Managing and Controlling Shelter Dog Behavior
welcome to managing and controlling
shelter dog behavior this presentation
was developed for anyone working with a
more challenging yellow and red star
level dogs however it also is a great
refresher for anyone else there will be
three secret words included in various
sections of this presentation volunteers
should write them down and submit them
to the volunteer department staff
members should turn them into their
supervisor this way everyone can earn
credit for participating in this session
this slide explains how we star our dogs
yellow star dogs or dogs that exhibit at
least one of the following behaviors
jumping up on people pulling on leash
while out on a walk are doubting back
and forth in front of the people walking
them red star dogs often exhibit at
least one of the following behaviors
mouthing at the leash mouthing at the
hands are clothing barking at other dogs
are fearfulness when you finish with
this presentation you will understand
the difference between management and
training you will know how to prevent
unwanted behaviors know how and when to
train appropriate alternate behaviors
and be thoroughly familiar with how to
safely handle emergency situations this
chart provides the contrast between
management and training management
techniques are on the left hand side
training is on the right therefore until
a dog has been taught to stay a fence is
a useful tool an easy walk harness works
very well until a dog learns to walk
politely on leash a crate or kennel is
an excellent tool until a dog learns the
difference between appropriate and
inappropriate chew toys and until a dog
has learned to sit for attention
stepping on leash is an excellent form
of management management is used in
Moshe shelter situations training always
employs an element of management
management prevents opportunities for an
unwanted behavior to appear if we don’t
make choices the dog will we may not
like the dogs choices the choices we
don’t like are called behavior problems
many of the dogs in our shelter made too
many bad choices became unwelcome in
their homes and were surrendered dogs
with ongoing behavior problems often
continue to have trouble finding a new
home these are the basic steps for
dealing with inappropriate behaviors we
need to understand what motivates the
dog how is the dog being rewarded by the
behavior dogs never do anything unless
there is a reward in it then we’ll look
at the management component how do we
prevent the dog from practicing the
behavior one of the best ways to do that
is to anticipate and be prepared next
would be the training component that’s
teaching the dog and alternate desirable
behavior this behavior is usually one
that the dog does that’s incompatible
with the behavior we don’t like and last
but most important is to avoid
accidental training we must eliminate
all rewards involved with the behavior
our first secret word is management
please write it down and along with the
other two secret words submitted to the
appropriate person these are some
questions we need to answer before
developing any plan of action with a
behavior problem we need to describe the
behavior that we want to change we need
to look at the opportunity when does
this behavior occur and what is the
trigger then we need to look at the
reward what is the current reward the
is getting is it our behavior is it
something that the dog does naturally or
is it an internal state such as a full
bladder once we’ve analyzed what drives
a behavior we can move into
understanding how to manage and in some
cases change these unwanted behaviors so
this is we begin by looking at once
again the current behavior which is of
course whatever we don’t like we look at
how to remove the opportunity that could
involve changing the dog surroundings it
can involve removing the trigger it
could involve using management equipment
and lastly we remove the reward that
could involve changing our behavior are
changing the dogs internal state make
sure he’s he has eliminated for instance
and then the last step is to teach a
different behavior I’ve gotta hang on
for dear life our first behavior that
we’re going to examine is barking on
more I can do the opportunity is when
the dog is on leash or approaching other
dogs or people the reward is going too
much to buy someone by talking to the
dog or by not paying attention and
allowing the dog to continue we often
see this in the shelter when a person is
walking and the dog stops and the person
stops to talk to someone else I’ve gotta
hang on for dear life
and it’s everything I can do to plant
myself and I’m fairly strong and I’m
it’s taking pretty much everything I’ve
got to now that we know was responsible
for the behavior we can begin to address
how to prevent the opportunity and
remove the reward so we would prevent
remove the opportunity prevent the
opportunity by either removing the dog
