Cover image courtesy of Sam Pierce (Dognitive Behavior and Training)
Life sure is funny. It seems like just yesterday that I was talking to you about preparing the household for the transition of returning to school and here we are again, preparing for yet another transition.
Holiday season, winter doldrums, arctic freeze, anyway you slice it, things are in the process of changing…again. And if you have been following us for any length of time, you will already know that we are particularly passionate about three things around these parts: welfare and wellbeing, meeting an animals’ needs and responding proactively to the changes that living life on the daily brings.
We humans are really good at putting pressure on ourselves and especially around holiday time it can feel like things need to be “just so” in order to be good. I am here to both challenge the notion that things have to be perfect to be good and that it is ok to take some shortcuts every now and then especially if they help us ease into a new transition.
Now I want you to imagine your best cheesy salesperson voice and let me introduce you to the concept of Set it and forget it Enrichment Strategies: the One and Only True Way to Survive the Holiday Season! New and improved and guaranteed to make your lives easier!
Ok, all joking and hyperbole aside, I am going to present to you some ideas to help you make meeting your dog’s needs just a little bit easier during the upcoming busy season. I promise that it will be manageable and take just a wee bit of effort on your part but you will get paid exponentially in doggy kisses, kitty purrs, a more satisfied pet and hopefully a little more wiggle room in your already busy schedule. How’s that for a sales pitch? Are you ready to read on?
What Does “Set It and Forget It” Enrichment Mean?
The whole idea of “set it and forget it” essentially means that once you arrange something, it will then work automatically and thus requires little to no further attention. When it comes to enrichment our goal for “set it and forget it” includes the following concepts:
- Enrichment doesn’t have to mean daily crafts or complicated activities.
- Enrichment systems can keep working even when you’re busy.
- The enrichment strategies should build consistency, predictability, and calm for both pets and people.
The goal is to have our strategy be low-effort for you, foster independence in your pet and be sustainable in the long term. A quick overview of some examples might include:
- Rotating enrichment stations
- Safe spaces that stay stocked
- Long-lasting chews or puzzle feeders that don’t require supervision
What Does “Set It and Forget It” Enrichment Mean?
Ask any chef and they will tell you one of the most important parts of cooking is not the finished plate but rather two important aspects that come before the cooking. Chefs spend time creating a menu in its entirety and then prep by creating something called the mise en place. Which is just the fancy French way of saying everything in its place. Meaning that before a chef cooks the meal, they first must decide what it is they will be cooking and then prepare and organize all the tools and ingredients they will need to cook it. Veggies must be chopped, herbs and spices measured, workstation cleaned, equipment readily accessible and knives at the ready. Only then does the true artistry of cooking commence.
Part of “setting it and forgetting it” is to create your menu first and your mise en place second. Just like a chef, creating an enrichment menu for your pet will help lessen your labor in the long run. You can read more about this here: Create Your Pet’s Enrichment Menu but here are some easy steps to create a menu:
Identify your pet’s favorite enrichment types (eating, chewing, foraging, destructables, exploring, playing, etc)
- Identify your pet’s favorite enrichment types (eating, chewing, foraging, destructables, exploring, playing, etc).
- Gather a few go-to items for each category.
- Keep materials organized and easy to access in a location where you can gather everything you need. This might be a shelf in the pantry, a corner of the freezer, a section of a closet or even a storage bin.
Creating an inventory of what material you will need for your mise en place may feel like a bit of labor now, but once it is done, will save time in the long run. Creating a visual menu or checklist or spreadsheet now will help for those times when we need to make quick decisions, especially when time or energy is low.
What Does “Set It and Forget It” Enrichment Mean?
One of my personal favorites for “set it and forget it” enrichment is a category that Pet Harmony refers to as long term calming projects.
Long term calming projects are enrichment activities whose goal is to help your pet better self-regulate, gain independence, de-escalate, and ease into rest and or relaxation. Resting, self regulation, independence and learning how to de-escalate are skills that can be taught, practiced, and learned, and long term calming projects are a big component of that process for our consulting team.
Here are some examples of long term calming projects for dogs:
- Snuffle mats
- Licki mats
- Stuffed Kongs or Toppls
- Chewing preferred items
And for cats and other obligate carnivores (such as ferrets):
- Small stuffed Kongs
- Licki mats
- Snuffle mats
Safe Spaces That Work on Autopilot
The holiday season can be stressful for everyone including our pets. Schedules are upended, visitors are more frequent and predictability and routine are tossed by the wayside. Creating a safe space that your pet can retreat to when things feel overwhelming for them is a crucial part of a set it and forget it strategy.
We want our pets to know that they have a space that is always available to them if they need time away from the hustle and bustle. This can be a crate, a room or a section of the home where they will feel secure, they can rest, and where they will not be disturbed.
If your pet doesn’t have a defined safe space yet, watch where they currently rest and see if that will function as one. Remember though, if your pet’s preferred resting location is the family room couch and that is where a lot of activity will be happening in the next several weeks, you may want to help them learn that another location is quieter, calmer, and more relaxing.
Providing a long term calming project in the new location, and pairing it with sound masking to cut down on ambient noise and your pet’s favorite blanket or bed can help boost the overall performance of the safe space.
When it comes to safe spaces it is incredibly important to understand that the safe space is not just about a location. It is mostly about the feeling of security it brings to your pet when the guests are gathered around the turkey and the egg nog is freely flowing. A safe space’s goal should not necessarily be about isolation but rather about the comfort that it provides for pets who may be overstimulated by changes in their routine. If you would like more tips on how to help your pets survive the holiday season read here and here.
Results May Vary–Observe and Adjust
Good enrichment strategies of any kind should be guided by results, not by expectations. You might expect that once your pet engages with a preloaded snuffle mat they will then settle in for a long winter’s naps. However, what works for one individual may not work for another and it is important to adjust not only our expectations but also our plans if needed. Here are some tips to help with that:
- Observe outcomes so you can see what truly meets your pet’s needs.
- Watch body language and look for signs that the enrichment is working, ie-relaxed body language, longer rest periods, lower intensity of undesired behaviors and faster recovery time are just some of the signs that tell us our strategies are going well.
Even though we are talking about set it and forget it, it is important to note that changes occur and we should expect to pivot when necessary. Developmental stages, health status, and physicality all will vary throughout a pet’s life and we should be prepared for adjustments in our plans as needed.
Here’s to harmony,
MaryKaye
Now What?
Preparedness makes for smoother transitions and preparing for the busy weeks ahead should include your pets so that you don’t have to panic at the last minute when Fluffy decides they can’t tolerate Uncle Bub half way through the holiday feast.
To recap, ways that you can proactively prepare for the weeks ahead include the following:
- Decide on a location for where you can store prepared enrichment items for your pet
- Decide on a location that will function as your pet’s safe space
- Create your enrichment menu
- Gather the supplies and ingredients you will need to create your enrichment items
- Have young kids in the family? See if you can get their help with creating the enrichment activities. There are some great pet safe recipes online that can be used for licki mats, Kongs or Toppls
- Organize by day so that you can easily rotate items
- Pull out when you need them
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Results are not guaranteed because behavior, human, canine, or otherwise, are not guaranteeable.
