Santa Paws’s elves work hard all year making presents for all the Good Dogs of the world. They have exceptionally high standards and each gift must be inspected thoroughly. They have asked your dog to do the quality control checks.
What’s that you say? Your dog doesn’t have particularly high standards and will eat anything? Hmm ok, let’s keep that one quiet.
What’s inside the gift boxes? Why, everything a dog loves most of course!
Providing new smells, new sounds, new tastes, new textures and new environments for your dog to explore taps into their natural doggy instincts and makes them calmer and happier.
Use a pillowcase or sack and fill it with your dog’s favourite things – whether that’s different kinds of food, non-edible scents, toys, or a combination!
Here are some ideas…
Toys
- Old favourites
- Swapped with friends
Scents
- Something found
- Something borrowed
Textures
- Wrapping paper – something that rustles
- Empty wrapping paper tubes
Food
A selection of textures, such as:
- A chew
- Soft food
- Crunchy food
Put the items directly into the sack, or put them inside boxes and then into the sack.
Method
Take one thing out of the pillowcase or sack at a time. Remember this is quality control inspection, so nice and slow so you don’t miss any flaws.
Build the excitement. The contents are delicate so open the boxes slowly. Peek inside. ‘Oooh, what is this? Ohhh wow.’ Every word is a whisper, every movement is slow. Precious, curious – shhh! Gently peel back a corner – a little more, a little more, letting your dog investigate. If it’s edible, let them eat it. If it’s non-edible, let them sniff it. When they’re done, put it away and slowly bring out the next one.
If you have a chew, it’s a good idea to bring that out last while you sit with them or tidy the rest of the boxes away.
