June 2026 Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection
Behavior Assessments in Shelters: Building Better Outcomes for Dogs
Structured dog behavior assessments help shelters shift from reacting to behavior concerns after they escalate to proactively identifying needs early in a dog’s shelter stay. Although walks, enrichment, playgroups, and quiet time are important parts of daily care, some dogs need more individualized support to reduce stress, improve quality of life, and increase their likelihood of successful placement into homes. Using real shelter dog examples, behavior rating tools, action items, and outcome data, attendees will learn how early assessments can create consistency across staff and volunteers, support safer, more effective care, and identify concerns early, before they become significant barriers to adoption.
Guest Speaker: Vanly Griffith, Dog Behavior Coordinator at SICSA Pet Adoption & Wellness
Vanly Griffith is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledged Assessed (CPDT-KA) serving as the Dog Behavior Coordinator at SICSA Pet Adoption & Wellness Center. In this role, she conducts behavior assessments, facilitates dog-dog introductions and playgroups, maintains behavior documentation, and develops individualized training, enrichment, and handling plans for shelter dogs. She works closely with trained behavior staff and volunteers to create individualized training plans, enrichment strategies, and handling recommendations to support dogs both in the shelter and in foster care, while also helping prepare them for successful transitions into adoptive homes. In addition to her hands-on training and behavior work, Vanly designed and implemented SICSA’s proactive canine behavior assessment process. This program ensures that every dog receives an early behavioral evaluation at intake to determine the level of intervention and support needed, allowing for individualized behavior plans that maximize positive live outcomes and improve each dog’s pathway through the shelter system.
Register here: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyBehaviorRegistration
About Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection:
Join us on the fourth Thursday of every month as we talk about dog and cat behavior - supporting pets in our community and animal shelters. Each month, we hear from speakers about topics of interest to our group, such as behavior medications, modifying animal behavior, assessing and improving animal welfare, and how organizations successfully provide behavior support to dogs and cats. Webcasts hosted by Board-Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, Dr. Sheila Segurson
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available on the Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection page in Maddie's Pet Forum - https://maddies.fund/monthlybehaviorconnectionMPF
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