Simplifying Shelter Behaviour

By Simplifying Shelter BehaviourEducation

Simplifying Shelter Behaviour episodes

February 03, 2025 Ep.31 Prognosis Setting for behavioural health in Shelter and Rescue
Ep. 31 Prognosis Setting for Behaviour and Welfare in Shelters with Dr. Wailani Sung
In this episode join me and Dr.Sung as we discuss how we can set prognosis for our behaviour and welfare cases to support decision making and planning in shelter and rescue animals. Dr Sung did an amazing job of navigating this difficult conversation, providing several tips and suggestions around identifying prognosis, tracking progress, and working together to achieve best outcomes for each individual in our care.
About Dr. Sung
Dr. Wailani Sung has a passion for helping owners prevent or effectively manage behavior problems in companion animals, enabling them to maintain a high quality of life. Dr. Sung obtained her Master’s degree and Doctorate in Psychology, with a special interest in animal behavior from The University of Georgia. Upon completion of these graduate programs, she obtained a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, then board certification in veterinary behavioral medicine. Dr. Sung currently provides behavioral consultations at the Behavior Specialty Service located at Joybound People and Pets located in Walnut Creek, California.  She does not consider any patient or problem hopeless, and her treatment protocols are based on scientific information about animal behavior, psychopharmacology, and learning theory. Dr. Sung also contributes to the management and treatment of the behavioral needs of the shelter pets at Joybound People and Pets.
Dr. Sung frequently lectures on managing common behavioral issues and consults with veterinary practices to design programs and train staff in best practices for making vet visits less stressful and developing treatment protocols for patients with behavioral issues. Dr. Sung also provide consultations to shelter and rescue organizations.
Dr. Sung is a co-author of the book, “From Fearful to Fear Free," in which she collaborated with America’s veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, veterinary colleague Dr. Lisa Radosta, and renowned trainer, Mikkel Becker.  Dr. Sung also co-authored a chapter in “Decoding your Cat” coming out July 2020. Dr. Sung has been a contributor to the magazines, Healthy Pet and Happy Paws, and the websites, PetCoach and PetMD. Dr. Sung has written chapters for the following veterinary textbooks: Behavior of Exotic Pets, Blackwell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Canine and Feline Behavior, 2nd Edition and Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Canine and Feline: 7th edition. Dr. Sung is also an advisory member of Fear Free Pets. She is a Fear Free certified speaker. Dr. Sung was interviewed on the documentary, Cat Tales by NOVA.
Links
Joybound- https://joybound.org
Bay Area vet behaviour- https://bayareavetbehavior.com/about/
FAS scores -https://fearfreepets.com/fas-spectrum/
Camp Maddie Inc Dr sung- https://forum.maddiesfund.org/campmaddiebehavior
52 min
January 15, 2025 Ep 30. Holistic Approach to Reactivity with Dante Camacho
Ep 30. Holistic Approach to Reactivity with Dante Camacho
About this episode
Dante joins me on the podcast to discuss his holistic program for dogs who show reactivity type behaviours, including lundging barking and growling. When we consider the difficulties in working with dogs who show reactive behaviours, particularly in the difficult shelter or rescue environment, we know it can be a big challenge. In this episode we discuss how we can set our dogs and care givers up for success, where we use a range of exercises and adjustments both in the presence of and away from the triggers to help move towards improvement in behavioural health. Dante lets us in to the key elements of his program and the reasons he found these important and useful when working with reactive dogs.
About Dante
Dante Camacho is a professional dog trainer, international presenter and has been involved in dog training since 1998, this quickly became a passion and took him to a never-ending adventure (including leaving college to become a full time dog trainer) of constant learning.
He was one of the first to introduce the use of clicker training in Brazil, "I was fascinated by the tool and all that I was able to accomplish with my dogs very early in my career", and went on to work with dog owners privately for the first years of his dog training career.
In 2000 he fell in love with dog sports and started teaching his own dogs in agility and freestyle. In agility he became a reference in positive training in Brazil, teaching seminars, being cited in magazines, websites and numerous TV appearances. he ended up representing Brazil in 4 FCI Agility World Championships as well as 2 European Open and 2 America’s & Caribbean.
In freestyle (Dog Dancing) he performed initially in Brazil, first in dog shows but soon in TV shows and fairs, he became a member of the Superdogs Team (Canada) and performed his Dancing routines in shows throughout the country and also in the USA.
Dante is an invited teacher at Rio Preto University where he teaches dog behaviour and training for the post graduate degree course on "Animal Behaviour and Well being". He's an online instructor with several online courses (all in Portuguese so far, sorry....) available on his platform with over a thousand students, ranging from professional dog trainers to committed dog owners. He's also developing his own certification course for dog trainers in his country.
Links
Dante has a holistic reactivity course on the Grisha Stewart academy, this course includes recorded live coaching which is beneficial to watch and learn from.
https://school.grishastewart.com/bundles/holistic-reactivity-1-and-2?ref=352ff9
Dante’s awesome instagram
https://www.instagram.com/dantedogworks/?hl=enf
1 hr
January 01, 2025 Ep. 29 Functional Enrichment, More Than Just a Stuffed Kong with Emily Lewis
Ep. 29 Functional Enrichment, how to do More Than Just Stuff a Kong with Emily Lewis.
In this episode I am joined by Emily Lewis to talk about functional enrichment. We cover how we can use enrichment to support our behaviour modification plans and how we can craft specific enrichment programs for the dogs in our care that support behaviour as well as welfare.
About Emily
• 22 years of professional experience as a dog trainer, shelter behaviour consultant and veterinary technician
• Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants
• Ten years of experience in shelters doing behavior evaluations, dog to dog testing, creating enrichment and training plans, and counseling adopters
• Specializes in a wide variety of behavior issues, including human directed aggression
Emily loves working with pet parents and their dogs to strengthen the human animal bond through positive training. Over the last 20+ years she has worked with a variety of breeds from terriers to mastiffs to mutts.
She has experience with rescue dogs and the unique issues they face - and is the proud owner of three of her very own. She has also owned and trained deaf, blind, and physically impaired dogs, and this is an area close to her heart.
41 min
December 18, 2024 Ep. 28-Free support groups for compassion fatigue and empathetic strain wit Dr Melissa Trevathan-Minnis
Episode 28 Free support groups for compassion fatigue and empathetic strain Join us this week as we talk about compassion fatigue and empathetic strain with Dr Melissa Trevathan-Minnis. Mellisa and her colleagues are running a study looking at the success of support groups for supporting empathetic strain, whilst this is a study it also provides Free support sessions for animal welfare professional so please check out the information below and book onto these sessions to support yourself and others in this field.

