We did garden enrichment this morning! The dogs helped me plant a few dog safe herbs and flowers to use as scent enrichment in the play yard. They all loved sniffing the dirt and testing out the new herbs. What I didn't expect was that my semi-feral foster dog Sweetie would be so interested. After I set the planter down, she carefully walked around, sniffing all of the herbs individually. Ironically, she spent the most time sniffing the thyme! Lol.
Scent enrichment is so great for dogs. Here is a fantastic article by the ASPCA on the benefits of sensory gardens for fearful or timid dogs.
https://www.aspca.org/news/what-sensory-garden-and-how-does-it-help-fearful-dogs
It's a chihuahua takeover! No, not really...lol
These 3 kiddos are boarding this week and were so excited when I put the clean covers on the couch. They're so sweet and silly. I just love Kez, Pip & Axel.
What does daycare look like at About A Dog?
⚖️ Unlike large corporate doggie daycare places, we have a very low ratio of dogs to people.
🐕 Play time is kept brief and always monitored. Our outdoor play yard has enrichment areas as well as novel structures, ground cover, and lots of shade
😴 Naps and breaks are encouraged.
📚 We sprinkle in a bit of training and enrichment every day to help with behavior and excess energy.
🥰 Each dog gets individual attention and plenty of snuggles
Enjoy this video of Tom, Jack, & Dolly taking a snooze break.
#dog #fearfree #petsitter #dogs #doggydaycare
Just a bunch of girls living their best lives! Morning shenanigans brought to you by Dolly, Yuba, Gigi, and Coco.
Can you do Enrichment with a dog that has dietary restrictions and physical limitations?
YES! Lala is on a physical exercise break and a low calorie reduced diet due to some health issues she's been having. She's an energetic young lab that craves play and attention. We used heads of iceberg lettuce and Celery to play a fun low intensity game at her house. She's so silly and was super excited to play with the lettuce! While lettuce isn't very tasty, it's still an enriching and engaging activity for her as the lettuce is a novel and shreddable food that won't disrupt her diet. After we played a few rounds of catch, we practiced shredding it up all over the yard. Bonus points - it's biodegradable and extremely inexpensive!
#positivevibes #oneononetraining #positivereinforcement #enrichment #positivereinforcementdogtraining #dog #fearfree #petsitter #dogs #doggydaycare
#dog #fearfree #petsitter #dogs #doggydaycare
Let's talk about enrichment!
🧩Enrichment can take many forms; environmental, physical, tactile, taste/food, and scent/visual/auditory.
🧠What's enrichment for? We use enrichment as a way to slow our dog's thinking, burn excess energy, increase their problem solving capabilities, reduce general anxiety, add a choice based activity & desensitizing routine situations (gardner, new pet, visitors etc). Items like kongs and lick mats which encourage repetitive licking, increase saliva production which aids in digestion.
🐕 How can you implement enrichment easily and cost efficiently? Enrichment doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. I'll often utilize packing material, empty boxes, egg cartons, paper towel rolls, abd what ever else I have laying around, to use as enrichment. The keys to enrichment are creativity and variety - switching enrichment items weekly will help keep your pup engaged. Here's a quick list of things you probably already have that can be re-purposed for enrichment activities:
Yoga mat, clothes hamper, bath towels, high pile bath mats, small folding table, plastic cups, cookie sheet, muffin tin, amazon boxes/cereal boxes, packing paper/wrapping paper, brown paper bags.
🎥This is a video of my dog Ripley (highly anxious/reactive) using our hay pile (a few handfuls of hay in a small kiddie pool) to forage for treats. She chose to do this on her own while I was busy cleaning today. She did this for about 20 minutes then came over to the couch and took a nap. Kenny is in the crate next to her with her favorite chew bone keeping herself quite busy.
⬇️Check the comments for a few easy enrichment ideas
🐕🦺Unsure where to start? Message the page for more info or schedule a private enrichment class to learn the best ways to enrichment your dog's life! 🐕🦺
#dog #fearfree #petsitter #dogs #doggydaycare #positivevibes #oneononetraining #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementdogtraining
Terra abd Kenny love playing & learning together!
#dog #fearfree #petsitter #dogs #doggydaycare #positivevibes #oneononetraining #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementdogtraining
Broccoli is a sweet super smart boy, his only true hiccup is he hates it when I leave through the front door. Unfortunately for Broccoli, I do this several times a day to either bring dogs in or take dogs out. We've been working up to desensitizing opening and closing the door behind me, as well as a release cue to help him understand when he can move from his place. I began this behavior with shaping, and have gradually increased the distraction, distance and duration to achieve a calm wait in place, while I go out side. For right now, we're keeping the duration short and alternating going out side with staying inside.
Does your pet struggle with separation anxiety or door manners? Schedule a consultation today to start working towards calm! Message the page or text (602) 657-5942 to get started
What a fun group this week! We still have a few spots left for our Fall Enrichment Camp this weekend. Message us to sign up!
#dog #fearfree #petsitter #dogs #doggydaycare #positivevibes #oneononetraining #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementdogtraining #dog #fearfree #petsitter #dogs #doggydaycare
Broccoli has an ear infection that we've been treating. It's uncomfortable and he hates being held so that I can clean his ears so we're working on a cooperative behavior so that I can do his ear treatment without restraint. For this behavior, I've shaped using approximations, a head rest on this table. Once mastered, he'll be able to consent to ear cleanings by resting his head on this table for short periods of time. Giving him the freedom to choose when we do the difficult thing is important. Dogs deserve autonomy. This doesn't mean I'll let him refuse ear cleanings all together, it just means that we will go slow, on his terms without physical restraint to stress and confuse him. He knows that as long as he's resting here, he'll get reinforcement (yummy snacks). By choosing to rest his head on the table, he is an active participant in what is happening to him versus the alternative of wrestling him to the ground and holding him down to clean out and medicate his ear. @mountaingirlrescue
#cooperativecaretraining #positivereinforcement #forcefree #aboutadogaz #seeadogdifferently #seeadifferentdog #fearfreecertifiedprofessional #fosterdog
