I'll be interested to see what other strategies folks are using, because this is definitely a challenge for us! I feel like most of our animal care staff are pretty reliable about completing a monitoring sheet at cleaning time, but collecting other observations throughout the day is tough. I also feel like our volunteers are hit or miss about documenting their observations. A lot of them seem to prefer to verbally tell a staff member, which is good when it is an immediate issue that needs someone to intervene now, but if it is a smaller observation given while folks are in the middle of other stuff, it might not get written down.
One thing that I have been having success with is trying to have tracking sheets with specific behaviors, so folks can just check boxes and add notes instead of writing out descriptions and trying to decide how to describe what they saw. This definitely allows for less nuance, but means that we at least know a rough description of the behavior and who to follow up with for more details. I attached two examples if folks want a visual example.
------------------------------
Emme Hones
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 02-05-2022 12:02 PM
From: Christine Calder
Subject: Behavior observations
Hello All-
Monitor behavior and behavior changes in the shelter is important to assess the emotional and physical health of an animal.
How do you record behavior observations in your shelter? Do you have a standard form or record you use? What about a set scale? Who monitors those records? What have you found works well and what doesn't work in your shelter?
#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment
------------------------------
Christine D. Calder DVM
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
Calder Veterinary Behavior Services
www.caldervbs.com
Veterinary Behaviorist
Behavior Specialist, MPF
------------------------------