Episode #135 - Trick or Treat? When Enrichment Isn't Enriching

Is Your Pet’s Enrichment a Sweet Treat or a Tricky Trap?

October 6, 2025

TLDL (Too Long, Didn’t Listen):

1️⃣ Enrichment is about outcomes, not activities – If your pet’s welfare isn’t improving, it’s not enrichment (no matter how fancy the toy).

2️⃣ Find the Goldilocks zone – Too much, too little, too easy, or too hard all miss the mark. Matching challenge to skill level is key.

3️⃣ Sustainability matters – Enrichment should work for you too. Simple, DIY solutions often win over complicated, costly ones.

Episode Overview:

Sometimes enrichment doesn’t go the way we planned. Maybe the activity is too easy, too hard, too arousing, or just plain unsustainable. In this episode, Allie and Emily pull back the curtain on the common pitfalls that turn “enrichment” into air quotes enrichment (aka, not enrichment at all).

You’ll hear everything from professional confessions (yes, even experts have tantrums when their pets need more than expected) to client stories that remind us why individual needs matter more than breed stereotypes. Whether you’ve been tricked by enrichment guilt, overcomplicating your plan, or assuming “more is always better,” this episode will help you find that sweet spot where enrichment actually improves your pet’s quality of life.

Links & Resources from the Episode

🧾 For full episode transcripts: Arial | OpenDyslexic
🎧 Episode #37 – Unlocking the Behavior Matrix: Part 1
🎧 Episode #38 – Unlocking the Behavior Matrix: Part 2
📚 Winter Oso
📚 Combatting That Enrichment Guilt
🎧 Episode #115 – Present Over Perfect

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Meet the Hosts

Allie Bender, CDBC, CPDT-KA, SBA

Allie Bender is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, Certified Professional Dog Trainer- Knowledge Assessed, and a Shelter Behavior Affiliate. She has been in the animal welfare industry since 2006 and professionally training since 2012. She is the founder and co-owner of Pet Harmony, co-author of Canine Enrichment for the Real World, and a national speaker.

While in the animal sheltering industry, Allie realized that her passion lied in helping pets with maladaptive behaviors. Specifically, she wanted to help prevent animals with rehabilitatable problems from being euthanized. She loves working with dogs and cats displaying stranger danger, resource guarding, and leash reactivity. Her favorite thing about working with pets and their people is seeing relationships grow and seeing harmonious households develop.

EMIly strong

Emily Strong is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Shelter Behavior Affiliate. She has been in the animal welfare industry since 1990 and has been a behavior consultant since 2008. She is the co-owner of Pet Harmony, co-author of Canine Enrichment for the Real World, and a national speaker.

Emily started working with animals at a young age and struggled with the notion that you have to hurt, scare, or intimidate animals to help them. When she discovered the behavior sciences and learned that it wasn’t necessary to do so– that we can care for emotional, mental, and physical health simultaneously– she plunged headfirst into animal behavior. Emily loves helping current and prospective behavior professionals and working with pet parents through our in-depth services. She enjoys working with all species.

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