Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  adoption packet for at-risk dogs?

    Posted 06-21-2021 04:41 PM
    I am a volunteer at our city shelter and a member of the shelter At-Risk team.  We are wanting to develop take home packets for our At-risk dogs who get adopted.  These packets would be individualized for the specific dog.  At-risk is defined as a dog who is jumpy and mouthy, leash biter, or humper but is otherwise adoptable.  They have special attention from the team in the shelter to mediate those behaviors.  Many of the dogs are resilient and the behaviors are often at least minimized but still require management post adoption until they settle in the new home.  And with some dogs, the behaviors extinguish all together without additional management.  But for those who require further intervention, the first few days may be challenging for a new adopter who doesn't have the resources needed to help that specific dog.  I am seeking examples or suggestions for developing such packets.  I have an idea of how to proceed, but would like feedback from others who have used such adopter resources.  

    Thanks in advance,
    Becky
    #AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms

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    Becky Schneider
    Indianapolis Animal Care Services
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  • 2.  RE: adoption packet for at-risk dogs?

    Posted 06-22-2021 06:59 AM
    Here are a couple different sources for adopter handouts I like for this type of dog.

    https://www.thepetrescueresource.com/all-training-plans The Pet Rescue Resource is geared towards dogs in foster homes/shelters, but these handouts work well for adopters too. I like that they give clear criteria, and a format for helping the handler to assess whether the dog is ready to move on to the next step, which are stumbling points for a lot of novice trainers who haven't had to do this with a dog before. They also include video examples on the website that folks can refer to if the instructions aren't clear.

    https://centerforshelterdogs.tufts.edu/resource-library/ The Tufts University Center for Shelter Dogs is also geared towards shelter dogs, but has the in-shelter training plans paired with adopter handouts. Honestly, I usually like to give adopters the full training plan to refer to, but if you have more resources for generalizing a dog's training in your shelter, then you might not need talk the adopter through the training from the start.

    If you use tug as an impulse-control exercise, this ASPCAPro handout is great for explaining the rules to adopters: https://aspcapro.org/sites/default/files/aspca_safer_adopter_tug_and_drop_0.pdf

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    Emme Hones
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  • 3.  RE: adoption packet for at-risk dogs?

    Posted 06-22-2021 04:38 PM
    Thanks Emme.  I had found the Tufts info which will be helpful.  I will check out the additional suggestions you provided.

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    Becky Schneider
    Indianapolis Animal Care Services
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  • 4.  RE: adoption packet for at-risk dogs?

    Posted 06-29-2021 09:41 AM
    Speaking of potentially difficult dogs, I've noticed, from my experience, that they're much more accepted in the countryside. A pulling- or humping-happy dog will be hard to tolerate for most urban or suburban families, but people with houses with large yards are much more willing to get a dog like this.

    I don't know the specifics of the region where you're working, but do you think that it'd be possible to advertise adoption in neighboring villages and towns?

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    Olivier Vandebroucke
    IP Olivier Vandebroucke
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