Enrichment for the Real World

You’ve dedicated your life to helping animals- just like us.

Emily Strong was training praying mantids at 7.

Allie Bender was telling her neighbor to refill their bird feeder because the birds were hungry at 2.

You’re an animal person; you get it.

We’ve always been animal people. We’ve been wanting to better animals’ lives since forever, so we made a podcast for people like us.

Join Emily and Allie, the authors of Canine Enrichment for the Real World, for everything animal care- from meeting animals’ needs to assessing goals to filling our own cups as caregivers and guardians.

Latest Episodes:

#26 - Learn How to Play With Your Animal Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

Last week we heard from Dr. Miranda Workman and one of the topics we discussed was cat enrichment. This week we’re going to dive further into learning how to play with your pet and talk about implementation with the animals in your life.

In this implementation episode, Emily and Allie talk about:

The big myth surrounding play
How play mimics species-typical behaviors
Making up your own rules

You can find the full show notes here.

#25 - Dr. Miranda Workman: Cat Enrichment Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

In this week's interview episode, we are joined by Dr. Miranda K. Workman, the Behavioral Sciences Team Shelter Behavior Apprenticeship Liaison for the ASPCA to discuss cat enrichment! Even if you don't have a cat in your life, there are some amazing nuggets in here that are applicable to any species. And, if you share your life with a cat, you are going to absolutely love this.
In this episode, you’re going to hear Emily and Miranda talk about:

Cat soccer
The difference between predictability and consistency
Overcoming the observer’s paradox

You can find the full show notes here.

#24 - When Agency Isn’t an Option Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

Last week we heard from Lisa Clifton-Bumpass and one of the topics we discussed was agency and communication around medical handling. This week we’re going to dive further into what to do when agency can’t be an option and talk about implementation with the animals in your life.
In this implementation episode, Emily and Allie talk about:

How trust is like a bank account
Would you do the same thing to a tiger?
What to do when you can’t do best practices

#23 - Lisa Clifton-Bumpass: Compassion Meets Communication Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s interview episode, we are joined by Lisa Clifton-Bumpass. Lisa is a training systems analyst specializing in the constructional approach. Lisa is known for her work with giraffes but has worked with 70 different species in her work with zoos, and domestic animals in a variety of capacities.
It’s not every day that you get to talk with someone who has made such incredible contributions to, not only the animal welfare community, but also to the human welfare community, and we were so lucky to get to bring you this conversation.
In this episode, you’re going to hear Lisa and Allie talk about:

How a Constructional Approach can help you craft a bite-sized training plan
The best story about a bat named Beethoven
Interviewing the animal in front of you

You can find the full show notes here.

#22 - Practical Problem-Solving Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

Last week we heard from Ken Ramirez and one of the topics we discussed was troubleshooting your training. In this week’s implementation episode we’re going to dive further into problem-solving and talk about implementation with the animals in your life.

In this implementation episode, Emily and Allie talk about:

What to do when seeing with your eyes, not your ideas, is difficult
Expanding the antecedent picture
A situation in which treats were punishing

You can find the full show notes here.

#21 - Ken Ramirez: Comprehensive Care Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s interview episode, we are joined by Ken Ramirez. Ken Ramirez has been working in animal care and training for nearly 50 years and is the EVP and Chief Training Officer for Karen Pryor Clicker Training, and the author of ANIMAL TRAINING: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement and The Eye of the Trainer.

Ken is an amazing human being. He has done so much for the animal training industry and even though he’s one of the biggest and most respected and recognized trainers, he is still such a humble and kind person who is always striving to learn more and improve. He’s someone that we can learn so much from whether it’s animal training or how to just be a human.

In this episode, you’re going to hear Emily and Ken talk about:

Primary and secondary reasons for training
When choice is coercive
Agency to say no and honest communication
Troubleshooting when things aren’t going quite right

You can find the full show notes here.

#20 - Building Food Motivation Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

In this week’s implementation episode, Allie and Emily continue talking about food motivation. It’s a topic that is important for all of the animals in our care. In this episode Allie and Emily discuss:

How Food motivation is malleable
Factors to take into account when changing the environment to make food more desirable
The yellow flag Allie saw with Oso, her quote-unquote “good eater” when he didn’t eat one night
And, the change that Emily made for her dog, Copper, which changed him from a finicky eater to someone who reliably eats

You can find the full show notes here.

#19 - Kathy Sdao: Food Motivation Myths Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

In this interview episode, we are joined by Kathy Sdao, an applied animal behaviorist to discuss an always popular topic, food motivation. Food motivation is a term that comes up a lot when folks are talking about training their pets. While all individuals are intrinsically motivated by food, because they have to eat to survive, it can get a little more complicated when we’re talking about the behavior of reliably eating, which is usually what many folks are really referring to when talking about food motivation. And not reliably eating, can lead to some sticky situations.

You’ll hear Emily and Kathy discuss:

Being a detective when your pet doesn’t eat, because it’s a behavioral emergency
Why the back of your pet food bag probably isn’t an accurate recommendation for how much food your pet should eat
How you can create aversions to food, doing things that people very commonly do

You can find the full show notes here.

#18 - Cultivating a Growing Mindset Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

Last week we heard from Matt Beisner and one of the topics we discussed was being willing to continue learning. This week we’re going to dive further into cultivating a growth mindset and talk about implementation with the animals in your life.

In this implementation episode, Emily and Allie talk about:

Why a growth mindset is necessary to elevate your enrichment strategy
Addressing the shame of should
How to process your big feels

You can find the full show notes here.

#17 - Matt Beisner: Growing Publicly Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

We are so excited to kick off Season 2 with this interview episode! This week, we are joined by Matt Beisner CPDT-KA, FDM. Matt is the founder of THE ZEN DOG, and host of the popular international show “Dog: Impossible” on Disney+.
One of the things that we see a lot, not only when it comes to folks learning more about enrichment, but in the field of animal behavior itself, is that it can be really hard to assimilate new information that conflicts with what you previously knew. Some people let this stymie them, and keep them from growing and learning. Other people, like Matt, are able to go through this process with humility so that they can continue learning and growing. So while today’s episode is not as enrichment-heavy as others, this is a topic that will help you to get to that next level with your enrichment strategy.
In this episode, you’re going to hear Emily and Matt talk about:

How to process when you’re presented with information that conflicts with what you know
How to keep from drinking your own kool-aid
Imposter syndrome

You can find the full show notes here.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Enrichment for the Real World

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected