BLANKET ENRICHMENT By: Sophia Patriarco
SUPPLIES
~ LEVEL 1 ~ Place food rewards on the floor and cover with blanket loosely. The goal of this level is to ENCOURAGE your dog to forage!
Blankets, towels, sheets, clothing, etc. Boxes, tubs, buckets, bins Range of toys Food rewards, different values Stuffables (ex: kongs, balls, etc)
~ LEVEL 2 ~
Your blanket should not be frayed or easily destroyable. Please supervise your dog to ensure they do not ingest any non-food related items. *Tip: Have high-value treats on the ready to trade to your pet if they start to ingest the blanket. SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT By encouraging foraging behavior, blanket enrichment can help address:
Place your blanket flat, scatter treats on top and swirl the blanket, messing it up.
Place your blanet flat, scatter treats on top and roll up the blanet like a burrito. ~ LEVEL 3 ~
Confidence building through positive exposure to novel experiences
Boredom Chewing Destruction Anxiety
With any of these levels, you can always switch it up! Try adding a ball into the blanket. Or a stuffable with some yummy treats! Even put the wrapped-up blanket in a bin or bucket to level up those foraging skills! TOO EASY?
OTHER ANIMALS This can easily be adapted for other animals! For horses you could use a heavy duty blanket with apples or mints. For cats, you could use cat nip or mouse toys.
SOURCES Bukovinsky, Jessica. ANSC 222 Behavior Problems in Companion Animals. Enrichment Lecture, 2025. Ireland, AniEd. “Day 29 Blankets.” AniEd Ireland, 4 Feb. 2019, aniedireland.com/2019/02/04/day-29- blankets/. Accessed 29 Sept. 2025.
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