https://sites.google.com/view/animalgroup/home

About Melissa Trevathan-Minnis.

I am a therapist, a professor, a researcher/writer, and an animal advocate. I have worked in a variety of settings both clinically and academically which are listed below. Check out my publications page to learn about my book, articles, and book chapters. Education: PhD Counseling Psychology-University of Houston (APA Accredited) BA-Psychology-Texas Tech University Clinical Positions: -Private Practice- Dr. Melissa Trevathan-Minnis, PLLC -Flatwater Foundation-Austin, TX -The Women's Growth Center- Baltimore, MD -Loyola University Maryland Counseling Center-Baltimore, MD -Towson University Counseling Center-Towson, MD -Ben Taub General Hospital Psychiatric Services-Houston, TX -University of St. Thomas Counseling and Disability Center-Houston, TX -Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Hospital -University of Houston Clear Lake Counseling Center Academic Positions: -National University Faculty, Dissertation Chair, Gender and Sexual Fluidity Specialization Lead Faculty-San Diego, CA -Goddard College Faculty, Internship Coordinator, Sexual Orientation Concentration Coordinator Human Animal Interactions Studies Coordinator-Plainfield, VT -McDaniel College Adjunct Faculty-Westminster, MD Additional Training: -Animal-Assisted Counseling Academy at Texas State University -Consortium for Animal-Assisted Therapy at University of North Texas: Animal-Assisted Therapy Training -Pet Partners Handler Course -Gottman Couples Counseling Level II -Gottman Advanced training in Affairs and Infidelity -Ketamine-Assisted Therapy

