Episode 470: What Dog Daycares Can Learn From Zookeepers About Enrichment

What can a dog daycare owner learn from someone enriching a polar bear, giraffe or chimpanzee? Are your enrichment activities actually designed to encourage natural behaviours… or are you just giving dogs something different to do? And could looking outside the pet care industry completely change the way you think about enrichment? In this episode, I'm giving you a sneak peek inside the upcoming Pet Care Enrichment Summit, including highlights from one of my favourite sessions from last year's event: our Zookeepers Roundtable. One of the things we've always done differently with the Enrichment Summit is deliberately bring in experts from outside traditional pet care. Because if you want to get better at enrichment, there are few better people to learn from than professionals whose entire job involves creating stimulating environments and experiences for animals in captivity. You'll hear fascinating examples involving servals, polar bears, Arctic foxes, parrots and giraffes, and discover why great enrichment isn't about randomly chucking an activity into an enclosure and hoping the animal enjoys it. It starts with the animal, the behaviours you want to encourage and the experience you're trying to create. In this episode, you'll discover: Why Enrichment Should Be Goal-Based – How zookeepers start with natural behaviours rather than simply dreaming up activities. What Happens When Enrichment Doesn't Work – Why an animal completely ignoring your intended outcome doesn't necessarily mean the activity failed. The Importance of Species-Specific Enrichment – What polar bears, parrots and giraffes teach us about designing experiences around the animal in front of you. Why "Use It or Lose It" Matters – How animals need opportunities to practise natural behaviours and develop important physical and mental skills. How the Environment Becomes Enrichment – Why food, movement, scent, other animals and even unexpected changes can all create valuable experiences. I also preview this year's Pet Care Enrichment Summit seminars, where we have 12 presentations across six days, including dog trainer and daycare owner roundtables, breed-specific enrichment, scent work, behavioural workflows and another brilliant line-up of zoo professionals. Remember, this years enrichment summit brings you more learning opportunities than ever with 12 sessions over 6 years. And you can get a LIVE ticket and lifetime access to the recordings by clicking here now Thanks to our amazing show sponsor TailPro click here to find out more about their amazing booking app Click here to grab an early bird ticket to the this years Pet Care Enrichment Summit now!