With pets at the office becoming a recent trend, we wanted to unveil a way to incorporate pet enrichment in the workplace. Pet enrichment plays an essential part in your pet’s overall health and wellness. To bring this to light, Trupanion, a leader in high-quality medical insurance for pets, has more than 200 pets at its Seattle headquarters. We sat down with Trupanion’s pet program manager, J. Marmol, for insight on how to include pet enrichment in the workplace and the key enrichment tools for happy pets in the office.
How to entertain your pets at work
Having a productive day in the office is important for everyone; naturally, your pets want to enjoy their time at the office too. To avoid any pets from becoming bored, anxious or getting into something they shouldn’t, pet enrichment in the workplace can be a beneficial tool for their physical, mental and emotional health.
Marmol weighs in on the following tools to consider incorporating into your workday –
Mental stimulation
Mental stimulation can include different types of interaction with your furry friends. For instance, non-verbal hand signals are a wonderful way to interact with your pet. Also, consider working on tricks during a lunch break.
Play dates
Team up with other pets in office and enjoy a play date. A play date allows your pet to socialize and enjoy being a dog for the day. Consider a simple game of fetch or tossing the ball to let your pup run and get out some energy.
Socialization
By taking your pet to your workplace, you have the opportunity to expose them to new environments, experiences and plenty of socialization! While your pup has plenty of time to bond with you, they also get the chance to be introduced to new friends, humans and pets alike.
Emotional stimulation
The human-pet bond is such an important part of your relationship with your furry friend. By bringing your dog—or cat—to the office, you are able to share the experience of your workday with your best friend. It certainly makes for a wonderful bonding activity.
Different types of pet enrichment toys to use in the workplace
By placing various types of toys in your work cubicle, office space or pet playrooms you are allowing the opportunity for pets to play, engage and explore all their senses. In addition, pet enrichment toys are a great way tool to stimulate mental stimulation and encourage learning. Consider feeder toys, such as puzzle feeders and wobblers, as a way to keep your pet engaged and distracted.
The Trupanion pet program: every opportunity is a training opportunity
And an essential tool is to incorporate a pet program to manage everything pet-orientated! For example, at Trupanion HQ, we have gates that are helpful for an open work layout and floorplan. Also, pet playrooms have ample space to roam and play, color-coded leashes help identify any reactive dogs and all meeting rooms are pet-friendly. In addition, pups can enjoy a dog walk with one of the Trupanion dog walkers.
Naturally, “with every new exposure is a training opportunity for your pet, including our dog’s walks,” states Marmol.
The Trupanion dog-walking program
Each approved pup in office gets at least two walks a day. The dog-walking program adds an additional resource for physical stimulation and a way to interact and socialize with new furry friends. The Trupanion dog walkers like to switch up routines, routes and pair new friends up together to encourage bonding.
Essentially, “the Trupanion dog walking program is a great outlet for the dog to have enrichment on all levels – emotional, mental and physical; it also strengthens your pup’s socialization skills,” points out Marmol.
Pet enrichment in the workplace: Fun for all furry friends
Pet enrichment in the workplace is a great tool to be used to encourage interactive play and provide stimulation for your pup. By using pet enrichment for your furry friends, you are giving them the chance to keep busy, happy and well at work.
Trupanion is a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs throughout the United States and Canada. For almost two decades, Trupanion has given pet owners peace of mind so they can focus on their pet’s recovery, not financial stress. Trupanion is committed to providing pet owners with the highest value in pet medical insurance with unlimited payouts for the life of their pets. For more information, please visit trupanion.com.