from the area removing the distraction
from the dog or using a gentle leader
removing the reward would be
interrupting and redirecting doing a
u-turn or avoiding accidental rewarding
so we don’t look at talk to or touch the
dog and then lastly we train an
alternate behavior reward when the dog
is quiet and teach the dog to look at
you the following video demonstrates the
use of some of the management equipment
we rely on already she has worn a gentle
leader before but apparently when she
sees a dog she gets agitated she’ll pod
it I’m not sure how well she’s been
handled to date probably pretty well
there we go alright for me it’s critical
to have the next strap strap very snug
so that you can have the no strap loose
that the whole point here is if no strap
is loose when the dog is not pulling
because then you get the opportunity of
contrast when the dog misbehaves lunges
and barks it does whatever you it’s
going to do that’s going to make you
tighten up then there’s going to be a
contrast you’re going to tighten up and
the nose loop is going to press around
the dog he’s going to feel that and then
that can be released to slack when the
dog is behaving as you would like that’s
the negative reinforcement it’s the
powerful part of
tool aside from the Libra just two
things one is the leverage one is the
negative reinforcement and so if the
gentle leader loop is always tight it’s
really hard to say now you’re right now
you’re wrong because when the dog is
right it’s still applying pressure and
to me that’s that’s that’s bordering on
criminal I mean from a learning
perspective it’s a squandering of such a
valuable resource oh oh so good DD so
eczema pressure sit once she sits
pressure off oh so good barking in the
kennel is a common behavior that is
easily corrected it’s usually caused by
being in the kennel with nothing to do
or by people approaching the reward is
talking to are looking at the dog or
taking the dog from the kennel now that
we understand what is driving this
behavior we can begin to look at ways to
manage and train an alternate behavior
we start by removing the opportunity
this means we provide dogs with regular
forms of enrichment and we remove other
dogs from the opposite sides of the
kennel where our dog is we also attempt
to remove all rewards ignore the barking
ignore the dog turn your back on the dog
or even walk away and most importantly
of all never remove the dog from the
kennel when it is barking doing this
actually reinforces the barking behavior
lastly we train to reward when the dog
is quiet we use a snack track to teach
an alternate behavior
jumping up can become a problem
especially for large dogs that can cause
harm by scratching are knocking people
down dogs usually jump up seeking
attention the opportunity is when
they’re excited their leashes too long
or a person or another animal is
approaching the reward is pushing the
dog away which is giving the dog
attention yelling at the dog or telling
the dog to get down which is giving
attention or looking at the dog which is
giving attention something jumping oz
relatively simpler weekend bunch of
moving weight we open to the dog space
which this can involve raise your hands
shortly you leave or using the junk
leader and hig wall treetop beat up by
moving the reward keep your hands off of
the dog sup remain silent turn by screen
and waged remain still then reward Blue
Dog shall jump forward into the dog
space these all involve taking away
attention training and alternate
behavior is relatively easy we can
reward the dog for having front feet on
the floor we can teach sit for attention
and we can enroll the dog in our shelter
to home program jumping up will stop if
it gets no reward withhold attention
turn away or move into the dog space
when she jumps avoid touching the dog
with your hands as that can be a reward
reward the dog immediately with
attention or treats when the front feet
are back on the floor self-restraint can
be patterned by standing on the leash to
prevent jumping then rewarding the dog
self-restraint nothing hands and
clothing is an obnoxious behavior that
if allowed to continue can escalate to a
point where the dog causes injuries and
may even result in a bite the
opportunity happen is any time the dog’s
mouth is unoccupied when you’re playing
with a dog or when the dogs very excited
the reward is attention by pushing the
dog away or if you pull your hands back
very quickly sometimes the dog thinks
you’re playing and it will escalate the
behavior anyone who works with dogs
shouldn’t understand the difference
between normal mouthing and biting
mouthing is normal behavior for puppies
that are under four months of age for
dogs over four months of age they should
not bite people and if they do apply
their teeth or mouth people it should
only be very light pressure if you have
a dog this over four months of age this
