I'm not sure what specific statement you're referencing but will take a stab at what I think you may be referring to--several possibilities. I said something about providing opportunities for real life activities as more important for the general population in shelters than spending those same human resources on behavior mod. What I had in mind were activities like walks, play groups, and simply hanging out with people, ideally in a space that allows for ordinary human/dog play, since the latter gets you a lot of bang for your buck. Not only does the dog get stimulation, exercise, and socialization by, say, playing fetch with a shelter person (perhaps I should say, "person working in a shelter!"), but this is one of a very few scientifically validated interactions between dogs and potential adopters that increase the odds that the person will actually adopt the dog after a get acquainted session.
Spending time on formal behavior mod for mundane behaviors (e.g, jumpy mouthy behavior, pulling on leash, mild to moderate resource guarding etc.) even if they yield significant behavior change in the shelter, correlate poorly with things that are actual relationship breakers for dogs living in homes, so the justification of spending resources on them that could be spent on normalizing the environment until the dog can be placed in a foster or permanent home is weak. The only exceptions would be that very small number of dogs who are not currently placeable because of a history of seriously injurious bites or uninterruptedly threatening behavior toward people. Intensive behavior mod may help these dogs, if the shelter has the resources (behavior mod professionals on staff or as board and train fosters) and elects to do so.
Finally, if a shelter decides they want to install basic manners in their charges (keeping "4 on the floor" to be leashed up, waiting at doors, maintaining a loose leash, etc), they can be done through basic behavioral hygiene implemented during the real life enrichment activities, but the people providing the enrichment have to be trained to do this.
If you have other questions, or I'm off the topic you were looking for here, just let me know.
Thanks for your interest.
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JANIS BRADLEY
Director of Publications and Communications
National Canine Research Council
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-30-2022 01:08 PM
From: Christie Keith
Subject: Big Dog Master Class Block 1: Irreconcilable differences? Maybe not! A new look at 50 years of data about behavioral incompatibilities and dog relinquishment to shelters
Question from attendee: At the start of the day, there was a reference to the importance of enrichment over behavior support. I'd love to understand more about that.
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Christie Keith
Maddie's Million Pet Challenge
Davisburg, Michigan
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-29-2022 06:10 PM
From: Christie Keith
Subject: Big Dog Master Class Block 1: Irreconcilable differences? Maybe not! A new look at 50 years of data about behavioral incompatibilities and dog relinquishment to shelters
Resources for Session 1: Irreconcilable differences? Maybe not! A new look at 50 years of data about behavioral incompatibilities and dog relinquishment to shelters – Janis Bradley
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Christie Keith
Maddie's Million Pet Challenge
Davisburg, Michigan