Animal Welfare Professionals

When animals are surrendered to us with a history of aggressive behavior (e.g., growling, snapping, biting), risk assessment is an important part of our work. Veterinary behaviorists have expertise in this topic, as their day to day work often involves assessing dogs and working with clients to reduce risk and improve welfare. 

Join us on Wednesday, March 20 at 9 am PT/ 12 pm ET when we'll hear from Dr. Chris Pachel (@Chris Pachel), a board-certified veterinary behaviorist who is the owner and lead clinician at the Animal Behavior Clinic in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Pachel is a speaker who is sought out internationally, so we're happy to offer our community the opportunity to hear him speak for FREE about risk assessment. 

Watch the Maddie Camp promo video of Dr. Chris Pachel here

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

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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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Risk assessments form such an important part of Behaviour modification and more so in the rehoming environment . Looking forward to hearing what Dr pachel brings to the table with this talk 

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Tom Candy
behaviour and welfare trustee
Hope Rescue
VI
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Thanks for coming, Tom! Great to see you here! 

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Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-18-2024 09:09 AM
From: Tom Candy
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Risk assessments form such an important part of Behaviour modification and more so in the rehoming environment . Looking forward to hearing what Dr pachel brings to the table with this talk 

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Tom Candy
behaviour and welfare trustee
Hope Rescue
VI
------------------------------

Amazing talk, as always =]

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Tom Candy
behaviour and welfare trustee
Hope Rescue
VI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:56 AM
From: Chris Pachel
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Thanks for coming, Tom! Great to see you here! 

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Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-18-2024 09:09 AM
From: Tom Candy
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Risk assessments form such an important part of Behaviour modification and more so in the rehoming environment . Looking forward to hearing what Dr pachel brings to the table with this talk 

------------------------------
Tom Candy
behaviour and welfare trustee
Hope Rescue
VI

Thank you so much. So informative.

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Donna Nisi
Veterinary Assistant/ Volunteer
Animal Welfare League
Port Charlotte FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:56 AM
From: Chris Pachel
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Thanks for coming, Tom! Great to see you here! 

------------------------------
Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 03-18-2024 09:09 AM
From: Tom Candy
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Risk assessments form such an important part of Behaviour modification and more so in the rehoming environment . Looking forward to hearing what Dr pachel brings to the table with this talk 

------------------------------
Tom Candy
behaviour and welfare trustee
Hope Rescue
VI

Hi! Thanks for hosting this forum. I had 2 questions for Dr. Pachel. The first is how does being immunocompromised impact "chaos" in the home? I understand the other things on the list, but had not heard about this. 2. Regarding the need for objective data, do you ever ask guardians (or shelters) to collect any simple data in real time or rely on their memories? 

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Joanna Cordry
Class Instructor
Every Dog Behavior and Trianing
TX
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1. Immunocompromise was listed under "targets" rather than "chaos" - hope that helps clarify!
2. Absolutely! What and how we collect that data can vary from one situation to the next, but objective data is so important! 

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Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:06 AM
From: Joanna Cordry
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Hi! Thanks for hosting this forum. I had 2 questions for Dr. Pachel. The first is how does being immunocompromised impact "chaos" in the home? I understand the other things on the list, but had not heard about this. 2. Regarding the need for objective data, do you ever ask guardians (or shelters) to collect any simple data in real time or rely on their memories? 

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Joanna Cordry
Class Instructor
Every Dog Behavior and Trianing
TX
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Immune compromised hold a bigger risk due to higher potential of infection following a bite incident or injury 

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Tom Candy
behaviour and welfare trustee
Hope Rescue
VI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:06 AM
From: Joanna Cordry
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Hi! Thanks for hosting this forum. I had 2 questions for Dr. Pachel. The first is how does being immunocompromised impact "chaos" in the home? I understand the other things on the list, but had not heard about this. 2. Regarding the need for objective data, do you ever ask guardians (or shelters) to collect any simple data in real time or rely on their memories? 

