18 Homemade Enrichment Toys You Can Easily Make for Your Dog

Many dogs thrive on mental stimulation and enrichment. It’s a necessity for some intelligent breeds — otherwise, they’ll become destructive or misbehave from constant boredom. If you have a naturally destructive dog, and the most-loved toys at your house are the most tattered, homemade enrichment toys for your dog might redirect their energy into something a little more engaging.

Keep reading to discover 18 easy-to-make homemade enrichment toys for your dog. They’re great options whether a rainy day has messed up your routine walk, your pup will be alone for several hours, or you just need to find a new toy to keep your dog busy while you work from home.

Why Do Dogs Need Enrichment?

While enrichment might seem like a great boredom buster, it’s so much more vital than that. According to research conducted at Purdue University, enrichment in social, nutritional, and physical aspects of engagement makes a dog’s life much more fulfilled. There are five types of enrichment that homemade and store-bought toys can provide:

• Sensory enrichment.
• Occupational enrichment.
• Physical enrichment.
• Social enrichment.
• Nutritional enrichment.

These types of enrichment vary the stimulus given to a dog, making life and their activities more interactive. It can reduce stress and reinforce socialization practices with an owner or a fellow canine. 

But why is stress reduction in dogs so crucial?

Stress has a multitude of negative consequences for dog health, including:

• A weakened immune system.
• Decreased fetal development (in stressed pregnant dams). 
• Increased aggression.
• Increased panting.
• Increased metabolic rate.

Enrichment also helps dogs understand the world around them more. For example, nutritional enrichment like using puzzle feeders encourages dogs to bark less because they’re busy with a food-motivated activity. Socially-enriched dogs have the ability to positively play, communicate, and interact with other canines. Physical enrichment provides the most obvious benefits: overweight or unhealthy dogs get a cardiovascular workout that also puts their brains to work.

What Dog Breeds Need the Most Mental Stimulation?

Some breeds have a predisposition to become destructive when bored. These dog breeds are the most hyperactive and include:

• Border collies.
• Jack Russell terriers.
• Australian shepherds.
• German shepherds.
• Dalmatians.
• Siberian huskies.

Of course, every individual dog differs within their breed classification. The list above is by no means exhaustive. Mixed-breed dogs have the need for enrichment, too.

More important than the general breed that needs mental stimulation is the dog’s personality, routine, and lifestyle. If your dog is used to several walks a day but your new job means they’ll get two or fewer, the shift in their routine will confuse them. They’ll have pent-up energy that has no place to go, so it may manifest in less-than-appealing behavior. 

Dogs with little to no mental stimulation can exhibit negative behaviors, including excessive barking, excessive self-licking, destroying furniture, displaying aggressive tendencies, or going to the bathroom inside. Most of the time, dogs simply need a bit of attention and mental stimulation, and the “bad” behavior is their last resort to be heard by their families.

Puzzle Enrichment Toys

Muffin Tin Treat Hunt

If you have a muffin tin, some treats, and a few old tennis balls, you’re in good shape to create this easy and fun homemade enrichment puzzle.

First, put some small treats in the bottom of the muffin tins so your dog understands there are treats at the bottom! Once they associate the muffin tin with food, put more treats in and place tennis balls on top of them so your dog needs to nudge the ball off to “win” the treat.

You can make this game even harder by only filling a few of the tins but covering each one with a tennis ball. 

Shoebox Detective

Some dogs like to hunt for treats more than the actual treats! If you have a dog at home who loves to put their nose to work, consider filling a cardboard box, shoebox, or other lidded, medium-sized empty container with their favorite toys.

Depending on your dog’s intelligence and problem-solving skills, you can make the box even more difficult. Instead of their toys, spread some treats on a towel and then fold it over several times so it fits in the box. Then, sprinkle a few loose treats in the box. Close it, lightly tape it, and give it to your dog to figure out!

Busy Boxes

Kongs, stuffed animals, and paper towel rolls — these are probably a few of your dog’s favorite things, and they’re now all in one place!

Using the same box from the shoebox detective puzzle game, collect up your dog’s favorite toys, some new toys, a few filled bones and treats, and some recyclable, dog-friendly paper products to destroy. Fill the box with them and tape it lightly shut, or close it and turn it over, so the “open” part is facing down.

