We hear the word a lot, but what is it really? What does it mean?
Do you remember visiting the zoo year ago and watching those animals, no company, no activities to do, just sitting there waiting day in day out for a human to stand and stare?
Fortunately we have come to understand our beautiful animal kingdom better. We know now that they are sentient beings, who have feelings, needs, they want to have fun, to play, eat good food and have sex( don’t we all hahaha).
Unfortunately it wasn’t always like this though. Experiments on live animals (vivisection) were a common practice. Abuse and neglect, often through naivety, was rife. The animals’ needs were not being met by a long stretch.
I remember from a very young age that these animals must have feelings. I watched the dogs at home and how their eyes changed and their tail wagged or was held differently. I watched the birds that dad bred, I listened to their different vocalisations and the movement of their wings how it changed. I watched interactions between dogs and the cat. I had 2 rabbits too and I watched how they interacted cross species with dogs, cat, birds. I knew then that animals were not stupid, they were not unfeeling things, that they had a soul, that they knew more than us humans, that they could teach me how to be compassionate, how to forgive, how to understand.
I remember my first zoo visit and thinking why do the adults just stand and laugh at the monkeys antics? What if the monkey was not happy and that’s why it’s acting like that? Why did adults scream or act frightened when the lion or tiger came out? What if the the lion or tiger was just trying to ask something? I felt confused, but I knew then that animals were way smarter than us; I knew then that whatever it took I would do my best to understand them, to teach other humans what animals want and need.
In the Western world we have legislation in place to enhance our animal’s life and to keep them safe. The legislation in the UK covers basic needs but does ensure that they have adequate shelter, access to medical treatment, food, water and enrichment “so as they can act out normal species specific behaviour”. In my mind it doesn’t go far enough and there are some establishments that sail very close to the wind and use the Animal Welfare Act to its letter providing the bare minimum. It is though, much better than the Asia’s and Africa’s where animal welfare is not the best. I have personally witnessed zoos in Asia with animals still tied up in cages; I have seen elephants chained in back gardens, swaying with anxiety and boredom. I have seen cats and dogs being served as a delicacy on the street markets of Vietnam. I have seen horses thin as a rake providing rides to tourists in Cambodia. Lame horses being brought out so the tourists can ride along the beach in Gambia.
Even in the western world it still happens, Donkeys providing rides for fat tourists to go uphill to the castles in Portugal. In Spain the horses are still expected to work in the heat albeit they now do have some shelter.
Some countries particularly in Asia struggle economically and I can absolutely see why the practices continue (save for torturing and eating dog), this does not make it right though. What it does highlight for me is the trust that animals have; regardless of all the ill treatment, they are still loyal and friendly to their human. Maybe we could take some of that compassion and trust and end the needless suffering.
When I was waiting for a bus in Vietnam, I saw a lorry jammed pack with puppies, there must have been over 1000 in an open grill cattle wagon, travelling north to the Chinese border. The puppies were wagging their tails and in all honesty thought they were off on an adventure. If only they knew. I can never shake that image and I wish I had the power to have stopped it and released them all. I will always hold that sadness, and I will always support the education of people to fully understand the pain and suffering they are causing. The eating of dogs by the way is NOT for survival; they eat them because they believe they will keep you warm in the winter and give you a bigger hard on!
You may be thinking what this got to do with enrichment and my dog?
Enrichment is the absolute opposite of my Asian experience.
Enrichment is to provide activities, food and safe environment so that your dog can be carry out species specific behaviour. Sounds posh but to simplify it, we need to give our dogs things that they will enjoy, that will nurture their brains that will exercise their bodies and minds.
The more we learn about dogs the more we realise what they need to be happy.
Did you know that walking your dog is a man made thing? Dogs need to go to new places to discover using their noses but they don’t need to be frogmarched on or off lead for 20kms a day. Dogs are happy to meander about slowly, taking in their world through scent then using energy when they need to hunt or scavenge. Easy hey.
We have selectively bred dogs for so many years now that the pet dog hardly gets chance to discover anymore. Humans in a rush to get to work “come on Fido hurry up lets go” then they are left for hours.
This is more prevalent in the UK and USA where dogs are house dogs and the village and street canines seen across southern Europe for example are not seen here.
Through scavenging and hunting our dogs get to enrich their lives with texture, sound, smell.
So how can we recreate it for them? Here is a list of enrichment activity ideas that you can put together simply and cheaply.
When the weather is unsuitable for taking your dog out, these are absolutely priceless:
These are just a few examples of how you can enrich your dogs life and make them happier. And I mean , why wouldn’t you want to make your dog happier right?