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Enrichment
What is enrichment and why is it important?
Enrichment is defined as anything that modifies an animal’s environment to encourage physical and/or mental activity and mimics behaviors that animals would have in the wild to satisfy their physical and mental needs. For animal enrichment to be adequate, it must be done in a way that doesn’t cause any stress or anxiety. Many activities fall into multiple categories of enrichment so your pup is having multiple senses stimulated at the same time.
When combined with our twice-a-day playtime, 15-20 minutes of mental enrichment is the perfect amount of stimulation to decrease any stress or anxiety your pup might be feeling.
Increased relaxation, cognitive ability, confidence, concentration, and overall mental well-being.
Dogs have instincts that they typically don't get to use daily- appealing to these instincts gives them a sense of control over their environment.
Problem-solving is an important ability for dogs to have. If a dog cannot figure something out, it will get frustrated and give up, which is never something we want!
It helps reinforce treat and toy excitement during training sessions.
What are the types of enrichment that you offer and how much does it cost?
Sensory: Appeals to hearing, sight, smell, touch, and taste.
Nutritional: This can be a great way to simulate their instinct of hunting and foraging for food or treats. Promotes weight loss when searching for food.
Social and Environmental: Fulfills a dog's need to interact with humans or other dogs. This is not to be confused with socialization, which is necessary before being introduced into a new social circle.
Occupational: Giving dogs a job, especially dogs that are bred for certain skills, creates a great way to let them do what they do best, as well as provides mental and physical stimulation. This can be an enriching time when tailored to each dog's job.
Scroll down to see examples of enrichment given in each section
$20 per day = 20 minutes of enrichment per day!
Enrichment
Sensory Enrichment
A well-socialized dog is less likely to become reactive, fearful, or overstimulated when meeting new animals, people, places, or objects.
- What we offer:
- Classical music. Tailor sound level and tempo to what seems to make the dog the most relaxed: calming effect when added with the scents.
- Scents: lavender, chamomile, vanilla, coconut, ginger, rabbit, wild animals, and other dog-safe scents
- Bubbles with dog-friendly, delicious scents
- Snuffle mats: we have different types of mats for beginners and those pups that already know how it works and needs a bit more of a challenge.
- Sniffing out yummy treats works the nose and provides positive reinforcement when found. This also stimulates their taste buds!
Nutritional Enrichment
Is your dog already food or treat-motivated? This is a great way to continue enforcing good behavior while engaging the mind!
Do you have a dog that does not care about treats, or are they a slow grazer throughout the day with food? Book a few training sessions, and we will teach your pup about positive motivation before they have a nutritional enrichment session!
- What we offer:
- Puzzle bowls
- Food treasure hunt around the main room
- Lick mats- regular or frozen with:
- Kefir milk
- Wet dog food
- Your dog food
- Berries
- Any special requests that your dog loves? Send it along, and we will incorporate it!
- Stuffed frozen kongs filled with any choice of the above
- Snuffle mats- this is great because we can provide different difficulties as your pup progressively figures out each new step!
- Scavenger hunt with treats-owner must bring if they are not able to have our treats.
- Scatter feeding- takes them time and effort to get it done.
Occupational Enrichment
Do you have a dog that is bred to do a job but you don't have enough time some days to appeal to their need to do their job? Our occupational enrichment sessions let your pup show us their best skills so you don't have to worry about them!
- What we offer:
- Breed-specific enrichment
- Sports
- Agility course
- Frisbee
- Herding ball
- Hiding their favorite toy or treat and make them find it
- Training with positive reinforcement
Social and Environmental Enrichment
A well-socialized dog is less likely to become reactive, fearful, or overstimulated when meeting new animals, people, places, or objects.
- What we offer:
- Walks with positive reinforcement when they listen to commands
- Is your pup a little afraid of humans? We provide slow, gentle interactions with humans with positive reinforcement. We will always end on a good note and give tons of praise!
- Maybe they're a little afraid of dogs? We provide socialization through the fences and possibly outside of the fence if they feel up to it. If this is too much for your pup, we will provide a different enrichment activity that we know they will love!
Why does my dog need enrichment at your facility if it is supposed to be a quiet, serene environment and how do I book a session?
Think about if you were used to your comfy home and everything you love about being in it. If you were taken out of there and put into a new place, you would have some anxiety, right? Anxiety is common in dogs when introduced into a new environment. Even though we keep it peaceful here, we still see some form of mild anxiety oftentimes.
Book a session by adding it on when you book. In the notes of the booking, you can tell us exactly what your dog wants! If they decide they do not want it that day, we will provide a different activity in the same category!