Send us a text

"I prefer to ask people, have you had dogs before?  What did you love about them? If you could pull those qualities from that dog, the things you love most about him, what were they? And if you'd had a magic wand what would I like to just tweak a little bit."
 - Suzanne Clothier

Episode 8 of series 8: The World of Animal Welfare and Sheltering Transcript ( Part2)

Have you ever wondered what goes into assessing shelter animals and adopting the perfect pet? We sat down with Suzanne Clothier, an expert in the field, to unravel the complexities and nuances of animal assessments. Our discussion delves into her unique animal assessment tools - CARAT, RAT, and FAT, and how they contribute to understanding  behavior. We also take an in-depth look at how our emotions and biases can affect our decisions when it comes to selecting our next four legged-family member.

Guest: Suzanne Clothier has worked with animals professionally since 1977, with a background includes obedience, agility, puppy testing, breeding, Search and Rescue, conformation, instructing, kennel management and AAT.
Her Relationship Centered Training™ approach blends science and heart to create humane, effective and practical solutions for dogs and the people who work with them, whether professional working dogs or couch warming companions. Her suite of assessment tools provide a powerful framework for trainers and organizations:

RAT™ (Relationship Assessment Tool) – handler/dog dynamics, rapid assessment plus ability to track and compare
CARAT™ (Clothier Animal Response Assessment Tool) – temperament assessment on 6 categories, 21 dimensions
FAT™ (Functional Assessment Tool, release in 2022) – global of functionality/welfare assessment across physiological, social and cognitive dimensions

Book Recommendations:
Kinship with All Life by J. Allen Boone and  Behaving As If the God in All Life Mattered by Machaelle Small Wright and An Immense World by Ed Yong

Other Links:
Meet Your Match
Home to Home Program

Support the show

Show Credits⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Read the Blog! (Guest profiles, book recommendations, trailers and more!)

What to start your own podcast in he Animal Advocacy or Animal Welfare Space? Check out my ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast Mentoring Services⁠⁠⁠⁠!

⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a Patron! ⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the Newsletter