Behind the scenes: Stress Reduction – Sight/Visual
The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society’s Shelter Health Pro website has great resources for shelter care, and general pet care! On this week’s “Behind the Scenes” look, we’re showcasing some stress reduction techniques relating to sight/visual stimulants.
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How can we reduce or utilize sight and visual stimuli to help animals feel more calm and comfortable with us during their stay in our care?
Reduce unpleasant visual stimulation:
- Avoid housing animals facing each other with continuous visual contact
Minimize the exposure of visual contact of different species. For example:
- Avoid walking dogs through cat areas
- Avoid housing birds in cat rooms
Use of barriers between dogs:
- To decrease visual overstimulation, especially for very reactive dogs, install inexpensive barriers on the “working” side of the kennels where dogs are taken in and out.
- Below is an inexpensive solution for a visually stimulated dog, courtesy of Dane County Humane Society in Madison, WI
- Some animal centres install “Dutch doors” where the bottom half of the kennel door is covered so dogs can’t see other dogs as they walk by.
Visit our website to learn about DIY retreat areas for all species, and how to introduce pleasant, calming visual stimulation.
More info here!
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