Cats don’t come with a real decoder ring, but feline behavior assessments, designed and applied appropriately, will help unscramble some of that secret code―the essence of the cat! They are an important tool for gathering information about an individual cat’s behavior, designing a plan for her, and revising and evaluating the process as she adapts and responds to her new environment.
A study published in the journal Animals found that dogs who guarded food bowls while in the shelter did not continue this behavior in their adoptive homes, even when their new owners didn’t comply with all elements of a rehabilitation plan. Additionally, these dogs had nearly half the return-to-shelter rate of shelter dogs in general.
Think you can’t afford to treat the behavior problems of dogs and cats in your shelter? Think it’s too difficult and time-consuming? Think you don’t have the staff or the space to work with these kinds of issues? Think again!
Women are more aware of moderate stress levels in dogs than men are, according to a July 2012 study in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
The owners of most newly-adopted shelter dogs and cats report their pets are doing “extremely well” in their new homes, despite a high incidence of respiratory illness in the first week post-adoption.
The Center for Shelter Dogs launched a study in the spring of 2012, evaluating the effectiveness of the Center’s behavior modification program in treating jumpy, mouthing dogs. The hope is the study will provide evidence that the behavior modification program is effective, making these dogs more manageable for the shelter staff and increasing their chances at adoption.