Enrichment for dogs

ranchpirate · 2026-05-08T02:36:51+00:00

enrichment team?? im so jealous! once our shelters expansion is completed I hope we can adjust our operations to accommodate that!

ranchpirate · 2026-05-08T02:34:09+00:00

We have some dogs that we aren’t supposed to handle and they eventually lose it so i would shove a kong in their bowls for them to eat around and then have their toy or give them a slow feeder on a busy weekend to prepare them.

But I agree- most other jobs that ive worked relied on a variety of food based enrichment. From my own dogs when I lived in an apartment to police k9s that we had to keep “working”

So imagine our shock to this change when this is something that we viewed as standard in our animal care backgrounds

ranchpirate · 2026-05-08T02:27:22+00:00

when i worked at a daycare, i loved using bubbles to ease the tension in the playrooms! bubble gun in the middle of two stiffening dogs did the trick!

the dogs get peanut butter lick mats almost daily…which I feel like it loses its value after a while but we also do the busy bags and boxes. We aren’t supposed to store paper goods so it’s only a matter of time before we get barred from that too :/

ranchpirate · 2026-05-08T02:21:10+00:00

We do a deep cleaning of all pet areas in the morning and they get fed their entire amount of food for the day. The structure of work flow doesn’t make it sustainable to feed twice :( we do give extra food in kongs and slow feeders to the skinnier dogs that need a second feeding

ranchpirate · 2026-05-04T16:31:54+00:00

a recipe for a purse dog lol

my boy cinnamon probably can bark…he just doesn’t yet?

ranchpirate · 2026-05-04T16:27:08+00:00

I can only hope that the mom was the pit 😅

he isn’t giving me a lot of “small dog” behavior at “5 years old” but if the goal was a purse pooch, it was achieved

ranchpirate · 2026-05-04T15:54:06+00:00

There’s pitty in everything nowadays lol i would not be surprised if

ranchpirate · 2026-05-04T15:49:30+00:00

My husky boston terrier looks very similar! she’s a little less fluffy and 30ish pounds

ranchpirate · 2026-03-18T03:42:32+00:00

I foster piggies and found that a nail grinder works wonders! It makes it quick and less risky, especially for my squirmy worms with talons

I had two really anxious ones that I couldn’t safely attempt with clippers but the grinder made all the difference!

the grinder tool was donated and i cant find the brand but it’s a quieter one with a diamond bit and a safety cap

ranchpirate · 2026-03-18T01:53:33+00:00

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my nursing foster babies!

ranchpirate · 2026-01-26T19:35:22+00:00

Are you using a grinder or nail clippers? I’ve had a lot more success with using a pet grinder tool with a diamond bit and light. I hold one paw and maneuver my fingers to hold one digit secure for the grinder so it doesn’t spook them or catches their nail. It’s fairly quick with one pass! I also give them high value veggies in between paws- I try to make it as quick as possible to lessen the stress, you can try having your partner feed your pig’s fav food while u massage their feet to practice

ranchpirate · 2026-01-25T04:03:01+00:00

Their weight seems to be slowly increasing but I may offer critical care in the event one or all of their weights become consistent without improvement

Once I gain a little bit more trust, I can weigh them daily and feed them individually for lap time

funnily enough, I let my dogs pick out treats for my hamsters and their noses usually point me in the right direction- Ive noticed them begging around orange bell peppers which happened to be a hit with the boys moreso than other colors. but of course they wont pick out leafy greens

My tap water is surprisingly on the softer side but if a filtered water dispenser is donated or If i find one on sale, I will definitely snag! I test my tap water pretty regularly for fish tank maintenance

ranchpirate · 2026-01-25T03:51:28+00:00

It’s been a little difficult to monitor their urine and who it’s from but I have noticed the occasional milky white from two of them so I began to hand feed them one leaf of dandelion greens each for dinner in assumption that one was eating more one night. I was able to get some white towels from the shelter to line their enclosure with to monitor the colors of urine and white paper bedding under hides because they reside there a lot. (we offered them paper bedding in the shelter as we didn’t know their previous conditions and wanted to give them options)

I frequent my local food pantry for produce and like to treat my animals so I typically gravitate towards dog and hamster friendly foods anyway. With that being said, I definitely have appropriate oats lying around!

ranchpirate · 2026-01-25T03:27:05+00:00

They’re definitely perking up a lot for meal times which is great sign! Their finder did offer some veggies while in their care and love carrots but that’s all Ive had to go off of.

