ENRICHMENT RESEARCH:

25 MAY 2011:

MORE ENRICHMENT FOR ANIMALS:

ENRICHMENT FOR ANIMALS

We plan on continuously gathering information about enrichment to help you understand how critical it is for animals to get relief from boredom in a cage or habitat. Lack of enrichment will cause stereo-typical and harmful behaviour in animals. Some animals perish from a lack of enrichment. Some types of enrichment are simple and inexpensive and can make a difference in any animal's life.
What is Enrichment The definition for enrichment in any dictionary is “the act of making fuller or more meaningful or rewarding”.In essence enrichment for animals is about giving their lives more meaning by giving the proper attention to both physical and mental well-being. Across the world, zoos and sanctuaries are evolving. It is no longer acceptable for zoos to in many places to simply exhibit the animals without focusing on the mental welfare of the animals they keep. What’s more the general public is evolving and most people are expecting more from zoos and animal sanctuaries than before. Animals in small concrete cages are no longer popular, instead the crowds will flock to those zoos that exhibit animals in a more natural setting with an educational program that shows a genuine effort to enrich the lives of the animals. How much do you know about enrichment? Are you enriching your pets life? This section of our web site will hopefully give you some ideas about enrichments of wild animals in captivity as well as how to enrich your pets life.	Enrich Your Pet's Life Here are some great ideas to do enrichment for your cat or dog: Cats: · Like the big cats, enrichment for cats is easy by using different scents. Get some cat nip or cat nip spray at your local pet store and sprinkle or spray it on a toy or on the floor and see how your pet will come alive. Do you ever get a package in a cardboard box? Next time save the box and give it to your cat to play with, you can even spray or sprinkle some cat nip in it and you have instant enrichment for your cat. You can buy brown paper lunch bags in all sizes at your local grocery store. The bags make noise and even without catnip can provide hours of play time. The paper can be ingested without being harmful but you can bet your cat will have fun tearing it apart. Provide your cat with some new toys on a regular basis. Always supervise your pet and read the labels on any toys to determine if you should leave the toy with your pet if you are not there to supervise. Dogs: · Unlike cats, dogs need a little more attention, like wolves, they are pack animals. They don't like to be alone. · If you are not home a lot you may consider getting your dog a playmate. · If you are able to spend a lot of time with your dog, training is a very good form of enrichment. It challenges your dog and gives him or her social interaction at the same time. · Play time with your dog is very important. You should read up on the breed of dog you have and find out their natural instinctive behaviours to see what the best past time is for that type of dog.
The Basics! You may think you are providing the best care for your pet but do you really know it all? The first steps you can take towards enriching your pets life are the following: Does my pet have the following daily basic care? 1. Fresh water (check every day) 2. Shelter from the weather 3. Balanced nutritional diet 4. Preventative medical care (i.e. vaccinations) If any of the above items are not being met, you can start by checking your pet's water supply daily. Ensure your pet has shelter from the weather or people and can choose not to interact with people when it wants to. One of the things you may not think about every day is if you pet is on the correct diet. Do you know your pet's weight? Do you know what the ideal weight is for your pet? If you are not sure about your pets diet, consult a veterinarian. You could go on-line to ask a vet or just pick up the phone and call your local vet office to see what brands of pet food are best for your pet. Often local pet stores will also have staff that can lead you in the right direction when it comes to shelter and diets. Preventative medical care not only ensures your pet will live a healthier and longer life but it can also protect you from heart ache and excessive medical expenses. Regular vet visits are essential to your pet's health.	Enrichment ideas for Big Cats At our facility we pay special attention to the mental welfare of our animals and are continuously developing and enhancing our enrichment program.The following are suggested methods of enrichments for big cats: - Alternative toys. Give the cats pumpkins, acorn squash or water melons. They can play with these items and tear them up. You may also want to freeze these items. - Ice cubes. Save plastic containers all sizes and properly clean them (dishwasher and/or bleach preferred thoroughly rinsed). Save the blood that comes from the meats that is fed to the cats and pour the blood water into the empty containers. Let freeze 24 hours. Remove the frozen "blood-sickles" from the containers and give to the cats. For lions and tigers, you may use large buckets to get extra large blood ice blocks, remember to remove the bucket before giving the items to the cats. - Scent enrichment. Various animal urine scents may be used for enrichment of animal habitats. Animal urine can be bought at www.gundogsupply.com or any other store that sells dog training scents. The scents are best stored in the refrigerator to stay fresh longer. The scents can be sprayed throughout the cat's habitat to form a trail or on toys to trigger behaviours such as scent-marking, tracking scents or just rubbing on the spot where the scent has been sprayed.