Canine Enrichment Real World Workbook, by Allie Bender and Emily Strong (Dogwise, 2022, $19.95, 76 pp) (available at Dogwise.com)
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| Workbook |
Well Worth Waiting For!
Dog training, dog behavior and even some dog memoir books are continually being written, rewritten or updated: as a result, many dog professionals and just plain regular dog folk will wait until a new book has been out for a few months, then splurge on a whole slew of those titles all at once! A few trainers I know who have been waiting on Canine Enrichment for the Real World: Making it a Part of Your Dog's Daily Life (the 'text' book) now simply have to purchase it since the workbook just came out, too - a two-fer. A Dogwise book is always good (especially when edited by Adrienne Hovey) and this enrichment workbook is no exception. Well worth waiting for!
About the size of a piece of paper (8 1/2 by 11 inches) this slim volume (76 pages) has the same cover photo as the text book but the workbook is 'purple-ish' while the text book is a teal blue-ish. Written to supplement the text which came out three years ago, the workbook is an adjunct to the text - or it can be used alone (but best after thoroughly digesting the text book).
Years ago, perhaps in the early 2000's the 'sexy' topic for dog professionals was aggression, then after a few years, conferences on that subject morphed into the world of puppies, followed by service dogs, reactivity and tricks. Now we have enrichment. Not only has enrichment caught on rapidly and expanded nearly exponentially but authors Allie Bender and Emily Strong have advanced the subject and used science to explain how enrichment can help solve a world of woes.
Style
Written in a friendly conversational tone with explanations (advancements) of what Bender and Strong learned from writing their text book, the workbook condenses and organizes the most important elements and still follows the main themes of the text book, one being 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' The authors acknowledge that not all the steps will be needed with every dog - thank goodness, for the details and organization are stupendous. However, the case study near the end of the workbook could use more written explanation and descriptions, just as the excellent treatment of short example descriptions in the previous chapter, Troubleshooting.
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| Teal 'Text' Book |
We recommend reading the 'teal book' with a highlighter to take notes and then marking up the workbook and xeroxing the forms in the back to use with client dogs. And remember, you will have to really study the 8 steps and 14 categories of enrichment to be sure you cover what is needed for your client.
What We Love!
We love the approach of breaking things down into bite-sized pieces so our clients are not overwhelmed (splitting rather than chunking).
We foresee a weekend seminar on using enrichment to help with behavior issues. We can't wait! This new methodology or at least the use of different methods, games and exercises in a new and innovative manner seems rather complex at first glance so a thorough in-person explanation will help many trainers implement these new enrichment protocols.
What We Would Change. . . .
We, or at least one of us, would have liked less white space and a font size that is a tad bit larger. Also, the concept of agency totally bypassed one of us and needs more explanation and examples, though perhaps it is covered well in the text book that one of us has misplaced so has not yet read.
A Stand-Alone? A Workbook?
Dog trainers, inundated with 'new' books often wait when a new title comes out, until the corresponding workbook appears on the scene and then purchase that less expensive and shorter version in the hopes that 'that'll do.' Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the workbook serves as a stand-alone as well as an adjunct to the text. One of our two reviewers (the one who has not read the text book) had a difficult time without the prior knowledge found in the original text and believes the Workbook does not easily stand alone.
And now, we come to the topic of a workbook itself. We were expecting numerous reproducible pages to fill in with client information: Bender and Strong provide only four worksheets that can be xeroxed but these four pages encompass the necessary ones.
And finally, with 14 different categories of enrichment, one of us is going to re-arrange the categories into groups/subcategories to be able to remember them more easily.
Summary
In summary, Bender and Strong have advanced a new approach to solving behavior issues that incorporate enrichment. This is a book well worth having in your toolbox.
Take-Away Lesson
"Enrichment is about meeting their [the dogs'] needs, so they are physically, behaviorally and emotionally healthy enough to perform species-typical behaviors in safe, healthy and appropriate ways." (page 46)
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