Our Wild Enrichment Saturdays will happen on the first Saturday of the month at 1 pm! This is a unique opportunity to see the wolfdogs enjoying some more novel types of enrichment that they don't experience on a daily basis. A full schedule for 2023 of what each Wild Enrichment Saturday will look like can be found below. While we do intend to stick to this schedule, they are subject to change.
Saturday, January 7th - Taking down the Christmas Tree
Once the new year comes, it is common for most to start taking down the Christmas tree and decorations. For this activity, one of the packs will be helping to take down all the decorations (aka meat and other snacks) from the trees in their enclosure as well as an outside decorated tree brought into their enclosure. This is a great opportunity to build confidence as well as problem-solve!
Saturday, February 4th - Wolfdog Snow Cones
The wolfdogs will be treated to some snow cones! This activity will consist of offering the wolfdogs a variety of "snow cones" with various scents and flavours for them to enjoy. There will be a range of different flavours that the wolfdogs may be interested in tasting, rolling in it, or peeing on just to name a few behaviours we may see! Join us to see what the wolfdogs think of snow cones!
Saturday, March 4th - Howl with the Packs! Special Appearance from Mawko!
Mawko, who is one of our ambassador wolfdogs will be coming out on a collar and leash and saying hello to some visitors! On top of that, we will be getting a big pack howl going. Mawko adores howling with our visitors, so she will be starting things off all while we have a few other staff members stationed at other parts of the Sanctuary also howling. This will help the sound of our howl travel and encourage the whole Sanctuary to show off their best howl for you. During this activity, you will get to learn all about why wolves, wolfdogs, and dogs howl and dispel some of the myths that surround howling!
Saturday, April 1st- Differences in Low Content Wolfdogs
Mawko and Loki are 2 ambassador wolfdogs here at the Sanctuary that are both low content wolfdogs. While they are both ambassadors, they have a very different behaviours and comfortabilities around people as well as different appearances. This activity is a great opportunity to learn more about low content wolfdogs specifically and how they are all different. No matter the amount of socialization and wolf content, every wolfdog is going to be different. Join us to get a deep dive into the similarities and difference between Mawko and Loki and get a chance to see these two out of their enclosure on a collar and leash.
Saturday, May 5th - Wolfdog Birthday Party!
Many of the wolfdogs here at the Sanctuary have birthdays throughout April and May. This is due to them being high content wolfdogs! Given their short breeding cycles, wolves and high content wolfdogs are always born in April or May! While we spoil all the wolfdogs on their birthdays, we will be hosting a special birthday party for one of the packs and YOU are invited!
Saturday, June 3rd - Lettuce Shred it!
This is a new activity we have never tried before! We got the idea from the folks over at Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center and thought it would be fun to try. We will be giving the wolfdogs some heads of lettuce and cabbage to encourage the shredding behaviour used to tear open an animal carcass. We will be hiding some treats throughout some of the layers of the lettuce to make it a bit more enticing for the wolfdogs! The wolfdogs love ripping things apart, so we think they will have a lot of fun with this one.
Saturday, July 1st - The Tastes of Canada
Canada is known for many different treats that the wolfdogs certainly aren't very familiar with. We will be introducing the wolfdogs to various Canadian foods such as ketchup chips, poutine, maple syrup, timbits and more! Join us to see what the wolfdogs reactions will be. Will they eat it? Will they roll in it? Will they pee on it? There is only one way to find out!
Saturday, August 5th - Watermelon Smash!
In the summer heat, we like to try to help the wolfdogs cool down with this tasty treat. The wolfdogs happen to love watermelon, so we will be treating one of the packs to some watermelon in a variety of ways. We may put some in their big tanks of water, up on their platforms, or hang some off some tree branches. This will provide some great mental stimulation for them!
Saturday, September 2nd - Painting with Mawko!
Mawko is quite the artist and wants to show off her artistic talent to you all! Mawko will be coming out of her enclosure to enjoy some wolfdog painting. You will surely be calling Mawko, Mawkoangelo, by the end of this session. Mawko's masterpieces from the activity will be available to take home via a donation to the Sanctuary!
Saturday, October 7th - Happy Spooky Season!
Many of us are big fans of Halloween around here! We are going to be treating one of the packs to all things spooky and fall-inspired! This will include Wolfdog Pumpkin Carving, Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, and various other fall and Halloween-inspired treats and items that will hit lots of different senses for the wolfdogs as well as a variety of different forms enrichment types such as sensory, cognitive, and nutritional enrichment!
Saturday, November 4th - Snowman Take Down
We have our fingers crossed we will have the perfect snow to make this happen! The goal will be to build a big snowman for one of the packs with some tasty goodies inside. We will release the wolfdogs from a holding area and let them go to town on taking down the snowman. If we don't happen to have snow, we do have a backup plan! This will entail creating a snowman out of cardboard boxes and paper mache that will also be stuffed with some tasty goodies!
Saturday, December 2nd - It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!
What better way to start celebrating the Christmas season than a wolfdog Christmas Party? There will be decorations, a wolfdog gift exchange, advent calendars, gingerbread houses and maybe even some wolfdog-style carolling to start off the celebrating of the holiday season!
