There are some common concerns we hear when discussing enrichment with food and recyclables. We've found that most of them are nothing to worry about.

Won't feeding "people food" like peanut butter, cheese, and Spam make dogs beg food from people? Or upset their stomachs?

Luckily, dogs have no idea which food was packaged for people and which was packaged for dogs - it's all just food to them! As long as people don't feed dogs from the table, they won't beg from the table. As for the digestive issues, dogs who have food sensitivities or allergies may have loose stools if given large amounts of "people" food - but we almost never see a problem if these foods are given in small amounts as enrichment.

Won't dogs eat the plastic jars and bottles and get sick?

Plastic peanut butter and water bottles get dented by the most enthusiastic dogs, but we never see them rip off pieces and ingest them. if in doubt, watch the dog before leaving him alone with a bottle, make sure the bottle is appropriate for the size of the dog, and replace old bottles with new ones each day.

Won't dogs get their heads stuck in jars and suffocate?

As long as the mouth of the jar is smaller than the dog's muzzle, this can't happen.

Aren't bones bad for dogs?

Cooked bones can be dangerous due to splintering, but raw or sterilized beef "marrow" bones are extremely safe. The worst that happens is that tiny, harmless bits may get slowly shaved off the ends and pass through the digestive tract. Some bones will eventually crack into two large pieces; they can then be replaced.

Won't dogs learn to destroy towels if given towel "shredding" toys?

The dogs who like to shred fabric will find ways to do it if left without direction. By giving these dogs specific towels (the ones filled with treats!) as an outlet for their chewing preference, the problem of random fabric-chewing can be minimized or even eliminated.

Source: By Liz Marsden. Animalsheltering.org