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The Alternative Dog Moms

Canine Enrichment Explained: Meeting Your Dog’s Mental and Emotional Needs with Tori Mistick

Dec 17, 2025 · 55 min · Season 4 · Episode 168 · 39.9 MB
0:00-55:16

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Many pet parents focus on diet, exercise, and supplements to support their dogs’ health—but physical care is only part of the picture. In this episode of The Alternative Dog Moms Podcast, we sit down with dog trainer and educator Tori Mistick to explore the critical role of canine enrichment and engagement in raising emotionally balanced, fulfilled dogs.

This conversation helps dog parents understand why unmet mental and emotional needs often show up as “behavior problems,” and how small, thoughtful changes to daily routines can dramatically improve a dog’s quality of life.

CHAPTERS:

  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 01:16 About Tori Mistick's 
  • 03:38 Limited podcast series about engagement
  • 06:37 Engagement in a multi-dog home
  • 09:24 Definition of enrichment
  • 10:26 Variety is important to dogs
  • 11:35 Food-based enrichment - treat trail mix
  • 14:11 Sound/music + engagement
  • 18:15 Enrichment + senior dogs
  • 20:41 Novel enrichment - The Bubble Machine
  • 26:34 Social engagement
  • 32:12 Understanding limits/boundaries
  • 35:05 It's not about trying them out / bonding+togetherness
  • 37:35 Enrichment is good for pet parents too
  • 39:40 Fetching a toy by name
  • 41:44 The importance of choice
  • 45:00 Dogs pay attention and learn from us all the time
  • 49:02 Hemangiosarcoma (another commonality)
  • 52:27 Wear Wag Repeat Society

LINKS DISCUSSED:

SOCIAL MEDIA:


Thanks for listening to our podcast.  You can learn more about Erin Scott's first podcast at BelieveInDogPodcast.com.  And you can learn more about raw feeding, raising dogs naturally, and Kimberly's dogs at KeepTheTailWagging.com.  And don't forget to subscribe to The Alternative Dog Moms.