Behind the scenes: What’s that smell?

We’re getting back into our Behind the Scenes Thursday content and we’re excited to talk scents and smells today!

Now, don’t misunderstand us – this is not a boring topic. On the contrary, we think you’ll find it very interesting to hear what different scents are used in shelter care.

Here is a snippet from our Shelter Health Pro website. It talks about how we can reduce or utilize scents, smells and pheromones, with the purpose of helping animals feel more calm and comfortable during their stay. The following tips are for dogs!

Introduce favourable scents/smells:

Lavender and Chamomile:

• Dogs exposed to the scent of lavender and chamomile spend significantly less of their time moving and behave in a manner suggestive of relaxation
• These scents also resulted in a lower level of barking than all other conditions.
• They are beneficial when used in indoor kennel areas
• These scents are also known to reduce levels of stress in visitors, which may encourage them to spend more time touring the facility

Rosemary and Peppermint:

• The dogs spend more of their time alert (i.e. standing, moving) than any of the other olfactory conditions
• These scents also encouraged a greater amount of vocalization
• These scents could be beneficial in outdoor kennel areas where more activity is encouraged

Scents can also be used for enriching the animals’ indoor or outdoor space. This also applies in many games and activities to provide an engaging and cognitively stimulating experience. For more ways to use scents as part of your daily enrichment routine, see “Scent of the Day” for cats and dogs.

Find this information interesting/helpful? Visit our Shelter Health Pro website for more great content!