Morning kennel cleaning: what an enrichment study changes about dog stress
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
In a shelter, morning kennel cleaning happens every day: clanging equipment, staff moving around, dogs shifted about. A US study asked whether simple enrichment items, offered during that exact moment, changed anything about the stress observed. Our bedding and environment guidance is gathered in the dog bedding and habitat section.
"Calming" items versus "arousing" items
Pamela Dare and Rosemary Strasser published, in 2023 in the journal Animals, a study of shelter dogs during the morning cleaning of their kennels, a daily acute stressor (see the study). On different days, dogs received a food, tactile or scent item, designed to be either calming (lavender scent, a calm tactile item) or arousing (a stimulating tactile item such as a ball), while their posture and vocalisations were scored.
Main finding: calming items overall reduced stress-associated behaviours more than no enrichment at all. Lavender scent produced the best posture scores indicating lower stress; the tactile item, even in its most arousing form (the ball), was the one that reduced vocalisation the most.
What this study does not show
It measures a repeated, momentary stressor (morning cleaning), not the broader, often chronic stress of shelter housing itself, already documented elsewhere — see our article on cortisol in boarded dogs. It also does not say which item suits every dog: individual reactions to the same stimulus (a scent, a texture) vary, and an item that calms one dog may leave another indifferent.
What it changes at home
- Pair a calm, familiar item (a toy, a cushion carrying a known scent) with recurring noisy moments at home: the vacuum cleaner, building work, the postal delivery.
- Place that item near the dog's usual bed rather than offering it at random around the room, to strengthen the association between the resting spot and calm.
- Watch for individual reactions before generalising one item to the whole household: what works for a dog left home alone, covered in our guide to the quiet resting spot for a dog home alone, may not suit another dog.
Frequently asked questions
Does lavender scent work for every dog?
The study shows a positive average effect, but it does not guarantee the same response in every individual: it is best to watch the dog's own reaction before generalising.
Is a simple toy enough to reduce stress?
In this study, tactile items mainly reduced vocalisation; calming scent items acted more on posture. The two effects did not necessarily overlap.
Does this study apply to stress at home?
The original setting is a shelter, but the underlying principle — a calm stimulus paired with a recurring stressful moment — carries over to the home. Find all our guides on the dog hub.
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Dogs universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.