Then, loose your pup on the box. They not only need to figure out how to open the box, but their nose will encounter several different smells of all the toys and contents, and they’ll need to decide what they want to play with first.

Hidden Treat Box

Using a small cardboard box again, this DIY treat dispenser poses two puzzles to your dog: how to get treats out, and exactly how many treats are there to eat?

Poke a few holes just slightly larger than the treats you intend to fill the box with. Fill the box and then secure it closed, so your dog can’t open it or see inside. Shake it once or twice until a treat falls out, teaching your dog that there is food in the box that they can get out. Then, let them figure out the rest for themselves!

Towel Tie

With an old tea towel (for small dogs) or a swimming towel for medium and large dogs, spread some dog treats across the entire length of the towel. Then, fold it up longways from the bottom — so you create a thin, long rope of towel filled with treats.

Once you’ve folded it as far as it will fold properly, take the two ends and tie the towel in a knot. Place it on the floor and let your dog figure out how to get all the treats out!

How tightly you tie the knot is up to you. For the first time you try this puzzle, you may want to tie it a bit looser, and then increase the difficulty as your dog figures out how to untie the knot with their paws or teeth.

Toilet Paper Roll Hunt

Great for smaller or toy-sized pups, the toilet paper roll hunt combines old toilet paper rolls with a shallow box and some treats. In the shallow box, stand the toilet paper rolls up on their vertical sides. Fill each tube with a few treats, and let your dog try to figure out how to get the food.

Egg Carton Slow Feeder

If you have a chow hound at home who can’t wait to gobble down their food, consider an egg carton as a slow feeder puzzle for some of their meal. When using an egg carton for any DIY dog enrichment toy, be sure to use the cardboard or recyclable material cartons, not the plastic or styrofoam type.

You can either fill the empty egg spaces with a bit of food, or you can make it a game. Poke holes in the bottom of the egg spaces and tape the carton shut, just like you did with the hidden treat box puzzle. Let your dog go to town trying to get their food out!

Treat-Dispensing Enrichment Toys

Snuffle Mats

Making your own snuffle mat is as complex or simple as you’d like to make it. The easiest snuffle mats are a single towel or blanket laid flat, sprinkled with food or treats, and scrunched up into a smaller size so the food isn’t immediately visible.

More nuanced snuffle mats use fleece, old t-shirts, felt, and more to create flaps that encourage dogs to sniff through to find their food. The more complex a snuffle mat is, the longer it will keep your dog entertained!

Water Bottle Treat Drop

This is a fun one that takes inspiration from many of the interactive treat dispensers available to buy. You have two options — an easy and quick option that uses whatever bottles you have on hand and a piece of yard or 550 cord, or a more involved version that needs some scrap pieces of wood and 20-ounce soda bottles.

If you opt for the former option, the setup is simple. Pierce a hole on either side of a plastic bottle — whether it’s a soda bottle, water bottle, juice bottle, or something else. Then, thread through your piece of yarn or other sturdy string. Add as many bottles as you want. Then, pull the string taut and tie or anchor it to a chair, wall, or door frame. Fill the bottle with treats, and let your dogs figure out how to hit the bottles at just the right angles to flip them around and let the treats fall out of the bottle’s neck.

For handy dog owners with scrap pieces of wood at home, take a look at one of the many DIY treat dispenser tutorials to find step-by-step instructions.

Monkey’s Fist Treat Ball

All you need is a piece of thicker rope and some treats to make this easy treat-dispensing ball. Look up “how to tie a monkey’s fist knot” online and have your treats handy. Once you have the base of the knot, fill the alcove with treats and continue knotting the rope until you have a fully formed ball. Then, give it to your dog — whether they undo the knot or find a way to get the treats out of the middle, it will take them a good while to figure out how to get to the center!

Lick Mats

You don’t need to buy a fancy lick mat to make your dog’s day. Any old plastic or silicone ice cube tray, or a silicone baking mat, will provide the same type of enrichment. Lick mats are especially handy for needy dogs that want to be close to or touch you — simply spread some peanut butter, sliced fruit, and broth on a mat, freeze it, and then tape it to the wall near you. Just make sure to put a larger coverage of plastic wrap or something to protect your wall under the lick mat.

