We are here to educate about the importance of enrichment, training, and behavior in the daily care
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate with family and friends. As parent to an anxious dog, I thought I would share some way I set my dog, myself, and my guests up for a positive and low stress gathering. I discuss boundaries and expectations with my guests before hand, and as needed to protect my dog and them. I allow my dog plenty of time to rest and recharge, and use physical barriers for separation.
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I am so proud to have received my certification as a Fear Free trainer and pet sitter.
‘s mission is to prevent and alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets by inspiring and educating the people who care for them. They do this by educating vet practices, pet professionals, and pet owners about animal behavior, training, and best practices for keeping pets happy and healthy. Minimizing distress is a huge part of animal welfare, and this is a mission I support with my whole heart and strive for with every animal I interact with.
Happy Puppy Day! Here is Argos as a baby. Let me tell you some things never change. Like needing to sleep in the midst of all his toys.
Logging into Clicker Expo LIVE!! Argos and I are excited to learn.
I thought I would give the ratties a whole walnut to see what they do.
Give your dog legal outlets to be dogs. Natural behaviors like digging and shredding, are often discouraged by owners because they are destructive. Allowing o
Your dog legal places to dig like the beach or a dig box not only satisfies the natural urge, but reduces the likelihood of performing the behavior in inappropriate places like your flower beds.
Argos doesn’t get a lot of opportunity to be off leash outside the yard, but he had this whole beach to himself, and ran himself tired.
Hanging out on the to learn more how to help dog succeed despite their anxiety and fear!!
Getting dinner in his likimat to release stress while his people watch a loud scary movie. Bonus: it also helps clean his tongue for better breathe.
Cyclone toy for dinner tonight. This is another puzzle toy, part of my bowl-less feeding arsonal, and a great way to keep Argos occupied when I have to fix my own dinner!
Argos has a bad habit of barking at anyone out our front window, so we put up this statistic window frosting to prevent him from reinforcing the undesirable behavior while we work on training an alternative behavior. I learned this management strategy from my friend .willems
Argos is a bit taller than her dog though 😅 @ McLean, Virginia
I love this info graphic and the same concepts can be adapted to any animal! Thanks to
Sometimes I need a break to work or study, so Argos gets an array of food puzzles to keep him occupied. The two in front are by
Who likes popsicles? I sure do, especially on the 4th of July! So do the amur leopards 😋 These have meat, blood, fish, and a bit of food coloring in them, but ice 🧊 treats can be modified for almost any mammal, and some birds too. They are a great, low cal way to cool off!! (2018)
Day 29: Train a Husbandry Behaviour! Husbandry Training is about building cued behaviors that can be used to make caring for your animal easier reducing stress by reducing the need for handling, force, restraint, and even anesthesia. Plus building trust and positive associations with reinforcement. Here a Wild Boar demonstrates a self injection behavior that can be done through the fence, in his home space, and rewarded with apples 😋
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Some great tips for the holiday weekend by .books
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Just a reminder to be prepared! I always exercise my pups in the morning, shut my doors and windows when it gets late, turn on the AC and some music and the girls get stuffed Kong’s to keep their attention. We love the 4th of July, but it is stressful for animals and their owners. 🇺🇸
Oliver, the poodle, just demonstrated observational learning. He doesn’t know a spin command, but offered it after seeing the dachshund receive treats for offering that behavior.
Day 22: Boxes!! Argos will do anything for his toys, and boxes make great indoor agility equipment to get out some energy, on a rainy day!
Day 20: social time. Social enrichment is my favorite and Argos and I are hanging out outside, playing frisbee. Argos doesn’t like playing with other dogs, so he has to play with people instead.