------------------------------
Joanna Cordry
Class Instructor
Every Dog Behavior and Trianing
TX
------------------------------

Unanswered question from the live chat:

"Can you recommend a simple behavior intake questionnaire or tool that tends to elicit helpful information from an owner or foster parent?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
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Unanswered question from the chat:

"How do we get Animal Control & PD to understand the 'value, need & impact' in getting detailed, comprehensive bite reports? ...whether animal is picked up or surrendered?  Is there a form template available?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
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Question from the chat:

"Some of the 'ladder jumpers' posing the greatest safety threats that I've seen as a shelter vet were dogs trained with shock collars by 'professional' dog trainers. How does this training history impact your risk assessment? Some animal welfare orgs use these same tools as a 'last resort' -in your opinion, is there ever a justification for animal welfare orgs to use these tools in the name of lifesaving?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
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There's a lot to unpack here! :)  Punishment is one factor that can influence the "rung jumping" pattern that I mentioned in the talk, but it's not the only one, and not all dogs trained with punishment exhibit this pattern. And, to further complicate matters, many of the dogs we evaluate in the shelter come in without information about their training history, so I tend to base my assessment on the observable behavior rather than reports of what training they may or may not have received. And, while I recognize that the "last resort" argument is often used as a justification for using punishment-based training strategies or tools, I'm typically able to identify methods with less risk that haven't been explored or have been implemented incorrectly, so the "last resort" argument doesn't typically hold up. 

------------------------------
Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:15 AM
From: Maddie's University
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Question from the chat:

"Some of the 'ladder jumpers' posing the greatest safety threats that I've seen as a shelter vet were dogs trained with shock collars by 'professional' dog trainers. How does this training history impact your risk assessment? Some animal welfare orgs use these same tools as a 'last resort' -in your opinion, is there ever a justification for animal welfare orgs to use these tools in the name of lifesaving?"

------------------------------
Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Question from the chat:

"Is there any risk of labeling a bite as a certain level (say, low) then there is a bite to public and the shelter is potentially held liable or gets bad PR?  Is it almost better to not label or just give the information without a prognosis for future issues?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

There is a risk in everything we do or don't do, isn't there? If we have information that allows us to characterize a bite, I'm typically going to label it as accurately as I can while recognizing that many other factors influence safety and overall risk. Liability is absolutely something that needs to be considered! 

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Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:17 AM
From: Maddie's University
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Question from the chat:

"Is there any risk of labeling a bite as a certain level (say, low) then there is a bite to public and the shelter is potentially held liable or gets bad PR?  Is it almost better to not label or just give the information without a prognosis for future issues?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Question from the chat:

"Are you using 'head threat' for something like muzzle punching?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Head threat in this context is an intentional head movement but without physical contact (so not synonymous with a muzzle punch). 

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Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:19 AM
From: Maddie's University
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Question from the chat:

"Are you using 'head threat' for something like muzzle punching?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Question from the chat:

"Why would we treat adopters any different than pet owners in terms of providing animal history and information and letting people decide for themselves what they can handle? Why not be facilitators and educators without telling people what is right for their lives or judging what other people can and cannot handle?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

I agree with you! Where the conversation often is challenging is when we're trying to decide options for an animal before a potential adopter has identified themself as such, and it can be difficult to know when/if an appropriate home will become available. I don't want to limit a dog's possibility of being adopted, while also recognizing the more "red flags" or safety risks we identify, the harder it may be to find a successful adoptive placement. 

------------------------------
Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:24 AM
From: Maddie's University
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Question from the chat:

"Why would we treat adopters any different than pet owners in terms of providing animal history and information and letting people decide for themselves what they can handle? Why not be facilitators and educators without telling people what is right for their lives or judging what other people can and cannot handle?"

------------------------------
Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Question from the chat:

"When history is unavailable to determine possible antecedents, what would be the most helpful factor in making assessment?  Have you encountered 'aggression' in deaf and/or blind dogs? What do you recommend for these dogs?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Question from the chat:

"How do you handle clients that you feel are very unsafe and you know there is no environment the animal can be safe in and decide to not euthanize. Do you follow through with a training plan or are there times when you feel the liability is too great and won't work with them?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Question from the chat:

"Resource guarding vs aggression difference? can either be completely eliminated?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Both RG and other types of aggression can be completely "normal" elements of canine communication, so I rarely set the benchmark as "eliminated". We can usually lessen the risk by reducing the frequency and/or intensity of aggressive behavior, but I wouldn't use words such as "cure" in the expectations. 

------------------------------
Chris Pachel
Veterinary Behaviorist
Instinct Dog Behavior and Training Portland
OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2024 10:26 AM
From: Maddie's University
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Question from the chat:

"Resource guarding vs aggression difference? can either be completely eliminated?"

