Science-Backed Ways to Enrich Your Senior Dog’s Life

• Why is enrichment so important for dogs, and especially senior dogs? 
• How do I discover what my dog’s preferences are? 
• What happens to dogs’ preferences as they age? 
• What new tricks should I teach my old dog? 

It’s not exactly true that dogs age seven years for every human year, but the notion captures something real and often painful: dogs age more quickly than people. As your own dog gets older, they may lose their hearing or vision, or have diminished taste or smell. Their mobility could be impacted. The dog who used to have an endless urge to fetch might not feel like chasing a ball anymore. Your once-indefatigable running partner might start sitting down after walking a block or two. They might seem like a different dog than the one you knew years ago.

But, though dogs may change as they get older, they can still live active lives through their golden years. Offering enrichment is one way to help them do that. Every dog benefits from stimulating activities that meet their physical, mental, and emotional needs, but senior dogs require enrichment that meets them where they are—recognizing that they may have different preferences now than they did in the past. And now, there is a body of scientific work that shows just how much engaging older dogs on their own terms through enrichment, while working around the challenges of aging, can improve their lives.

“[More enrichment] does seem to slow down cognitive decline—as it does in people—if you give the dogs more to do,” said Katherine A. Houpt, VMD, PhD, professor emeritus at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicines’s Department of Clinical Sciences.

One recent study published in the aging-focused journal GeroScience tested whether physical and cognitive therapies could slow dogs’ decline. The study found that dogs who received cognitive activities, whether alone or in combination with physical activities, were more likely to explore and manipulate new objects—that is, they had a renewed love for novelty—than those in the control group. The physical activities, either alone or in combination with cognitive activities, improved dogs’ social behavior and behavioral flexibility: dogs who took part in the physical activities were more willing to greet a stranger, and more willing and able to learn something new.

You don’t have to conduct peer-reviewed research in a controlled environment to keep your dog as active and happy as possible as they get on in years. Simply observing them closely and giving them things to do that match their interests and abilities is a good start. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Discover what your dog really loves

Dale McLelland, a U.K.-based animal behavior specialist, told us that the best enrichment goes beyond simply keeping your dog busy. Instead, the ideal is to identify an activity that’s “really meaningful” to each individual dog. 

In her new book, Engage the Senses, McLelland details how to set up play sessions designed to help you figure out your dog’s preferences, and then offer activities that align with those. If you’d like to gain insight into what your dog is into at any given moment, you can set up a number of activities in a safe space and observe his or her behavior, McLelland explains in the book.

There is no one-size-fits-all session. One dog may take a moment to smell the herbs in a pot, another might love different textures on their paws, and another might enjoy the sound of trickling water—and this all might change depending on the day or the year. Watch what your dog chooses to engage with first, and observe their body language for tenseness, shaking, yawning, lip-licking or moving away (all signs of doggie discomfort). With practice, it’s easy to discern between curiosity and interest versus fear and avoidance.

Once you discover your dog’s interests, it can be fairly simple to scale the activity to their level, working around whatever disabilities they may have. Maybe they like to lie on soft textures, so you offer a spongy mat where they can stretch out. Maybe you put a pot that is growing a favorite herb in the room where they are (McLelland does note that if your dog grows overwhelmed by the smell, and can’t choose to move away due to mobility issues, you should move the item away for them after awhile to avoid overwhelm or fatigue). 

Chewing has well-researched benefits for dogs (not to mention humans). So, if your dog shows an interest, offering something to chew is a fine activity—and one that you can cater to their dental needs through different textures or hardnesses. When trying to maximize the relaxing aspects of chewing, McLelland doesn’t recommend putting a bunch of food down in multiple places—as in a scavenger hunt—because dogs often feel like they have to eat quickly to make sure they get the next item. 

Many of McLelland’s suggestions find backing in recent studies focused on dogs’ preferences and how they show them—plus what benefits can come when our pets are allowed to express those preferences by making choices. One recent study published in Applied Animal Behavioral Science, for example, measured pet dogs’ activity level when playing with scented toys versus unscented toys. The authors found that the dogs showed preference for a specific scent, not just any scent. They played with toys scented with their favorite smell (be it chicken, beef, or whatever else). The toys that smelled like other things might as well have been unscented. 