Day 19: “Egg hunt” ok so not eggsactly an egg hunt, and it is way past easter, but this amur leopard sure enjoyed finding this hidden treat in the enclosure. Deer hide screwed to a wood disk. Chabi from Minnesota Zoo
Ok, so really general theme for today, and I can’t wait to see y’alls interpretations. I decided to play owl calls for Argos. Hearing something new and odd, like owl calls engages his brain in a different way than just physical enrichment. He needs to think about what that noise means, where is it coming from, if it is food, a threat, something to ignore. You can almost see in his face and ears the gears in his head turning.
http://foreverenriched.com/2020/04/27/day-18-harry-potter/
Ok, so really general theme for today, and I can’t wait to see y’alls interpretations. I decided to play owl calls for Argos. Hearing something new and odd, like owl calls engages his brain in a di…
🔊SOUND ON 🔊Day 18: Harry Potter themed...kinda? Ok so I took inspiration and decided to play Argos some owl calls. Look at those ears move!!! Argos is really funny when he hears strange noises, and he moves his ears to try and figure out where it is coming from. enrichment
Day 17: When I had pet rats, I used try and add a new hide or bedding every week, just to experiment, and see what they liked best. One day I brought home a paper mache ball, and Ghost LOVED it, he made it into a nest with tissues and slept in it for 2 weeks. I guess it mimicked the shape of a den or burrow with a small opening, and a large interior.
Wow! You have done a great job so far! W have been doing so many fun activities, games, and puzzles, but I think it's time to settle down a bit. Providing your animal with a comfortable place to rest and relax is essential care, but that doesn't mean we can't make it more interesting. When I had pet rats, I used try and add a new hide or bedding every week, just to experiment, and see what they liked best. [ 74 more words ]
http://foreverenriched.com/2020/04/25/day-17-cozy/
Wow! You have done a great job so far! W have been doing so many fun activities, games, and puzzles, but I think it’s time to settle down a bit. Providing your animal with a comfortable place…
Some animals are shy around small confined spaces, others are natural diggers and burrowers. Tunnels or hoops can be a great way to build confidence, either by encouraging something new, or by providing a safe place to hide. What will you do with a tunnel? Rabbits, like Noah, live in burrows or warrens so they feel most secure when they are enclosed, so I always try to make a tunnel for his play space, so if he needs to retreat he has options. [ 27 more words ]
http://foreverenriched.com/2020/04/24/day-16-tunnels-and-hoops/
Some animals are shy around small confined spaces, others are natural diggers and burrowers. Tunnels or hoops can be a great way to build confidence, either by encouraging something new, or by prov…
So many options with this one! Balls can be used as targets, food puzzles, toys, exercise...SO MANY THINGS! I want to know what you did Share your adventures with us by tagging us on Facebook and Instagram Argos and I played "find the ball" where I hid it in the other room and then I released him to go and find it. Video by author Click here to learn more about the 30-Day Enrichment Challenge.
http://foreverenriched.com/2020/04/24/day-15-what-can-you-do-with-a-ball/
So many options with this one! Balls can be used as targets, food puzzles, toys, exercise…SO MANY THINGS! I want to know what you did Share your adventures with us by tagging us on Facebook a…
So many animal's love to sunbathe, or enjoy playing in it, so find a way to give your animal some sunlight, weather is is inside or outside. Argos loves so lay out on a sunny day, but no-one sunbathes like Terry, the rhinoceros hornbill. She just melts. Photo my Mallory Holdcraft Click here to learn more about the 30-Day Enrichment Challenge and share your adventures with us by tagging us on Facebook and Instagram
http://foreverenriched.com/2020/04/24/day-14-get-some-sunshine-%e2%98%80%ef%b8%8f/
So many animal’s love to sunbathe, or enjoy playing in it, so find a way to give your animal some sunlight, weather is is inside or outside. Argos loves so lay out on a sunny day, but no-one …
Many of us realize that our animal's don't get much of a change in scenery, but adding something new to look at and explore is a great way to make things fresh and interesting. Something like a new piece of furniture, or a decoration, even something on the outside that they can look at. Wall murals or other external decoration is really easy, because you cave to worry less about it accidentally being dangerous or ingested. [ 49 more words ]
http://foreverenriched.com/2020/04/20/day-13-add-some-decoration/
Many of us realize that our animal’s don’t get much of a change in scenery, but adding something new to look at and explore is a great way to make things fresh and interesting. Somethin…
Day 16: tunnels! Ok well...this is more of a hoop than a tunnel, actually it’s a shower ring, but D’Artagnan is starting to offer a “through” behavior and I am so proud of him!
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