I volunteer in a shelter with a very large field with a trail around the perimeter, which is an excellent and safe way for dogs to get a 20-30 minute walk, safely away from other dogs. I used to work in a very downtown urban shelter and the walks were full of traffic noise, little grass so not much sniffing, and dogs that were with members of the public strolled by! Night and Day these two shelters. We also have a fenced in "potty yard" for when staff are cleaning kennels and they do rotations into the yard all day, while volunteers get the longer walks in the field in, aiming for at least once a day.
Original Message:
Sent: 04-08-2024 11:39 AM
From: Wailani Sung
Subject: Supporting shelter dogs' behavioral health discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 2)
Yes, it is important for each organization to define what a "walk" is versus "potty break". "Potty break" could be 5-10 minutes out of the shelter to allow the dog to eliminate outside and briefly sniff around. Whereas a "walk" can be defined as time spent out of the kennel for 10 minutes or longer. This is important for each organization to define. It is also important to determine if the pet does WANT to go on a walk. The previous shelter I worked in was right in the heart of the city. A lot of the dogs that came from rural areas were overwhelmed and scared walking on the busy city streets with cars, buses, scooters and bikes racing by. For those dogs, we prioritized potty breaks and spending time in quieter areas of the campus, whether it was inside or outside. You do not need credentialed behavior staff to provide appropriate resources to individual animals. Set up some parameters and make sure that volunteers and staff write notes about each dog outing away from the kennel. But someone does need to review the notes and make the changes in the dog's plan. For instance, if a volunteer took the dog out to the street and the dog pancakes and starts panting and is frozen for 10 minutes and it took another 10 minutes for the volunteer to finally bring the dog back to his kennel - the volunteer needs to enter those notes and those notes need to be flagged. It can also be something simple like, if volunteers do not think the dog enjoyed his outing then that dog is flagged for further evaluation by staff. The staff reads the note and make changes to the dog's plan - do not take out on the street, instead take the dog to the play yard or shy dog room for out of kennel activity. OR spend more time in kennel petting, playing or reading to the dog.
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Wailani Sung
veterinary behaviorist
Bay Area Vet Behavior
CA
Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2024 11:17 AM
From: Maddie's University
Subject: Supporting shelter dogs' behavioral health discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 2)
Unanswered question from the chat:
"Is it worth defining what we mean by 'walks', especially around the desire of wanting at least 2 per day? As far as wanting the let the dog out to eliminate, agree. But I don't know if a walk is something every dog wants or enjoys or the staff has time. Does this go back to what Mike Shikashio and Dr. Sung indicated about the needs of each individual dog. I think the challenge is in some shelters where understanding each individual dog requires resources (i.e. a credentialed behavior staff) the shelter does not have or may not be aware are resources they need"
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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
Original Message:
Sent: 03-28-2024 07:00 AM
From: Sheila Segurson (she/her)
Subject: Supporting shelter dogs' behavioral health discussion (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 2)
What does a day in the life look like for a dog with behavior concerns at the San Francisco SPCA? What do other organizations do to support their dogs?
Join us on Wednesday, April 3 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET when we'll hear from Dr. Wailani Sung, Founder of Bay Area Vet Behavior, who will review all the components that are needed to keep our shelter behavior dogs as happy and mentally healthy as possible through the use of daily management plans, enrichment schedules, volunteer involvement, behavior modification exercises and for some dogs, the use of behavioral medication.
Dr. Sung's session will be followed by two short videos:
Weekly Group Shelter Dog Obedience Classes at Shelby Humane with Joanna Pagel, Operations Director and Behavior Manager
Supporting Shelter Dogs with Behavior Plans at SICSA Pet Adoption and Wellness Center with Dr. Joyce Voss (@joyce voss), DVM, PhD, Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Care
Learn more or register for Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition. Day 2 happens on Wednesday, April 3 from 9a – 1p/PT, 12p – 4p ET.
This thread has been created so that we have a place to discuss and ask questions about this topic now and after the Camp Maddie event.
Sheila
#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms
#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment
#Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts
#EducationandTraining
#FosterPrograms
#Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization
#OrganizationalManagement
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)
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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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