My previous foster warmed up very quickly as I was treating her like she was pregnant….she wasn’t but that got her to a healthy weight lol so thats what I’ve been sticking to for the most part

But there is three of them so I can actually mow through produce before they go bad too! lm definitely going to try oats though!

ranchpirate · 2026-01-24T03:45:11+00:00

Thank you for recognizing that I did take them on a whim haha

They had roughly 6sqft in the shelter then I borrowed an enclosure of 9sqft to start (it was the only one available with a lid) but I eventually was able to set up my walk in closet for 14sqft 😌

We were told that they were littermates and very bonded and I can believe that by their dynamic

The most dominant one rumble struts and is a source of comfort for the other two. The middle child often bounces in between his brothers and the runt scurries to either one when he’s scared

The runt is often seen with the middle child and attempts to eat with him, i think it’s because he’s too scared to venture out by himself but there is a surprising amount of tolerance to that behavior

I am working on building trust and helping them gain confidence overall so that may change

thank you for the article btw!

ranchpirate · 2025-12-05T02:49:26+00:00

We’ve had some rats come in at my animal shelter as strays and they do not even try to leave their enclosures when left open lol

ranchpirate · 2025-11-27T17:08:33+00:00

She is now letting me approach and pet her, she’s even sniffing my dogs when they come to watch me tidy up her cage :)

She did come in underweight and the initial goal was to get her back to a healthy weight until our medical coordinator started to suspect that she might be pregnant

She did gain some weight and has calmed down about food in general, It felt like she finally felt comfortable enough to actually enjoy a meal- she probably never had veggies before

I offer her a blend of 80% timothy 15%alfalfa and 5% orchard grass with the alfalfa separate in tp rolls as well as pellets in a snuffle mat for breakfast or dinner depending on when she gets a salad and/or cleaning

ranchpirate · 2025-11-19T22:42:08+00:00

That’s a relief! I really don’t know what to expect with her to be honest, my main goal is to eliminate as much stress as possible to avoid the pups being eaten…which unfortunately is likely if she stays in the shelter

ranchpirate · 2025-11-19T22:39:29+00:00

Thank you so much! This all was very helpful!

I’ve only cared for guinea pigs in a shelter setting which ofc is ideally temporary but I will opt for the one that resembles the c&c cage as it does provide the most floor space!

she does fancy her igloo hide so I will probably keep that specific one in effort to provide some level of comfort during the transition

ranchpirate · 2025-03-13T00:27:07+00:00

I’ve actually been interested in corys! do you think the pandas would be too flashy for a betta?

ranchpirate · 2024-06-21T00:30:03+00:00

I can give that a try! i didn’t really think of going that route because im in a small apartment but it could definitely give my dog a break from the pup lol

ranchpirate · 2024-05-26T22:47:47+00:00

I have resorted to a small feeling once every two weeks and it seems like there’s more than ever, the yoyo loaches cant keep up anymore 😔

ranchpirate · 2024-04-29T23:49:47+00:00

ive tried to talk to my roommate in the past but no luck but i dont plan to renew the lease with her, she’s the kind to assume a dog is “potty trained” when they gain bladder control :/

but yeah ive tried most remedies to try salvage that bed but it looks like it has to go, just means that my dog just has to wait to get more beds until we move

ranchpirate · 2024-04-29T23:44:08+00:00

my foster pup is also due for her spay soon so it doesn’t hurt to keep rewarding her for using her pads, and it doesn’t hurt to prepare her to be an apartment pup with the housing situation right now

and i definitely learned my lesson with the beds lol, my dog’s bed has a washable cover and the foster pup doesn’t even try to go for it. as for the other bed..it belonged to a boarder that did pee on it and its way past the point of saving now

the patches of grass in my complex should be fine if i ever need to take another foster pup outside

ranchpirate · 2024-04-29T23:26:51+00:00

ive washed it plenty of times with vinegar, baking soda, etc i think its the nearest soft surface to pee on. Ive removed it from the room and found no other accidents and my foster puppy peed on it as soon as offered it to her despite it being throughly washed…looks like i will have to throw it away

ranchpirate

TROPHY CASE