Is your pet bored or destructive? Environmental enrichment is the answer! Environmental enrichment is a dynamic process that influences animal environments to enhance quality of life. For the past 30 years, researchers such as David Shepherdson and Hal Markowits have studied and proven that environmental enrichment is essential to the health and well being of all animals, domestic and exotic. Zoos and aquariums have been using environmental enrichment for decades and it is time that pet owners do the same. Unfortunately, they have limited resources and minimal understanding of environmental enrichment and how to use it effectively.

In Beyond Squeaky Toys, Nicole and Cinthia explain the history of environmental enrichment, what it is, how it works and why it is essential for the health and well being of animals. They explain the relationship between boredom and problem behaviors and provide the reader with over 100 innovative, inexpensive and simple ideas to enrich their pet’s life and help eliminate problem behaviors. With several ready to use enrichment schedules and enrichment prescriptions for problem behaviors, pet owners can quickly experience the benefits of enrichment, first hand, in their own homes.

Beyond Squeaky Toys is for the pet owner who wants to live in harmony with their pet and is in search for options that do not take a lot of time, skill or in-depth understanding of advanced science and techniques. The ideas are inexpensive and most importantly WORK! They can instantly be implemented and produce immediate, positive behavior changes. Best of all, the reader will become more familiar with their pet’s natural history and breed-specific behaviors to develop creative enrichment options of their own to help direct their pet’s behavior into more appropriate outlets and build a stronger pet/owner bond.

What experts are saying about Beyond Squeaky Toys:
I have long maintained that training and enrichment are so integrated and connected that you really can’t have one without the other. The authors share a similar philosophy and their integration of the two make this a highly useful and truly unique book. It is well put together, has good training advice, and covers a topic not regularly addressed in most books or seminars. I am not sure I have seen another book like this one on the market. It speaks effectively to the casual pet owner and is still a great resource for the professional. I highly recommend this book and think it should be in every trainer’s library. —Ken Ramirez, Executive VP Animal Care & Training, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago - Author, Animal Training: Successful Animal Management through Positive Reinforcement

This is certainly the first publication that I have seen that explains enrichment in a way that pet owners can identify with and gives them really practical and fun ways for them to put their new knowledge into practice. Pet problems (which are usually just as much owner problems) have become such a great source of angst for both pets and owners that the kind of information and advice in this book is both timely and critically needed! — David Shepherdson Ph.D. Conservation Manager Oregon Zoo

Enrichment is of critical importance for captive animal health and welfare, not just for those animals housed in zoos but for those in our homes, as well. Just think, if a zookeeper can train a tiger to calmly and voluntarily offer its paw for a toenail trim, or open its mouth for a dental exam, or offer its tail for collection of a blood sample, the sky should be the limit for what can be done with our own cats and dogs. Authors Nicole Nicassio-Hiskey and Cinthia Alia Mitchell have done a great job of explaining not just the “why” of animal enrichment, but the “how”, with beautiful photos and detailed descriptions of each suggested enrichment option. We owe it to our pets to adopt the principles in this book, so that our pets can live better and healthier lives. — Lisa Harrenstien, DVM, DACZM