“While no single scent was preferred across all dogs, individual preference for specific scents increased activity levels, suggesting that personalized enrichment can enhance welfare,” the study’s authors concluded. All dogs are individuals with their own likes and dislikes. It’s always a good idea to pay attention to what they’re into. 

Dr. Houpt added another piece of emphatic advice: do not get a puppy simply to lift the spirits of an aging dog. “People often say, I’ll get my dog a puppy, then they’ll have someone to play with, and that often it’s a disaster because the puppy is pestering the old dog or everyone is playing with the puppy and the old dog is sitting in the corner,” she said. Effective enrichment is more nuanced than bringing in a whole new member of the family.

Understand that preferences might change as dogs age

The scented-toy study also found that age was the most significant factor affecting toy engagement, with older dogs showing reduced activity levels and less interaction with the provided toys overall (the oldest dog in the study was nine). The authors didn’t speculate as to why older dogs played with the toys less, but one shouldn’t assume from this data that play or enrichment is any less important for older dogs. In fact, as mentioned above, it’s extremely important for mitigating cognitive and physical decline. Owners of older dogs, the authors acknowledge, might just need to focus on meeting them where they are.

Play might be slower, for example. Arthritis and other mobility issues don’t mean the end of walks and other old standbys of your day-to-day life with your dog. You might have to adapt the activity, Dr. Houpt suggests. Instead of throwing a ball across the yard, for example, roll it gently toward your dog. And don’t worry if, once they catch it, they don’t bring it back to you. 

If they can’t manage walks, taking your dog outside in a stroller is an alternative. And this goes for dogs of any age, but the point of a “walk” doesn’t have to be the walking part. Since dogs experience so much of the world through their noses, they can get plenty of enrichment from simply smelling one spot. 

“We’re always saying, oh, we took a dog to walk there yesterday,” Dr. Houpt said, “but in fact it’ll probably be almost as interesting today because you know another 20 dogs have been there.”

Remove the movement altogether, and there still could be enrichment opportunities. “Sometimes just sitting quietly with their nose twitching and their ears moving and watching the world go by is perfectly good sensory stimulation,” McLelland notes. Think of it like reading, doing crossword puzzles, or spending time in an art museum—the simple act of processing information can be invigorating and restorative. Dog owners can be so focused on action—like command and compliance—that we forget how rich a dog’s world can be when they’re simply processing all the sensory information around them.

Teach your old dog new tricks

Teaching new tricks isn’t just possible for old dogs—it’s beneficial. The key is finding “achievable challenges” that build on what your dog already enjoys, according to McLelland. 

Your dog’s preferences come into play here as well. Begin by noticing what they choose to do or play with when given the option on their own terms (i.e., they’re not vying for a reward), and lean into that preference when choosing a trick to teach. For example, McLelland noticed one of her English sheepdogs loved using her paws, so she taught her to ring a bell. She taught another to use his nose to touch an “X” taped on the wall. Other dogs may enjoy picking things up and carrying them in their mouths, or splashing water. If you notice that your dog is interested in a particular type of activity, it can be fun to develop “tricks” around those preferences. 

“The trick is to try and find something to teach them that actually taps into what’s already meaningful to them,” she said.  

This can be beneficial for dogs of any age—but it’s important to recognize that, for older dogs, their preferences may have changed from when they were puppies. One of the biggest mistakes we make with senior dogs is assuming that they still want the same things they loved when they were younger. 

“What your dog used to like may not be what they particularly like now,” McLelland said. 

Many of us get attached to who our dogs were when they were younger. Your 12-year-old dog may have different preferences, needs, and ways of finding joy than they had at 2 years old, but change doesn’t have to mean loss. Any new enrichment you offer should take into account who your dog is right now—and that can be fun. It’s not often that we get to meet our best friends all over again.