Links

https://www.drtrevathanminnis.com/

https://www.nu.edu/degrees/jfk-psychology/faculty/melissa-trevathan/

the support group- https://sites.google.com/view/animalgroup/home
26 min
December 04, 2024 Ep. 27 Grief and loss for Shelter Folk with Dr. Tara Quinn
*New Episode- Greif and Loss with Dr. Tara Quinn*
In this episode we cover another difficult reality of working in shelter and rescue. Join myself and Dr. Tara as we discuss all aspects of grief and loss, including bereavement and more. this episode discusses some difficult ground so feel free to take your time, skip past it or do whatever you need for yourself (a key theme of the conversation). Sadly, it can certainly feel like shelter is a difficult place to work currently and I am personally very grateful for the work Dr. Tara and her network does with Shelters and Rescues to support their staff and volunteer’s.
About Dr. Tara
Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo is a Chartered and HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council) Registered Counselling Psychologist and Associate Fellow of The British Psychological Society.
She has over 20 years’ clinical experience and uses her in depth knowledge of mental health and disability and human behaviour, to inform her clinical work.
Her purpose is helping people to understand and manage their emotional wellbeing and empowering them to. She specialises in helping people formulate both new and longstanding conditions and helping people take a fresh look at longstanding issues. She believes in robust evidenced based assessment and treatment. She takes pride in her approach combining compassionate and evidenced based practice in order to empower people to create a core shift in managing the difficulties they face. She specialises in supporting people following adverse life experiences.
Dr Quinn-Cirillo has a special interest in bringing the principles of psychology to communities to help them cope with adversity and support each other with mental wellbeing. She achieves this through her media work and philanthropic and humanitarian projects she is involved in. She regularly appears in a variety of media outlets including TV and Radio and print publications. Dr Quinn-Cirillo is also a Psychological First Aid Responder with the British Red Cross.
About Human Animal Welfare Alliance
An innovative and unique alliance spearheaded by Psychologist Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo and fully supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG). Utilising the skills and passion of mental health professionals, as well as those in the animal welfare sector, to create a core shift in how the emotional health of those working in animal welfare is addressed and protected. We aim to create a direct, measurable, and hugely positive impact on the animal welfare sector in the UK. What we Provide
We are developing the UK’s first Emotional Health Toolkit specifically for animal welfare workers. This will be digital and include a variety of resources to help staff manage their emotional health.
Hosting emotional health safe spaces for shelter workers.These are supportive & informative sessions for UK based shelter staff to help them think through the current issues they are facing in their work & the impact this may be having on their own emotional health & wellbeing. We provide a safe & compassionate space for staff to be heard & for us to then identify their future support needs. We want to introduce staff to evidenced based effective psychological models to empower them to effectively manage stressors & demands impacting their emotional & physical health.
Providing targeted mental health training sessions on topics including stress, anxiety, overwhelm & burnout, and vicarious trauma.
Offer 1:1 telephone debrief calls as required for staff members in individual rescue organisations during discrete traumatic events. Utilising a trauma informed approach with the aim of reducing emotional distress and increasing psychological safety.
Links
Dr T- https://drtara.co.uk/
HAWA- https://drtara.co.uk/hawa/
Chronically Under Touched — Why I Waited 12 Months for A Hug-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi_hm0-zrgk&t=3s
Blue cross pet loss support- https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-bereavement-and-pet-loss
43 min
November 20, 2024 Ep. 26 Shelter Assessments The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with Dot Baisly
Ep. 26 Shelter Assessments the Good the Bad and the Ugly with Dot Baisly
About this Episode
In this podcast episode, I’m Joined by Dot Baisly, Executive Director of the IAABC and all-round shelter expert, to discuss the critical topic of dog behaviour assessments. Dot and I explore the importance of accurately evaluating dogs to ensure their suitability for adoption and to enhance their chances of finding forever homes. The conversation delves into various assessment methods, highlighting both behavioural observations and environmental factors that can influence a dog's behaviour and how we can best collect and utilise this data. Assessments is one of the most discussed areas of shelter and rescue behaviour. This conversation serves as an introductory podcast episode, with further episodes coming soon! During this episode we cover, what assessments are, different types of assessments and why we might use them, gathering information at different parts of the dogs journey and how to use this information to support the individual moving forward.
About Dot
Dot Baisly is the Executive Director for the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). Dot also holds a master’s degree in Animal Behavior from Tufts University and is a certified dog behavior consultant (CDBC), certified cat behavior consultant (CCBC), and certified shelter behavior specialist (CSBS). Most recently she was the director of behavior for Northeast Animal Shelter where she built a behavior program and transformed the organization’s approach to behavior as a result of her leadership. Prior to this she was also the lead behavior staff at the SPCA of Westchester and then the Animal Rescue League of Boston.