biting hard enough to draw blood leave
bruises or leave teeth marks if you have
a dog that’s growling or biting it
runners or other dogs or growling
snapping or biting around objects such
as food bedding or toys see the
supervisor immediately doll most
important thing we hope to help any
documents have is not allowed the
behavior to happen in the first place
and remove any type of reward if the dog
should begin to mouth removing the
opportunity can be done simply by
allowing the dog to carry a toy or some
other acceptable object in their mouth
for some dogs this is the perfect
solution for other dogs we need to
resort to using a gentle leader and
lastly you move the opportunity by
leaving the dog in the kennel but that’s
not very practical and it’s not
something we really would like to do
removing the reward can be stopping all
play as if the dogs on fire keeping your
hands off of the dog avoiding eye
contact remaining silent stepping on the
leash and wait until the dog calms or
exiting the kennel
the training component can involve
teaching leave it to the dog as well as
enrolling the dog in the shelter to home
program this next video is going to
demonstrate one way that we can use to
manage this behavior dogs that use their
teeth on people can hurt someone always
have a suitable alternative available to
redirect your dog to an appropriate toy
the second secret word is then dogs that
mouth or bite at the leash have the
opportunity anytime they’re attached to
the leash the rewards are the ability to
release built up tension or energy or
they consider it play if you start
tugging back on the leash just like when
dog’s mouth hands you can remove the
opportunity by keeping the dog’s mouth
occupied with a toy or other acceptable
object you can also use the gentle
leader or you can leave the dog in the
kennel but as we said before that’s not
very practical you can remove the reward
you stand still do not engage the dog
and definitely do not pull back on the
leash you are inviting the dog to a good
old fashioned game of tug-of-war by
doing that you can also step on the
leash wait until the dog calms and
continue on with your walk training we
would suggest teaching leave it or drop
it and once again these dogs should be
enrolled in the shelter to home program
dogs have the ability to pull unleash
anytime they’re on the leash the rewards
that they get they include getting
outside much quicker going forward and
sniffing exciting new sense for dogs in
the shelter we concentrate on management
we remove the opportunity by using a
gentle leader or an easy walk harness
anytime we take the dog out we can also
keep the leash short to guide the dog or
we can use a toy Lord to keep the dog
close to us removing the reward would
involve when the leashes tight stop and
turn around training is usually not
practical in the shelter such a
situation however you can reward slack
in the leash and reward attention when
the dog is on leash we have two videos
coming up that will demonstrate some
very important concepts about managed
this behavior the first video will help
you understand whether loose leash
should look like the second one
demonstrates how to use a gentle leader
to manage pulling when you’re working
with the dog on any leash just have a
loose leash and a lot of owners don’t
know what that looks like so would i
tell them is that the bolt on the leash
clip needs to point down to the ground
and there should be a J in the leash
okay
and the only time the leash is even a
little bit tight is
you’re asking the doctor do something
different than what he’s doing so I’ll
use it briefly in tech Titan it briefly
and then when he does the thing that I
ask him to do I will loosen up the leash
again and I showed you the loose leash
and show you the tight leash the tight
leash is with the least clip pointing up
straight up at me and the leash is
straight between the dog and myself so
it’s really important that when I have
him here when I’m standing with him I’m
keeping it loose if he gets out tightens
it up I’m going to bring it back in
loosen it up if you need to slow your
dog down or bring them back around you
don’t ever want to pop correct because
that will leave a mark on the nose
they’re not designed for that you want
to bring the doc to the side slide your
hand down to the end of the clip bring
the dog around to the side so it’s going
to come straight out to the side this
way so you have your the most control
possible the dog if you pull from the
side if I were to
if I were to try and pull straight back
see how he’s setting his neck I pull
straight back I don’t have any leverage
here I have the leverage if I bring them
to the side again it’s only a couple
fingers worth but I have all the
leverage and I have none if I pull
straight back to maintain that the leash
is loose and we want the thing that we
you want to look for is we call it a J
pattern so that means is the leash
