Trainer Interaction Can Improve Welfare Outcomes of Toy Enrichment for Isolated Animals: A Case Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Subject and Housing
2.2. Data Collection
- (a)
- After Training: the observation began immediately after a training session. To avoid any effects of direct reinforcement for interacting with specific toys in the training session, any toys that were used during that training session were replaced with other toys before the observation started.
- (b)
- After Trainer Play: before the observation, the trainer played with toys with Ranger for approximately 10 min. The observation started immediately after that, with the toys that were used remaining in the pool, along with at least one additional toy added on most days.
- (c)
- Between sessions: the observation took place at least one hour after a training or play session (except one which was approximately 45 min after a session). There were two variations to this condition, which occurred sequentially during the study:
- Phase 1: No toys (6 April 2022–18 April 2022; 9 observation days): all toys were removed from the pool before the observation started. The Linus Blanket that Ranger used as a comfort object remained in the pool.
- Phase 2: With toys (19 April 2022–11 March 2022; 16 observation days): near the end of Phase 1, Ranger began showing possessive behavior when toys were removed for the Between Sessions observations. To avoid his rehearsing this possessive behavior, we changed the procedure such that any toys in the pool remained there during the observation.
2.3. Statistical Analyses
- = total number of observations;
- = mean frequency of observations per zone (N/number of zones);
- and = number of zones with frequencies greater or less than M, respectively; and
- and = total number of observations in zones with frequencies greater or less than M, respectively.
3. Results
3.1. Behaviors
3.2. Space Utilization
3.3. Toy Choice
4. Discussion
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Behavior | Definition |
---|---|
Object oriented | |
Calm object play | Manipulates an object in a calm, non-aggressive manner |
Toy aggression | Bites, hits, or kicks an object |
Linus Blanket | Floats partially or entirely under a piece of felt (3 ft × 4 ft) at the surface |
Floating | |
Float Horizontal | Floats horizontally at the surface without moving, oriented either dorsal-up or side-up |
Float Vertical | Floats vertically without moving, head up |
Swimming | |
Swim | Moves steadily through the water in any orientation; no objects involved |
Speed swim | Swims quickly |
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Jaakkola, K.; Brignac, S.; Erb, L.; Guarino, E.; Haddock, A.; Rodriguez, A. Trainer Interaction Can Improve Welfare Outcomes of Toy Enrichment for Isolated Animals: A Case Study. J. Zool. Bot. Gard. 2023, 4, 72-81. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg4010008
Jaakkola K, Brignac S, Erb L, Guarino E, Haddock A, Rodriguez A. Trainer Interaction Can Improve Welfare Outcomes of Toy Enrichment for Isolated Animals: A Case Study. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens. 2023; 4(1):72-81. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg4010008
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaakkola, Kelly, Sarah Brignac, Linda Erb, Emily Guarino, Abigail Haddock, and Armando Rodriguez. 2023. "Trainer Interaction Can Improve Welfare Outcomes of Toy Enrichment for Isolated Animals: A Case Study" Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 4, no. 1: 72-81. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg4010008
APA StyleJaakkola, K., Brignac, S., Erb, L., Guarino, E., Haddock, A., & Rodriguez, A. (2023). Trainer Interaction Can Improve Welfare Outcomes of Toy Enrichment for Isolated Animals: A Case Study. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 4(1), 72-81. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg4010008