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2025 Wild Enrichment Saturdays!
Yamnuska Wolfdog walking in the sanctuary enclosure in alberta canada.

2025 Wild Enrichment Saturdays!

Join us the first Saturday of each month for some Wild Enrichment!

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A high-content wolfdog from the yamnuska wolfdog sanctuary in cochrane, alberta
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Wild Enrichment Saturdays! 

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 2025 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. Our Wild Enrichment Saturdays are included with any admission to the Sanctuary.

Wild Enrichment 2025

January 4th – 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 for the wolfdogs to build confidence as well as problem-solve!

February 1st – Stuffed Paper Bag Ground Hogs!

The wolfdogs love to shred things! In honour of Ground Hogs Day, we will be hanging up some large paper bags that will be stuffed with lots of fun things for the wolfdogs to explore. There will be straw from our goats, treats and other goodies! The wolfdogs will have to rip the bags down from the trees and shred everything up to find all their goodies!

March 1st – Snowball Scent Roll!

The wolfdogs will be treated to various scented snowballs to investigate! There will be a range of different flavours, scents and sizes that the wolfdogs may be interested in tasting, rolling in, or peeing on just to name a few behaviours we may see. Join us to see what the wolfdogs will do!

April 5th – Wolfdog Birthday Party!

Many of the wolfdogs at the Sanctuary have birthdays throughout April and May. 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! This also lines up with our Wolfdog Birthday Month Fundraiser!

May 3rd – Wolfdog Scavenger Hunt!

The select wolfdog pack for this activity will be moved out of the main area of their enclosure into a holding area while we hide an assortment of tasty treats throughout the enclosure. There will be items hung up in the trees, hidden in holes and more for the wolfdogs to find!

June 7th – Tug of War!

Curious about the strength of a wolfdog? Here's your chance to find out! The wolfdogs love to grab things and tug to their heart’s content. We will have a tug-of-war station set up and will be selecting a few participants to test their strength against the wolfdogs!

July 5th – Pool Party and Summer Treats!
We will be helping one of our packs beat the summer heat by throwing them a pool party! Our wolfdog pool party will include wolfdog-friendly treats, drinks and pool games! This will provide some great mental stimulation for them. Come join us for some summer fun!

August 2nd – Wolfdog Spa Day!

Even the wolfdogs need a nice relaxing spa day from time to time! For this activity, we will be setting up a nice bubble bath for one of the packs. They will also be getting some other spa treatments including seaweed ‘scrubs’ and some refreshing and healthy treats. The wolfdogs will surely be walking away with some much-deserved R&R.

September 6th – Painting with Wolfdogs!

The wolfdogs will be creating some masterpieces! For this activity, we will be encouraging the wolfdogs to use their paws as paintbrushes. Watch the artists at work and see the final product with an opportunity to place your bids to bring home one of these wolfdog originals.

October 4th – National Cinnamon Roll Day!

National Cinnamon Roll Day with a wolfdog spin! The wolfdogs will have the opportunity to taste a real cinnamon roll as well as enjoy a variety of wolfdog-inspired cinnamon rolls. We will also be creating a cardboard box cinnamon roll that will be stuffed with tasty treats for the wolfdogs. This will encourage some great problem-solving as they will need to rip through the layers of cardboard to get to the treats!

November 1st – RecycledJack-O-Lanterns!
With Halloween come and gone, the time comes to dispose of your Jack-O-Lanterns. Well, we have some other plans… One of the packs will be treated to numerous stuffed Jack-O-Lanterns filled with a variety of goodies. These will be placed and various spots throughout the enclosure for the wolfdogs to investigate and rip apart.

December 6th Frosty the Snowman!

We will build a big snowman for one of the packs with some goodies rolled inside. The wolfdogs will get released from a holding are and get to ‘make friends’ with Frosty the Snowman. Other fun festive enrichment will be included to celebrate the start of the Christmas season.