much more than physical exercise. We encourage sniffing, exploring, chewing, licking, problem-solving, training, social interaction and opportunities to use the natural behaviors that make them dogs. That is a wonderful change in the way we think about their lives.
Somewhere along the way, though, enrichment has also become closely associated with doing more. Another puzzle, another game, another outing, another training session, another playdate. Particularly with active dogs, we can find ourselves continually trying to wear them out.
But an exhausted dog and a relaxed dog aren't necessarily the same thing.
Enrichment Can Have More Than One Job
Some enrichment helps dogs engage with their world. Running, playing, swimming, training, exploring somewhere new and solving a challenging food puzzle can provide physical exercise, mental stimulation and opportunities to experience things dogs genuinely enjoy. We want those experiences for our dogs.
Enrichment can have another purpose, too. It can help a dog slow down. Leisurely sniffing through the grass, licking food from a frozen toy, working quietly on an appropriate chew, searching for scattered treats or simply spending time somewhere peaceful creates a very different experience.
Both kinds of enrichment belong in a rich life. We don't need to choose between activity and calm, and one isn't inherently better than the other. Instead, we can begin thinking about enrichment in terms of what an individual dog needs at a particular moment.
When More Activity Isn’t the Answer
Think again about that athletic dog who runs with his person, attends daycare several days a week, swims, plays and participates in enrichment activities. He's still ready to go, so the natural response is to assume he needs even more exercise.
The interesting thing about exercise, though, is that it creates fitness. If you regularly run six miles with your dog, eventually you may not have a tired dog—you may have a dog who is really good at running six miles. If much of a dog's life also revolves around exciting activities, anticipation, movement and the expectation that something is about to happen, he gets lots of practice being "on."
What he may have fewer opportunities to practice is moving in the other direction: from excited to calm, from participating to observing, and from doing to resting. Those transitions are important skills in a dog's everyday life.
The goal certainly isn't to create a dog who never gets excited. We want our dogs to run, play, explore, swim, learn and have wonderful experiences. We also want them to be able to come home afterward, take a deep breath and comfortably settle.
What Research Is Beginning to Tell Us
We're beginning to see research looking beyond whether enrichment simply keeps dogs occupied. Researchers are also asking what different kinds of enrichment may do to a dog's emotional and arousal state. A recent 2026 study examined enrichment specifically in relation to excessive arousal in dogs and found measurable changes associated with enrichment interventions. Earlier research comparing calming and more arousing enrichment has also found differences in dogs' behavior and body posture, including behaviors associated with greater relaxation.
That opens up an interesting way to evaluate the things we do with our dogs. Instead of asking only, "Did my dog enjoy this?" or "Did this keep my dog busy?", we can also ask, "How did my dog feel afterward?"
Did the activity leave your dog relaxed and satisfied, or did it leave them immediately searching for the next thing? Neither response necessarily means the activity was good or bad. Sometimes excitement is exactly what we're looking for. But noticing the difference allows us to choose enrichment with more intention.
What Does Your Dog Need Right Now?
One of the most useful questions we can ask before choosing an activity may be: What state is my dog in now, and what state would I like to help them reach?
A dog who has spent several quiet hours at home may be ready for movement, interaction and exploration. A dog who just spent the afternoon playing at daycare may need something completely different. A dog who becomes highly excited when visitors arrive might benefit more from a sniffing activity, chew or frozen lick than another high-energy game. A dog who becomes increasingly wound up during vigorous play may benefit from short breaks that give their body and brain an opportunity to come back down.
And sometimes your dog doesn't need an activity at all. Rest can be part of an enriched life, too.
Building a Calming Enrichment Toolbox
Calming enrichment doesn't have to be elaborate. In fact, many of the simplest things we can offer our dogs can become opportunities to slow down. The important part is not necessarily the product or activity itself, but the state it encourages in that particular dog.
Some possibilities include:
- Sniffing: Let your dog investigate without worrying about distance or speed. A slow ten-minute exploration of one patch of grass can have value even if you barely make it down the street.
- Searching and foraging: Scatter food through grass, hide treats around a room, use a snuffle mat or create an easy scent-searching activity that lets your dog work at their own pace.
- Licking: Frozen food toys, lick mats and similar activities can encourage a dog to remain in one place and engage in a repetitive activity.
- Chewing: A thoughtfully chosen natural chew gives many dogs an instinctively satisfying activity they can enjoy while settled in one place.
- Observing: Some dogs enjoy lying outside, sitting on a porch or relaxing near their person and simply watching the world. They don't always have to participate in everything they see.
- Connecting: Gentle touch, brushing, lying together or simply sharing the same space can be meaningful enrichment.
- Resting: A comfortable bed, a quiet room, lower stimulation and nothing expected of the dog may sometimes be exactly what they need.
Watch Your Dog, Not the Activity
There probably isn't a universal list of calming activities that works for every dog. A chew may help one dog settle and make another intensely excited. A sniff walk may be peaceful for one dog and overwhelming for another. Even a food puzzle can be relaxing for a dog who works through it slowly but frustrating or highly stimulating for a dog who approaches it like a competitive sport.
Rather than automatically labeling an activity as calming or exciting, watch what happens to your dog while they're doing it and, perhaps even more importantly, what happens when it's over.
Look at their body, their pace and their ability to disengage. Do they seem satisfied? Can they settle afterward? Or are they immediately looking to you and asking, "What's next?"
Your dog's response may tell you far more about the value of an enrichment activity than the label on the toy ever could.
A Rich Life Doesn’t Have to Be a Busy Life
Ultimately, enrichment is about helping dogs live well in the world we've brought them into. That absolutely includes opportunities to run, play, sniff, explore, learn, socialize and experience new things. Those experiences allow dogs to use their bodies and brains, make choices and do many of the things that bring them joy.
But there is another side of enrichment that deserves just as much attention: giving dogs opportunities to feel safe enough to slow down. To chew something quietly, sniff without hurrying, watch the world go by, lie beside someone they love or simply rest without expecting something exciting to happen next.
We don't want to take the joy and excitement out of our dogs' lives. Quite the opposite. We want dogs who can enthusiastically engage with their world and also comfortably disengage from it. A dog who can move between those two states may be better prepared to enjoy not only the exciting parts of life, but the ordinary moments that make up most of every day.
Because a truly enriched life isn't about keeping a dog busy every minute. Sometimes enrichment is giving them something wonderful to do, and sometimes it's giving them the opportunity to discover that they don't have to do anything at all.