Seconding reusable window clings and modified shower curtains!
Fun colors might also help these pups stand out?
At my shelter, I had a lot of help making and testing kennel barriers from our genius volunteer team. Would highly recommend reaching out to them for support and ideas! :)
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Heather Kalman (she/her), CPDT-KA, SBA, ABCDT
Research and Development Data Coordinator
American Pets Alive!, Human Animal Support Services
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-21-2023 04:57 PM
From: Sarah Reida
Subject: Ideas for Housing Barrier Reactive Dogs on the Adoption Floor
Does anyone have ideas for creating a visual cover for the bottom half of a glass wall at the front of a canine enclosure?
We have 25 small room enclosures on our adoption floor (we refer to them as suites). The front wall facing out on the floor is made of glass. Most of our population does okay with barrier reactivity and adjusts to being in these suites. However, we always get the ones who are barrier reactive with other dogs. And having a glass suite that offers them repeated visuals on other dogs is repeatedly triggering their reactivity. We currently have two suites that have frosted glass on the bottom half. This way the public can still view the dog but the dog cannot see passing animals. There has been much discussion between my executive staff and me on the benefits or pitfalls of frosting more suites. We have not been able to come to a mutual agreement on this, so any permanent solutions are not possible at the moment.
I am looking into more temporary options that can be used on dog to dog basis. I've thought about looking into frosted contact paper or something along those lines. I'm aware there's spray you can get as well, but I don't know how easily that can be removed. In dire situations our Adoptions staff have taped up newspaper, but obviously that does not look the nicest.
I would love to have the staffing and resources to work with the dog on barrier reactivity, but I unfortunately do not. So any ideas or help for creating a barrier cover would be much appreciated!
#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment
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Sarah Reida
Behavior Department Manager
Kansas Humane Society
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