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Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

  • 1.  Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-19-2024 05:35 AM

    I feel like every shelter I visit these days has so many puppies, when usually this time of year there are few to none.  What are you doing to find homes for your more challenging to place dogs if you're having trouble getting puppies adopted?  Or is it actually easier to get your adult dogs adopted because our communities are getting smarter about the fact that puppies are a ton of work? I'm guessing I'm wrong about that, lol.

    Join us on Wednesday, March 20th at noon PT/3 pm ET where we'll hear from, @Regan Goins, Outcomes Manager at Cincinnati Animal Care. Quality of life for dogs with concerning behaviors in shelters is so important, and therefore, our ultimate goal is to get them out of the shelter, quickly.  This presentation discusses innovative and effective matchmaking techniques and training to get those dogs to their final destination: home.

    We'll also watch a short presentation from @Amanda Loellke of Gateway Pet Guardians.

    Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition happens on March 20 and April 3 from 9a – 1p/PT, 12p – 4p ET.  Learn more here.

    Please use this thread to discuss and ask questions about this topic now and after the Camp Maddie event.


    #Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment


    #Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment

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    Sheila Segurson, DVM, DACVB
    Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist
    Director of Community Solutions
    Maddie's Fund
    Pleasanton CA
    9258608284
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  • 2.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-20-2024 01:26 PM

    Unanswered question from the chat:

    " @Regan Goins, How much of the gathered information is posted in their online webnotes vs. being reviewed during adoption counseling?  How do volunteers see internal notes?" 



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    Maddie's University
    Maddie's Fund
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  • 3.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-21-2024 02:21 PM
      |   view attached

    Hello! I am a true believer in positive only information on the marketing of an animal. Much like Amanda iterated in her video yesterday, the philosophy I follow is positive only marketing, then when the person gets in the door, we can discuss the behavior issues via the 3 pronged Matchmaking technique. If for whatever reason that is not the dog for that particular adopter, I then have plenty of other dogs I can introduce them to! During Matchmaking, we are disclosing all incidents, behavior, etc, but we are using that 3 pronged Matchmaking technique to make it as palatable as possible for our customer.

    For example, here is Parachute's public bio vs his Matchmaking language: "

    Meet Parachute - He's bound to be your buddy! 


    Parachute is a downright handsome bundle of joy ready to drop into your heart! This energetic pup is always "falling" in love with life, and his happiness is absolutely infectious.


    Parachute loves attention, and with those big, adorable eyes, he's bound to steal your heart. And did we mention he is also dog friendly?! What a catch! 


    Ready to add some "lift" to your life? Adopt Parachute and let the adventures begin! 


    If his location is listed shelter, stop in any day 1-6PM to meet him! No appointment needed!
    If his location is listed as foster home, email foster@cincycare.org to meet him! " 



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    Regan Goins
    Outcomes Manager
    Cincinnati Animal Care
    OH
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    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    Parachute-s 2311 Matchmaking Language.pdf   45 KB 1 version
    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-20-2024 01:27 PM

    Unanswered question from the chat:

    "I volunteer at a shelter that still used dominance terminology. As a volunteer, how could I help change this?"



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    Maddie's University
    Maddie's Fund
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  • 5.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-21-2024 02:21 PM

    Hi there! There are several places that offer free online training, such as Dogs Playing For Life, that you can offer staff to take. You could also fund-raise to send staff to onsite training at Austin Pets Alive, DPFL, or any shelters that work as a satellite shelter for them. What I've found is that seeing it can help with believing it. So if you could get executive leadership to even just speak with representatives of those organizations to speak about what they offer, I have seen that go a long way. You can't know, what you don't know, that's why extra training is so important.



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    Regan Goins
    Outcomes Manager
    Cincinnati Animal Care
    OH
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-20-2024 01:27 PM

    Unanswered question from the chat:

    "With day trips, how do you make sure that they're not going to be going out with incompatible children, people with poor handling skills, potentially aversive experiences?"



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    Maddie's University
    Maddie's Fund
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  • 7.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-21-2024 01:38 PM

    Hi!

    Thank you so much for your question! Each person who is going to take a dog on an outing, has to fill out a liability form and then through email, the volunteer explains what they are wanting to do, who they will be around and what experience they have. Our shelter manager then matches them with a dog that we know will be good with the outing or have them bring their child beforehand to have them do a proper introduction with. This is not open to the public; it is for volunteers and fosters so we get a lot of people to sign up who have had experience being here or walking dogs here before. I hope this helps!

    Amanda



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    Amanda Loellke
    Adoption and Foster Manager
    Gateway Pet Guardians
    IL
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-20-2024 01:28 PM

    Unanswered question from the chat:

    "Do you do short term fosters with behaviour dogs? I know a lot of the literature around this focused on behaviourally sound dogs. Do you advocate for short term fosters for behaviour dogs who may need more time to decompress, or do you think short term fosters may actually be bad for them?"



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    Maddie's University
    Maddie's Fund
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  • 9.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-21-2024 01:38 PM

    Great question! We do short term fosters for behavior dogs and find this is very beneficial for them! It shows them how they are in a home setting and it is usually a very positive experience for the dog and for us to learn more about them. When we learn how they are in the home like potty trained, crate trained, did they meet anyone new etc we then have even more information to share with perm fosters or adopters to get them out quicker! I think any time out of the shelter is good for the dog and we learn amazing things about them!

    Thanks,

    Amanda



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    Amanda Loellke
    Adoption and Foster Manager
    Gateway Pet Guardians
    IL
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-20-2024 01:29 PM

    Unanswered question from the chat:

    "Do you have a history of more adopters or fosters in your program?  We will be establishing a Animal Resource Center and want to be able to work with both areas.  Currently, we use my FB site to rehome, but alot of what I have viewed today tells me I am doing things right before they are adopted.  I would like to start fostering program."



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    Maddie's University
    Maddie's Fund
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  • 11.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-21-2024 02:21 PM
      |   view attached

    Hello! Cincinnati Animal Care is a part of HASS (Human Support Animal Services) Pet Placement competition where we track foot traffic at each of our locations. That tracking also tells us a little bit about the adopters' and fosters. Our foster team has a GREAT hold on who their fosters are, where they are coming from, etc. For data from our foster program, I would recommend emailing J.grimes@cincycare.org.



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    Regan Goins
    Outcomes Manager
    Cincinnati Animal Care
    OH
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    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    SOP_ Front Desk Customer Check-In Survey (1).pdf   120 KB 1 version
    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Getting Dogs Out the Shelter Door (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

    Posted 03-20-2024 01:34 PM

    There were a couple of questions in the chat asking for examples of culture agreements that Regan mentioned during her presentation. Here are the links to access those examples and they are also attached to this reply for easy reference. 



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    Maddie's University
    Maddie's Fund
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