Presented by Fiona Cowie, Andrea Carne & Donna Marchiori
Pet enrichment is so important and it means giving animals activities, environments, and challenges that stimulate their mind and body. Enrichment improves their overall health, behaviour, and happiness and can include such a wide range of activities - get as creative as you can! It prevents boredom; reduces behavioural problems; supports their mental and emotional health; encourages natural behaviours; improves physical health and strengthens the bond you have with your pet.
Learning Objectives
* What is enrichment
* Enrichment as a daily occurrence
* How to ensure you are meeting your pets daily needs
*How to choose the right enrichment activities
About The Presenters
Fiona Cowie brings extensive experience in animal training behaviour, but her special interest is in helping humans untap their animal's superpower - their incredible noses!
Along with over 14 years’ experience as a detector dog handler and supervisor, she has run her own successful business, The Doggy Lady, for over 10 years. While The Doggy Lady team supports dogs and their humans through a wide range of behaviour and training services, they’re best known for their popular scent detection program—affectionately called “Sniffer Dog School.” She has trained 100's of dogs in scent detection, along with some talented cats, birds and horses!
Fiona also contributes to the future of the industry as part of the IMDT Australia Education Team, and serves as a Trainer and Assessor for Applied Vocational Training, shaping the next generation of dog training professionals.
Andrea Carne is a Feline Professional Member of PPGA and a Certified Cat Behaviour Consultant through IAABC. Based in Tasmania, she helps cat guardians solve feline behavioural issues of all shapes and sizes through her business "Cattitude". Offering in-home and virtual consultations, Andrea works on everything from aggression and house-soiling to cats fearful of human touch .... and even shoe thieves! But, most of all, she loves helping humans ensure their cats are living their best lives.
Donna Marchiori BVetTech, BSci(Hons1), AFHEA, Elite Fear Free Certified Professional, Cert IV Dog Behavioural Training, Cert IV TAE.
That’s me with the alphabet, working on adding some more letters – I am a lifelong learner and a crossover trainer – I’ve done all the dumb things. I’ve trained service dogs and puppy pre-schools, I write the vet tech column for the AVSAB newsletter, and I’ve done time as a moderator/admin on the mega facebook group Canine Enrichment. My real job for the past twelve years has been working as a behaviour tech in the Vet School at the University of Qld with the teaching colony animals, which I also adopt out. I’ve taught foundation companion animal behaviour to vet and vet tech students for at least half that time. I am officially onto my eleventh keeper dog having succumbed to foster failure just this week and she’s yet another project, because I have a problem. Wait. I am the problem? Lots of those dogs were Maremmas but our lives have been either graced or disgraced, depending who you’re talking to in the family, by Border Collies, Greyhound and Lab. Feel free to pick my brain, I need to make some space.
