Quality of Life PATHWAY

• All of our dogs must have their kennels cleaned every day.

• All of our dogs must be fed and provided fresh water every day, and if they require a special diet, that must be noted and they must receive it.

• All of our dogs must have a clean, dry place to sleep with bedding.

• All of our dogs must receive two outings per day so that they can stretch their legs and relieve themselves outside of their kennels.

• All of our dogs must be given what they need to maintain their mental and physical health, including exercise, mental stimulation, medicine, and medical care.

Your FP dog might be on medication to help them cope with shelter stress and anxiety. If you have questions or concerns about their medication or regimen, please don't hesitate to reach out to a Flight Path manager.

All of our dogs should have an enrichment plan based on what they love and what they need to keep their brains busy to battle shelter stress, anxiety and boredom.

Daily enrichment:

• • All of our dogs should receive either a toy, a long-lasting chew, or a food puzzle in kennel every afternoon.

  • Playgroup: Dogs that are eligible for and do well in playgroup will attend that for at least one if not both of their outings. Participating in playgroup is enriching for the dogs, provides much-needed play outlets and creates a positive social experiences.

Enrichment Opportunities:

• Ruff Trail Runners: This is a program that tests dogs for eligibility to be walked or run on Town Lake!

• Tandem Walks: This is a program that pairs dogs up for walks together - only if the dogs find it pleasurable/enriching (it's not a training class).

• Happy Tail Kennels: Some dogs find these kennels more relaxing or find the change of environment stimulating. Ask if your dog can spend an afternoon in an HTK.

• Agility Work: You can get trained up to do agility work with your FP dog!

• Nose Work: You can get trained up to do nose work with your FP dog!

• Outings: Whether or not a dog is eligible for or enjoys playgroup, all of our dogs should receive at least one outing - off campus - per month. Outings include everything from a car ride around town (if the dog loves car rides) to a hike at McKinney Falls to a swim in your backyard pool.

• Sleepovers: Ideally, all FP dogs are getting regular sleepovers with friends. It takes a dog a few days to decompress from shelter life, so that's an ideal minimum period of time. Plus, for dogs we don't have any home notes on, sleepovers are tremendously helpful to the matchmaking teams. There is some debate over whether leaving and returning to campus might create more stress than it relieves, so monitor your FP dog to measure the benefits of habituating to the real world, having some fun (hopefully) and possibly even getting some promotional exposure against any negative repercussions, stress increases, or behavioral declines you might witness.

• The volunteer Enrichment Team's mission is to help dogs de-stress by stimulating their minds and senses. Their Facebook page is here. You don't need to join this team, but you can definitely communicate with them about your FP dog's preferences and needs. And if you want to help them out, they would love that.

• The volunteer Team Tummy team makes chicken & rice for our dogs that are having gastric issues. Their Facebook page is here. Again, no need to join this team, but you can definitely help them out if you have the time.

• There are a lot of fun resources for Enrichment ideas, including:

  • Canine Enrichment Facebook group

  • Canine Enrichment Ideas Facebook group

  • Facebook group these two Facebook pages, and this APA! Enrichment handout

Check out the Flight Path Manager Library for actual behavior and care staff-approved books that you can borrow on everything from dog body language to enrichment ideas to behavior modification.