WHY WE CREATED THE SHINETM FRAMEWORK
Cat and dog emotional wellbeing is a topic that is gaining attention amongst many pet owners, industry professionals and academics, but often with limited consensus on how it is defined and addressed. Despite it being widely accepted that pets experience emotions, pet owners are often met with an array of information that may not always clearly articulate what is required for pets to experience positive emotions.
We have a responsibility to make a better world for our pets by providing them with opportunities to thrive. We recognise the intimacy of human pet relationship and the unique preferences and personalities of individual pets. We also believe that it’s important to focus on emotional wellbeing as a whole, not just as a single element. As such, we developed SHINE™ – a framework for understanding pet emotional wellbeing.
Our goal is to help pets live happily in a human world, promoting optimal wellbeing through education, as well as the development of evidence-based products and services. It is our hope that no pet is mistreated simply because it is misunderstood.
Dr Tammie King
Applied Behaviour Team
Waltham Petcare Science Institute