If your shelter is looking for fun and different ways to keep volunteers interested in providing enrichment for your cats just as much as your dogs, consider clicker training for your shelter cats! Clicker training is easy enough for inexperienced volunteers and versatile enough that the seasoned folks will be interested, too. Clicker training can teach shy cats to approach the …

Sue Sternberg is a well-known trainer who travels the country teaching enrichment, assessment and evaluation of dogs. Sue is also a long-time friend of Petfinder. In her over 30 years of dog behavior experience, Sue has acquired a lot of knowledge on the inner workings of dogs. Sue has 4 heeler mixes adopted from various organizations, all kept in line …

It’s always great to see our members doing enrichment videos and sharing them with others! This week, while searching YouTube for videos from Petfinder members, I came across two nice cat enrichment videos which were informative enough to share. They are simple, but still fun for volunteers. The first video came from Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter in Massachusetts. For this one, as …

When you work in sheltering and rescue, it’s not at all unusual to run into shy or insecure dogs. We want these dogs to come around to be happy and comfortable so they can be adopted into loving homes. Your staff and volunteers should set the tone for the organization as a whole, being positive all the way around, but taking …

Did you know that today, December 13th is National Violin Day? While the purpose of this day is to encourage people to listen or play violin music, it got me thinking about the important role music can play in our everyday lives. There is often great passion and delicacy behind violin-based music that many find soothing and studies indicate this …

Are your shelter cats bored? Join us to learn different ways we can stimulate our cats and how that can be used to deal with some common behavior problems, or at least be incorporated into a behavioral plan to help cats. A main focus will be discussing methods of enriching a cat’s environment as well as increasing mental stimulation.  There …

More Enrichment for Farm Animals Enrichment tips and tricks for caring for farm animals in a shelter or rescue groups. Enrichment for Farm Animals – Birds At one point or another, it is a reasonable possibility that you may end up with farm birds in your organization’s care. If it does happen, here are some pointers for different types of …

Enrichment for Farm Animals Typically shelters are caring for dogs and cats, and the staff knows that enrichment for these animals is important as they await homes. But what do you do if you find yourself in a situation with farm animals which you are unfamiliar with and perhaps don’t have a paddock to house them in? Left to their …

It’s not usual for birds to find their way into a shelter or rescue. If you find a bird in your care, here are some quick tips for enrichment. Captive birds have special needs, some of which can be overlooked. They no longer have the freedom to make the everyday choices they would outside of a controlled environment. Instead, they …

With so many options for easy, simple ways to enrich the lives of your shelter’s pets, it’s easy to get excited and want to try them all at once. But depending on your organization (the number of animals, the layout of the building, your location, the amount of staff and volunteers you have available) it likely makes sense to pace …