Beyond Squeaky Toys (Book review)

This holiday season, I’ve decided to share twelve books with you.
At the bottom of this post, you can enter for a chance to win a copy of this book.
You can also visit this page to find the entire list of books and giveaways.

My parents recently adopted a new dog! He’s a two-year-old Brittany spaniel named Jack. Jack was surrendered to the rescue for a long list of reasons. For example, he liked to dig holes in the backyard and was very difficult to take on walks because he pulled and lunged on the leash. In addition, he often chewed up things that he wasn’t supposed to and, in general, was destructive.

Jack isn’t a “bad” dog. Instead, he’s a typical, high-energy, young Brittany. And, at 51 pounds, he certainly is a lot of energy! His previous owners realized that he needed a whole lot more attention and training than they were able to give him at this point in their life. So, they decided that the kindest solution for him would be to find him a new home.

One thing that Jack desperately needed in his life was more enrichment.

Enrichment basically means any activity that provides mental or physical stimulation for an animal. This can include social activities with other animals or people, training sessions and other learning opportunities, food puzzles, physical activities, toys and games, and sensory experiences.

When I work with pet dog owners, I meet a lot of dogs like Jack. Many owners walk their dogs and buy toys for them. But, beyond that, the owner may not know how to provide other interesting and enriching experiences for their dog. However, I find that most owners are more than willing to provide additional enrichment activities for their dog once they understand the importance of this and know how to do it.

This is where today’s book, Beyond Squeaky Toys, comes in. It’s a short, but delightful little book that is packed full of enrichment ideas. One thing that I love about this book is that it includes ideas for both dogs and cats. In addition, the introduction to the book explains why enrichment is important, describes different categories of enrichment, and includes useful safety guidelines.

The bulk of the book consists of 100+ short descriptions of activities that can be used to enrich your pet’s life. The majority of the ideas are things that are free or relatively inexpensive and most of the ideas can be done at home.

Several years ago, I wrote a longer review of this book on my blog, which you can find here.

Jack seems to be enjoying having more enrichment in his life. My parents aren’t taking Jack for walks currently, as he still needs to learn some leash manners. However, he has plenty of other activities to keep him occupied.

Currently, Jack gets to play in the yard several times per day. In addition, he eats his breakfast out of a Kong food-dispensing ball (this kind), receives several short training sessions each day, gets plenty of attention and belly rubs, loves chewing on his antler, and occasionally gets a frozen Kong (link) to lick and chew.

If you’re looking for more enrichment ideas for your pet or an easy to understand book about enrichment to recommend to your friends or clients, I encourage you to check out Beyond Squeaky Toys.

Enter to win a copy of this book

To enter the giveaway:
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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions
One lucky reader will win a new copy of this book.
Winner will be chosen at random.
This giveaway ends on Friday, Dec. 14, 2018 at 11:59pm Central Standard Time.
Winner will be notified via email on December 15.
If the winner does not respond by Dec 17, he/she will forfeit the prize.
Void where prohibited.
Entering the giveaway form means you agree to the terms listed above.

Take a moment to enter the rest of my holiday giveaways!