Post by Baglady on Jun 2, 2013 6:54:19 GMT
Friends have developed a program of Environmental and Kennel enrichment based on research around captive animals. We are indebted to Dr Debbie Wells, C. Psychol. Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Queen's University, Belfast, for her help in providing us with the academic basis and research papers for rolling out our Environmental Enrichment Program.
Part 4 of our Program involves olfactory stimulation.
Here's an extract from Dr Wells' paper, A review of environmental enrichment for kennelled dogs, Canis familiaris...
Recently, some attention has been directed towards the value of odour as a form of environmental enrichment for captive animals. Much of this work has been conducted on exotic cats, producing positive results. Powell (1995), for example, discovered that the introduction of scents including musk cologne, allspice and extracts of peppermint and almond, increased the activity level of captive-housed African lions, Panthera leo. Similar findings were reported by Schuett and Frase (2001) in their study of zoo-housed lions exposed to zebra dung, cinnamon, chilli powder and ginger, and by Pearson (2002) in her study of captive Asiatic lions exposed to herbs (i.e. rosemary, chives, lemongrass, allspice), and essential oils (i.e. peppermint, ylang, eucalyptus). More recentlyWells and Egli (2004) discovered that zoo-housed black-footed cats, Felis nigripes, showed an increase in activity upon exposure to odours including nutmeg, catnip and the body odour of a potential prey animal (quail).
The dog is well renowned for its olfactory acuity (Kalmus, 1955; Hepper, 1988; Schoon and de Bruin, 1994; Settle et al., 1994; Sommerville et al., 1993). Odour introduction may thus hold potential as a form of environmental enrichment for kennelled canids. In the first study of this kind, Graham, Wells and Hepper (unpublished data) explored the effect of two odours known to have calming properties (i.e. lavender, chamomile) and two odours known to have stimulating properties (i.e. rosemary, peppermint) on humans, on the behaviour of 50 dogs housed in a rescue shelter. The ‘calming’ odours, and lavender in particular, were found to encourage behaviours more suggestive of relaxation in the dogs (e.g. decreased barking, increased resting), whilst the ‘stimulating’ odours, especially peppermint, heightened the dogs’ activity, resulting in more movement.
The Friends Aroma Therapy program will introduce lavender and chamomile scents into the kennel block, the puppy cages and the stable block with the aim of providing soothing smells to reduce stress and improve the psychological wellbeing of our dogs.
Part 4 of our Program involves olfactory stimulation.
Here's an extract from Dr Wells' paper, A review of environmental enrichment for kennelled dogs, Canis familiaris...
Recently, some attention has been directed towards the value of odour as a form of environmental enrichment for captive animals. Much of this work has been conducted on exotic cats, producing positive results. Powell (1995), for example, discovered that the introduction of scents including musk cologne, allspice and extracts of peppermint and almond, increased the activity level of captive-housed African lions, Panthera leo. Similar findings were reported by Schuett and Frase (2001) in their study of zoo-housed lions exposed to zebra dung, cinnamon, chilli powder and ginger, and by Pearson (2002) in her study of captive Asiatic lions exposed to herbs (i.e. rosemary, chives, lemongrass, allspice), and essential oils (i.e. peppermint, ylang, eucalyptus). More recentlyWells and Egli (2004) discovered that zoo-housed black-footed cats, Felis nigripes, showed an increase in activity upon exposure to odours including nutmeg, catnip and the body odour of a potential prey animal (quail).
The dog is well renowned for its olfactory acuity (Kalmus, 1955; Hepper, 1988; Schoon and de Bruin, 1994; Settle et al., 1994; Sommerville et al., 1993). Odour introduction may thus hold potential as a form of environmental enrichment for kennelled canids. In the first study of this kind, Graham, Wells and Hepper (unpublished data) explored the effect of two odours known to have calming properties (i.e. lavender, chamomile) and two odours known to have stimulating properties (i.e. rosemary, peppermint) on humans, on the behaviour of 50 dogs housed in a rescue shelter. The ‘calming’ odours, and lavender in particular, were found to encourage behaviours more suggestive of relaxation in the dogs (e.g. decreased barking, increased resting), whilst the ‘stimulating’ odours, especially peppermint, heightened the dogs’ activity, resulting in more movement.
The Friends Aroma Therapy program will introduce lavender and chamomile scents into the kennel block, the puppy cages and the stable block with the aim of providing soothing smells to reduce stress and improve the psychological wellbeing of our dogs.