Frozen Treat Bowl

All you need is their food bowl and some dog-safe human food for this enrichment activity. Fill the bowl shallowly with cheese, carrots, beef, peanut butter, sweet potato, or other vet-approved food you have in your kitchen. Pour some broth or water and freeze the bowl for a few hours. Then, let them go to town on it, working out each piece of food.

Tennis Ball Treat Dispenser

You only need one tennis ball, a pair of scissors (or other sharp object), and some treats. Score a tennis ball along its glue line, opening it just enough to slip something into the middle. Pop some great-smelling treats inside and give it to your dog. After a bit, they should figure out how to press down and open the ball — but getting the treat out is another story! 

Sensory Enrichment Toys

Ball Pit

You don’t need to buy a ball pit if you have an old kiddie pool and a few errant tennis balls. If you have a plethora of tiny ball pit balls from other sports, your kids, or garage sales, throw them in the bit! If you only have a few tennis balls and other old sports balls, consider filling the “ball pit” up with water outside and putting the balls in it. This is a great sensory summer activity that keeps dogs engaged, cool, and having fun. 

Sniffari

All you need for a “sniffari” is a leash and a walking route!

Take your dog on a safari of sorts where their nose leads the way. Making sure to steer clear of anything clearly dangerous, the walk is your dog’s time to shine. Allow them to decide your walking route based solely on what they want to smell. They get to explore more of the world around them, and when they’re done, they’ll sleep the rest of the day! Not to mention, you might find a great new place for a walk while you’re out.

Flirt Pole

The much-loved cat toy now has a giant dog counterpart. These sticks with a bit of rope on the end can give your dog hours of enjoyment and foster healthy bonding time between you both.

Simply get a three- to five-foot length of PVC or another sturdy material (like an old broom), attach the rope to it so a segment hangs off, and tie a dog toy to the end of the length of the rope. If you’re using a broom, you can attach the rope with fun-colored duct tape — not only will it stop the rope from coming off, but it will make the toy decorative! If you choose to use a piece of PVC pipe, you just need to thread the rope through the openings and tie it off at both ends.

T-shirt Tug-of-War

Have some old t-shirts gathering dust in the back of your closet? Turn them into a dog toy in as little as an hour! Depending on the type of tug toy you’d like to create, all you need to do is cut the seams and hems off of the shirt, cut it into strips, and tie them together in a braid or square knot.

This tug-of-war toy accomplishes a few benefits:

• Provides a collaborative toy for you and your dog, or a multiple-dog household.
• Offers a new toy with a familiar scent (yours!) to your dog.
• Upcycles old clothes and repurposes them into something functional again.

Slinky Dog Snuffle

Use old fleece blankets you may have lying around, or thick t-shirts, and a shoelace to create a puppy-esque snuffle toy!

You’ll simply cut the fabric you chose to use into rounds, poke a small hole in the middle of the circle, and string them together until you have a long “dachshund”-shaped log of fleece rounds. Feel free to put a cute face on the front, or leave it as is. Then, put treats in between the layers and let your pup figure out how to get them out!

Destruction Box

As mentioned above, some dogs naturally enjoy destroying things — like shredding paper, taking the stuffing out of toys, or scraping good bits of flavor off of bones. For rainy days or times when you think your dog might get anxious, give them a box full of “okay-to-destroy” things. It might be filled with paper towels and toilet paper rolls, thick and crinkly packing paper, or t-shirt scraps. They’ll enjoy figuring out how to open the box and getting to destroy what’s inside while you get the peace of mind that what’s being destroyed isn’t a new pair of shoes, the stairs, or the couch.

When you give your dog anything that’s not specifically designed for dog play, keep an eye on them. Watching your dogs while they play can prevent them from accidentally swallowing something they’re not supposed to!

Keeping Your Dog Sharp: Mentally, Physically, and Emotionally

These homemade enrichment toys can provide your pup with hours of fun and mental stimulation. What’s even better is that they don’t cost an arm or a leg to create. With everyday objects found around the house, you can create a veritable treasure trove of new and exciting toys for your pup without breaking the bank. Your dog (and your home) will thank you.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Valeriya Dzyuba/Shutterstock.com