Our Animal Experience Days run every school holiday except over the Christmas period.
They offer children and young people aged 5-16 a unique opportunity to learn about responsible pet ownership and safety in a fun, relaxed environment.
What we got up to this summer
During the summer holidays our animal care assistants for the day helped us clean kennels and small animal pens, completed an enrichment making activity, and had exclusive animal interactions with some of our rescue animals!
For our craft activity for the summer, we made pet “ice cream” cones. The children and young people picked to make a cone for a dog, cat, or rabbit / guinea pig, which they could take for their pet at home, or gift to a shelter resident.
The dog “ice cream” had dog treat “scoops” and a Bonio “flake.” Our cat “ice cream” was a cat cornetto with cat treats at the bottom and pom-poms for the “ice cream!” Lastly, the rabbits and guinea pigs had screwball ice cream, which was made with a hay ball made of loo roll tubes and topped with a hay and herb “ice cream.”
Hands-off interactions
This holiday we focused on ‘Hands-off’ play. Hands-off play allows us to spend time with our pets without stroking them constantly. It is also a useful tool to both entertain our pets and interact with them when the weather is hot. Here at the shelter, we also find this is a great way for some of our residents to build their confidence, both around humans and their new environment.
For our dog meet, the children took on board what they had learnt to set up scent games and scavenger hunts for a rescue dog. Master, a 4-year-old retired racing greyhound, really enjoyed meeting all the children. Master loves his food so really appreciated the games and the extra respite from his kennel.
To help provide our cats with mental stimulation and human companionship during the hot weather, the children and young people played with cat wands/ fishing rods with our cats.
For our rabbit interactions the children met shelter resident in small groups where we had an informal chat about rabbit handling, nutrition, and enrichment! Perry particularly loved the sessions and enjoyed the children’s offerings of coriander!
Our NEW sessions for young adults
One of our summer sessions was offered exclusively for young people aged 12-16. This was a trial session, which we are keen to continue. During the sessions the young people helped clean our small animal pens, prepared enrichment items by making dog biscuits for the rescue animals and had animal interactions. During the dog meet the young people learnt about positive reinforcement, which is where we use a reward-based system by using toys, treats, or praise to motive our dogs to learn.
With our rescue dog we put this to practice, by finding out what would motivate them to enjoy their training. We know that Kenai loves food, so the young people were set the challenge of finding out what his favourite food was by the ‘Choose-it’ Game. This involves hiding treats in a closed fist, and our dog would sniff out and go to the hand of the treat they wanted. For this experiment we used cheese, ham, sausages, and dog treats. The results of our findings were that Kenai prefers dog treats, which we then used for him to practice basic commands.
Hands-off play with your pets
Hands-off interactions and play refer to ways we can spend time with our pets without stroking or touching them. There are many reasons pets may not want to be touched, like us, our pets are individuals with their own personalities, they may be poorly or in pain, or have had negative past experiences in their lives, and our pets need breaks and do not want to be stroked all the time.
Hands-off interactions and play are a safe way for us to interact with our pets. Furthermore, they provide an opportunity to bond and build a positive relationship, whilst both parties are having a fun, enjoyable experience.
Hands-off interactions with dogs
There are many ways we can interact with our dogs whilst giving them space. This can include:
- Hide and seek – hiding your dog’s favourite treat or toy in the garden for them to find.
- Games of fetch or tug toy games
- A nice walk
- Trick training
- Setting up enrichment items and scent games such as, snufflemats, treat balls and puzzles, Kongs, and even items around the home like egg boxes! It is important we always give our dogs space when they are eating for safety, no one likes to be interrupted when they are eating, our pets included!
- A toy box – as a family activity you can make or get your dog a toy box and fill it with your dog’s favourite toys. For younger children it is a great way for them get involved designing a box, and picking what toys they would like to go in there – this idea could be used for cats as well.
Hands-off interactions with cats
Play is a great way for ‘hands-off’ interactions with your cats. By playing with our cats we are helping our cats exercise, bonding with them, providing mental stimulation, and allowing them to display their natural behaviours.
Play can also be beneficial for cats who need their confidence building, as well as those who have playful personalities.
Interactive play is a fantastic hands-off game, such as, a cat wand or ‘fishing rod,’ which is a toy attached to a piece of string on a stick. These toys encourage our cats to stalk, chase, and pounce. We always find that both children and cats enjoy this game on Animal Days!
Another great idea is setting up enrichment and scent games for our cats. Generally, we think of these games for our canine friends, however, cats are natural hunters and are used to seeking out their food. Enrichment items are another fun, interactive games, which also allows our cats to display their natural behaviours. Enrichment items can include putting your cats kibble in treat balls, puzzles, and Kongs, as well as making your own toys and enrichment items found in your home.
Hands-off interactions with rabbits
Here at Cheltenham Animal shelter, we are keen to promote correct husbandry for rabbits. Like all other pets’ rabbits are intelligent animals with their own personalities. As rabbits are prey animals, they like to be able to move around as they please, and most do not enjoy being picked up.
Hands-off interactions are a great way for us to interact with our rabbits, who are typically social animals, as well as mentally stimulate them. Like our other pets’ rabbits also need to be provided with things to do! Ideas for hands-off interactions with our rabbits include:
- Enrichment items – snuffle mats, treat balls, puzzles, toys, and tunnels
- Toy toss – some rabbits love to toss items, if this is the case you can provide them with a safe, lightweight toy.
- Making an obstacle course for your rabbit such as hurdles! This can be made of both toilet and kitchen roll tubes. Look online for inspiration!
- Making toys and treats
- Dig boxes – rabbits love to dig, this is a natural behaviour for them.
Destruction boxes
Destruction boxes are a great enrichment item that can easily be created and adapted for any pet. As a family why not try making these for your pets at home. Click image to enlarge.
