Recently, we’ve been talking a lot about the “Last 10%” – that is, the last piece of Austin’s No Kill puzzle that is still being killed at our city shelter. This demographic is made up of large adult dogs with treatable behavior challenges. Our Louie’s Fresh Start (LFS) program, which you may have heard of, is APA!’s signature remedy to get these dogs out of Austin Animal Center and into our behavior training and enrichment program.
Since the completion of the “Life Room” Project, LFS handlers now have quiet, relaxing, and private spaces to amp up their training plans with the LFS dogs. This space, combined with the dog behavior team’s weekly Group Training class, provides a host of opportunities to make sure we’re fulfilling these dogs every need. Keeping large dogs mentally stimulated in a shelter environment is super important. Another one of our most recent solutions has been incorporating basic Nose Work into training and behavior enrichment plans.