should leave your hand go down loop back
up to his collar if you see the least
come just coming straight out and it’s
too tight because as you put tension on
the leash it’s closing down on that nose
band and it’s creating sort of a
correction and it’s uncomfortable to him
so if you’re constantly walking with the
leash tight he’s constantly being
corrected good and then the other issues
just like you’re like you’re doing and
just keep walking while I talk and just
make a turn and walk back like you’re
doing you decide where you want to go
and he needs to follow you so you just
purposely walk and that’s that’s the key
word I’d like to use as a purposeful
walk if you’re going to make a turn you
make the turn and let him adapt and
follow you I don’t want you don’t need
to jerk the leash or snap it or pop it
but you just make your move go where you
want to go and then he’s gonna learn
that he has to follow along otherwise he
gets corrected kind of automatically my
love set data boy watch me good boy
mitel stay good stay good boy my little
stay watch me so again gentle leader is
there just kind of stopped him from
taking off because you’re a distraction
here but that’s okay we’ll see how we do
my loan you sit good boy watch me atta
boy Milo stay good boy watch me good
point way to go little sit madam boy
watch
I’ll stay watch watch me good boy Milo
stay watch me attaboy watch me
does that make sense so far okay so i
think i’d like to do is take it outside
so first we’ll do is have you let’s walk
them a little bit outside doing the same
types of things when we were walking in
here and then we’ll see if there’s some
distractions of dogs coming in and out
yeah couple more times i think he’s
starting to get to kind of just a little
bit more relaxed he’s got that open
mouth look and so if you look at him you
can tell he’s a little more relaxed just
you know he’s got a little bit more of a
spring in his step he’s not scanning as
much his faces look a little bit more
relaxed so if you got a situation where
you know he’s got his mouth closed he’s
constantly looking back and forth and
he’s walking cautiously he’s not as
relaxed where’s right now he’s starting
to move a little bit more bouncy he’s
looking up at you a little bit more
Sobek if you can walk like up here close
to this curb and we’ll have Joanna walk
up along the cars and just kind of walk
like two ships passing in the night and
just keep moving and just keep moving so
we’re going to have to sort of assess
however how much a distraction they’re
going to be at this distance
we want to stay close to that those cars
and you want to stay close this way and
just keep lots of rewards and commands
keep them coming good man keep going
there we go let’s do that a couple times
back and forth Milo watch me good boy
why
the third secret word is training there
are times when the excitement level of a
dog can escalate to more concerning
behavior which can include threats or
even aggression this may happen when
you’re removing a dog from the kennel
when you’re walking through the building
when you’re outside on walks are as
you’re returning the dog to the kennel
these are emergency situations
prevention is the key for any situation
stay focused on the dog you’re walking
to recognize signs of stress and arousal
then you can take action to prevent
escalation if you’re unsure about what
to look for review the video on body
language for animal handlers carry and
know how to use spray shield this can be
an invaluable tool for a variety of
reasons be aware of your surroundings
identify everyday items you can place
between yourself and a threatening dog
these can include a kennel door a light
pole the trashcan lid a broom a mop even
a backpack and immediately call for help
call staff or volunteers and if you’re
outside you can even call out to the
public and ask them to go inside and
alert someone of the situation the only
time it’s appropriate to use force
against a dog is when the handler or
another animal is in jeopardy there are
defensive tactics that can be used to
interrupt an attack if the dog is
wearing a gentle leader lift up on the
gentle leader to close the dog’s mouth
keeping the mouth closed move quickly
towards safety if the dog is not wearing
a gentle leader but wearing it a
martingale collar move your leash arm up
and away from your body lifting the
dog’s head the idea is to force the dog
to choose between unrestricted breathing
or continuing the attack once the attack
is interrupted use this time to return
the dog to the kennel remain
calm and call for help immediately in
conclusion it’s important to remember
many dogs are relinquished to shelters
due to undesirable behaviors that
include barking jumping mouthing or
pulling on leash it should always be our
goal to use training to change these
behaviors that we can and use management
to prevent other behaviors from
worsening thank you
