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Working to Address Stress Jerri Colonna introduces the enrichment box as a tool to alleviate canine stress in a shelter environment This article is a Selected Entry in our PPG Writers’ Competition which invited entrants to submit an article on the topic of Animal Shelter and Rescue. Find them all on the BARKS Blog under the Shelter & Rescue category.
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am a shelter volunteer on the behavior and enrichment team at In dianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) and we have worked very hard as volunteers to develop some great enrichment for our dogs. We are a very large, inner city, open intake shelter and many of our dogs only get to go outdoors once every 24 hours, so it can be a stress ful environment for them – especially if they are there longterm. Be cause of this, we have an enrichment group that focuses on things we can do, as volunteers, to improve the quality of life for our dogs while they await their forever homes. One of the enrichment ideas I have worked on and promoted is the “enrichment box.” An enrichment box can be as simple as to include things found at the shelter, or more elab orate to include a selection of healthy and interesting items. To create an enrichment box, it all starts with a cardboard box (or an egg carton). Ideally, the box will be one that is shallow and wide with flaps that can be partially open or closed depending on the inter est level of the dog. It can also include several boxes within a box. Things that are very commonly found at the shelter that we can toss in the box include: tennis balls (two usually), Kong filled with peanut butter, frisbee, squeaky toy, empty toilet paper/paper towel roll with hot dogs or chicken inside, rope toy, snuffle mat containing
© Jerri Colonna
A dog can easily spend 2030 minutes investigating an enrichment box and interacting with the toys and edibles inside
© Jerri Colonna
Ideally, an enrichment box is shallow and wide and can be partially open or closed depending on the interest level of the dog
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BARKS from the Guild/September 2020
The enrichment boxes are a really effective way of providing a stimulating enrichment for dogs at the shelter who, in this case, are confined to a small kennel for around 23 hours a day. It is also a great way to interact one-on-one with the dogs given that providing a leash walk to every dog, every day is just not a possibility. In addition, it is amazing to see a less confident or shutdown dog start to develop confidence and more of their personality emerge.
