Traditional methods of behavior therapy for dogs and cats may not work for those animals rescued from hoarding and puppy mill situations, and may even make their condition worse.
Franklin D. McMillan, DVM, DACVIM, Director of Well-Being Studies at Best Friend's Animal Society, surveyed people who sheltered and adopted hoarding case and puppy mill animals. Those results helped identify methods that were most effective, which were least effective and what, if anything, caused a setback in the animal's progress toward recovery.
Dr. McMillan presented his findings at the 2012 Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Conference at the University of Florida.
Those findings included:
Learning objectives:
- What therapeutic methods have shown the best results in rehabilitating rescued animals from puppy mill and hoarding environments.
- What methods and situations have been least successful and detrimental for these animals' recovery.
- What to do when attempting one of the "best" methods of rehabilitation and instead it has a detrimental effect on the animal's progress.
You can view the complete presentation on the Maddie's InstituteSM website, or by clicking on the image above.