Challenges and Solutions Surrounding Environmental Enrichment for Dogs and Cats in a Scientific Environment

Desforges, Emma J.

doi:10.3390/ani11102980

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…facilitate physical activities that promote fitness and allow for the expression of social (e.g., turning and jumping while engaged in social play) and other behaviors (e.g., digging) (95). Indoor spaces can be provided to preview the home environment (e.g., appliances and furniture) that retired dogs should transition to, allowing dogs to navigate and adapt to different challenges and settings that will set them up to succeed as competent animal companions beyond their time in racing (96).…”

Section: Behavioral Interactions Agentic Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The agency domain and behavioral interactions: assessing positive animal welfare using the Five Domains Model

Littlewood,

Heslop,

Cobb

2023

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Animal welfare denotes how an animal experiences their life. It represents the overall mental experiences of an animal and is a subjective concept that cannot be directly measured. Instead, welfare indicators are used to cautiously infer mental experiences from resource provisions, management factors, and animal-based measures. The Five Domains Model is a holistic and structured framework for collating these indicators and assessing animal welfare. Contemporary approaches to animal welfare management consider how animals can be given opportunities to have positive experiences. However, the uncertainty surrounding positive mental experiences that can be inferred has resulted in risk-averse animal welfare scientists returning to the relative safety of positivism. This has meant that aspects of positive welfare are often referred to as animal ‘wants’. Agency is a concept that straddles the positivist-affective divide and represents a way forward for discussions about positive welfare. Agency is the capacity of individual animals to engage in voluntary, self-generated, and goal-directed behavior that they are motivated to perform. Discrete positive emotions are cautiously inferred from these agentic experiences based on available knowledge about the animal’s motivation for engaging in the behavior. Competence-building agency can be used to evaluate the potential for positive welfare and is represented by the Behavioral Interactions domain of the Five Domains Model. In 2020, The Model was updated to, amongst other things, include consideration of human-animal interactions. The most important aspect of this update was the renaming of Domain 4 from “Behavior” to “Behavioral Interactions” and the additional detail added to allow this domain’s purpose to be clearly understood to represent an animal’s opportunities to exercise agency. We illustrate how the Behavioral Interactions domain of The Model can be used to assess animals’ competence-building agency and positive welfare. In this article, we use the examples of sugar gliders housed in captivity and greyhounds that race to illustrate how the agentic qualities of choice, control, and challenge can be used to assess opportunities for animals to exercise agency and experience positive affective engagement.

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Section: Behavioral Interactions Agentic Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The agency domain and behavioral interactions: assessing positive animal welfare using the Five Domains Model

Littlewood,

Heslop,

Cobb

2023

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…Many pet dog owners offer their dogs a foraging enrichment device called a “snuffle mat,” wherein food is hidden within fabric, encouraging dogs to use their noses to search for food. Providing dogs with opportunities to channel their energies into using their noses in scent activities, such as by providing a snuffle mat, is posited to help anxious dogs build confidence, or help excited dogs calm down with a mentally tiring activity 53 . Prior research reported that the welfare of a dog is improved when given more opportunities and time to forage 52 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic pet dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) do not show a preference to contrafreeload, but are willing

Rothkoff,

Feng,

Byosiere

2024

Sci Rep

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Contrafreeloading is the behavior of working for food when also provided with identical food that does not require effort to obtain. This behavior has been observed in humans and non-human animals, including domesticated species. In the current investigation, we assessed whether companion animals, specifically domestic dogs, contrafreeload when presented with two feeders simultaneously, a snuffle mat (a work for food device) and a tray (a freely available food device). Thirty-eight pet dogs participated in the study in which ten feeding trials were presented where food was distributed equally in both feeders. Three overarching research questions were considered: (1) Do dogs prefer to contrafreeload and/or are they willing to contrafreeload, (2) is activity (step count) or body condition score (BCS) related to contrafreeloading behavior and, (3) does previous experience with puzzle feeders impact contrafreeloading behavior? Two general linear models were conducted assessing the effects of sex, experience, age, activity and BCS on the proportion of first choices to the snuffle mat (ICs) and the number of interactions with the snuffle mat while food was still available in the tray (INs). Overall, when assessing the proportion of first choices to each feeder, dogs demonstrated a willingness to contrafreeload but not a preference to contrafreeload. In a reduced model, only one term, owner-reported body condition score, had a significant effect, suggesting that dogs with a higher BCS demonstrated a greater proportion of first choices for the snuffle mat (F (1,36) = 7.72, p = 0.009, η2p = 0.177). In evaluating the number of interactions with the snuffle mat while food was still available in the tray, the model was not significant (F (5,29) = 1.231, p = 0.320, η2p = 0.175). This study represents the first investigation of contrafreeloading in domestic pet dogs and informs recommendations for canine enrichment.

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“…In addition, a well-planned macroenvironment can provide sensory stimulation, such as outdoor sights, interesting sounds and smells, which keeps cats engaged and stimulated. Environmental enrichment for Desforges (2021), is the importance of improving the species' living environment through environmental enrichment by providing elements and provisions that support animal welfare. By enriching the environment, benefits are achieved both physically, mentally and socially, allowing animals to exhibit species-appropriate behaviors in a natural way.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of motivations and challenges to responsible pet ownership

Parrales Zambrano,

Rosas Carrera,

Márquez Cabrera

et al. 2024

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of physical environmental enrichment on the agonistic behavior of 30 cats housed in the "Rescue Mission" shelter. In the pre-enrichment period, a significant increase in agonistic behaviors was observed, such as 205 paw swipes and 184 vocalizations. After implementing crates and shelves as enrichment, a gradual reduction of these behaviors was recorded. Comparison of the two types of enrichment revealed that the cats preferred the 282 boxes over the 170 shelves. As for the relationship between enrichment and sex, age and body condition of the cats, statistically significant relationships were found. Taken together, these results point to the significant influence of sex, age, and body condition on cats' environmental enrichment preferences. These findings highlight the importance of environmental enrichment in improving the welfare of cats in shelters and homes, and provide relevant information for decision making in the management of these animals. It is concluded that the implementation of effective environmental enrichment strategies can reduce stress and improve the behavior of cats, promoting a more harmonious coexistence among felines.

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Challenges and Solutions Surrounding Environmental Enrichment for Dogs and Cats in a Scientific Environment

Cited by 6 publications

References 40 publications

The agency domain and behavioral interactions: assessing positive animal welfare using the Five Domains Model

The agency domain and behavioral interactions: assessing positive animal welfare using the Five Domains Model

Domestic pet dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) do not show a preference to contrafreeload, but are willing

Analysis of motivations and challenges to responsible pet ownership

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