------------------------------
Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Question from the chat:

"Is there another recommendation for behavior evals other than SAFER?"

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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Am I missing the link for those that registered but missed the webinar? I've been watching for an email but haven't seen one. Just an invite to join the next one in April.

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Sarah Hoadley
Paws in Middle Georgia Animal Rescue
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Hi @Sarah Hoadley The session recordings for Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1 on 3/20  will be available within the week. An email will be sent to all who registered. Thank you!

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Thank you all for all you do!

Amber Freiwald
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-25-2024 11:42 AM
From: Sarah Hoadley
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Am I missing the link for those that registered but missed the webinar? I've been watching for an email but haven't seen one. Just an invite to join the next one in April.

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Sarah Hoadley
Paws in Middle Georgia Animal Rescue
------------------------------

Hi Sarah,

The recordings will be available within two weeks of the event. We'll share links once they're available!

Sheila

------------------------------
Sheila Segurson, DVM, DACVB
Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist
Director of Community Solutions
Maddie's Fund
Pleasanton CA
9258608284
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-25-2024 11:42 AM
From: Sarah Hoadley
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Am I missing the link for those that registered but missed the webinar? I've been watching for an email but haven't seen one. Just an invite to join the next one in April.

------------------------------
Sarah Hoadley
Paws in Middle Georgia Animal Rescue
------------------------------

Dear Dr Pachel,

Thank you for such an informative and useful webinar. It has also come at a very relevant time for us, as we've had a staff get bitten by a dog at one of our shelters.

For dogs who have no known behavioural history (i.e. abandoned), would your risk assessment be based heavily on observations of its body language and behaviour at the shelter? As every dog has its own triggers, is the only way then to wait for the triggering situations to present themselves before we know what triggers it? How can we safely do so?

On a separate note, what are your views on formal behaviour assessments? It has been suggested in some studies that formal behaviour assessments are not predictive of how an animal will behave in the future and it has been compared to "flipping a coin".  Given that the industry as a whole is moving away from provocative testing as well, are there any other methods we can use to give us an indication if an animal is suitable for behaviour rehabilitation/rehoming?

Thank you! I really enjoyed the talk

------------------------------
Ian Liang
Veterinarian
National Parks Board
------------------------------

Interested in this question as well!

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Lisa Kitchens
Pet Central Helps!
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-12-2024 07:03 PM
From: Ian Liang
Subject: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Dear Dr Pachel,

Thank you for such an informative and useful webinar. It has also come at a very relevant time for us, as we've had a staff get bitten by a dog at one of our shelters.

For dogs who have no known behavioural history (i.e. abandoned), would your risk assessment be based heavily on observations of its body language and behaviour at the shelter? As every dog has its own triggers, is the only way then to wait for the triggering situations to present themselves before we know what triggers it? How can we safely do so?

On a separate note, what are your views on formal behaviour assessments? It has been suggested in some studies that formal behaviour assessments are not predictive of how an animal will behave in the future and it has been compared to "flipping a coin".  Given that the industry as a whole is moving away from provocative testing as well, are there any other methods we can use to give us an indication if an animal is suitable for behaviour rehabilitation/rehoming?

Thank you! I really enjoyed the talk

------------------------------
Ian Liang
Veterinarian
National Parks Board
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 4/12/2024 10:03:00 PM
From: Ian Liang
Subject: RE: Risk Assessment Discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 1)

Dear Dr Pachel,

Thank you for such an informative and useful webinar. It has also come at a very relevant time for us, as we've had a staff get bitten by a dog at one of our shelters.

For dogs who have no known behavioural history (i.e. abandoned), would your risk assessment be based heavily on observations of its body language and behaviour at the shelter? As every dog has its own triggers, is the only way then to wait for the triggering situations to present themselves before we know what triggers it? How can we safely do so?

On a separate note, what are your views on formal behaviour assessments? It has been suggested in some studies that formal behaviour assessments are not predictive of how an animal will behave in the future and it has been compared to "flipping a coin".  Given that the industry as a whole is moving away from provocative testing as well, are there any other methods we can use to give us an indication if an animal is suitable for behaviour rehabilitation/rehoming?

Thank you! I really enjoyed the talk

------------------------------
Ian Liang
Veterinarian
National Parks Board
------------------------------

Thank you so much for the conference

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Angie Medina
Pet Sitter
Peluditos LLC
WA
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