Dot also worked as a consultant for Paws With A Cause, working with service dogs and the clients they serve for over 10 years. She has been working in animal welfare, veterinary care and behavior for over 20 years, both in animal welfare and rescue organizations and as a private consultant. Dot has consulted with private clients since her initial certifications, working with owned cats and dogs on a regular basis.
In her private practice, Dot specializes in working with dogs and cats exhibiting significant behavioral concerns, including human-directed aggression. She also provides consultations to shelters across the country where she has evaluated dogs, educated staff and volunteers and continues to be recognized as a key leader in the animal welfare and shelter behavior community where she is sought out for her expertise, compassion, and skill in leading change efforts.
Links
Building Better Bonds- https://www.buildbetterbonds.com/
IAABC- https://iaabc.org/
No better than flipping a coin- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787816300697#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThis%20means%20that%20even%20under,the%20basis%20of%20such%20test
Adopter- dog interactions at the shelter: Behavioral and contextual predictors of adoption -https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=QzzG6YUAAAAJ&citation_for_view=QzzG6YUAAAAJ:u-x6o8ySG0sC
Preference assessments and structured potential adopter-dog interactions increase adoptions - https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=QzzG6YUAAAAJ&citation_for_view=QzzG6YUAAAAJ:p2g8aNsByqUC
47 min
November 05, 2024 Ep. 25 Bark! The science of Helping your Anxious, Fearful or Reactive Dog with Zazie Todd.
Bark! The Science of Helping your Anxious, Fearful and Reactive dog with Zazie Todd
In this episode we are joined by Zazie Todd author of Wag, Purr and now Bark! These books do a great job of combining stories, science and tips and tricks for owners and care givers. In this episode we talk about Bark! The what’s, whys and how’s. Exploring the book, Zazie’s reasonings behind it and how she hopes it will help explain the things they need to know. To make living with an Anxious, fearful, or reactive dog.
About Zazie Todd
Zazie Todd, PhD, is an animal behaviour expert and award-winning writer who loves nothing better than helping people resolve issues with their pets. She covers dog training and behaviour, cat behaviour and training, animal welfare, the relationship between people and their pets, and books about companion animals.
Todd is the author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. Her highly-anticipated third book, Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, will be published in October 2024.
Todd is the go-to pet expert for many media outlets and has been mentioned in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, The Atlantic, Newsweek, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, CBC Radio, Radio New Zealand, and many more. She is the creator of Companion Animal Psychology which she started in 2012 to explore the ways in which science can help us to have happier cats and dogs. The Animal Book Club followed in 2016. Todd's podcast, The Pawsitive Post in Conversation, is co-hosted with Kristi Benson and features interviews with authors, scientists, dog trainers, and cat behaviourists.
Links
Zazies Site- https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/p/about-zazie-todd-and-companion-animal.html
Books- https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/p/books.html
Hey that’s mine with Jean Donaldson https://open.spotify.com/episode/1XmKKmdczRb8N8j3C5BiPM?si=8zAG9vCpTp2QAmJ342oUBA
Safe haven- https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18F46cSRFA/?mibextid=UalRPS
Red amber green for owner expectations- https://www.facebook.com/share/v/13wS437hxx/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Grisha Stewart academy bites and fights panel- https://school.grishastewart.com/courses/dogbitesfights?ref=352ff9
Bark fest- https://youtu.be/mJyQ7S2XCm4?si=B6RIZwOTz0BYw074
Dog behaviour conference- https://www.vsdogtrainingacademy.com/dog-behavior-conference/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=speaker&utm_campaign=dbc&utm_term=Tom&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0Ea34iYTU8Rm5ZqpJMq0dBZ9P0V6T4rExkBzCxdyYlbxl4JdtA-0dY2P0_aem_lCmGNZuTYaLtZIdhVxMqeA
45 min
October 23, 2024 Ep.24 Supporting Cats with Entering New Homes with Katenna Jones
Summary
In this episode we look at different ways we can support the transition from the shelter/resuce to the home, specifically for our feline friends. We know that cats can often be sensitive to changes in their environments so as a shelter, and adopter we want to take supportive steps to assist our cats be successful in their new homes.
About Katenna Jones
Animal Behavior is not a new field for Katenna nor a hobby turned into a career - it's all she's ever done. While earning a bachelor’s degree in biology, she became a shelter volunteer in 1998, then went on to earn a Master's in Psychology, with a focus on animal behavior, from Brown University.
Katenna is Rhode Island's only Associated Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Certified Cat Behavior Consultant, and is also a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, and is Certified Fear Free. Katenna works virtually with families and their cats and dogs and also provides professional development and coaching services locally, internationally, and online. The has recently relocated to the Syracuse, NY area where she will offer in-person services as soon as she is settled.
Links
https://www.feliway.co.uk/
https://www.battersea.org.uk/pet-advice/cat-advice/cats-sense-smell
https://www.jonesanimalbehavior.com/
https://www.jonesanimalbehavior.com/articlesandrecordings
https://school.grishastewart.com/bundles/noseworkcatsbundle?omnisearch__query=cat
https://hippocampusonline.com/all-courses/
50 min
October 10, 2024 Ep.23 Resilience Framework for Shelter and Rescues with Bobbie Bhambree and Ferdie Yau
Resilience Framework for Shelter Dogs
In this episode we are joined by Bobbie Bhambree (CDBC, CPDT-KA) and Ferdie Yau (MA, CPDT-KA) to discuss resilience in shelter dogs and more specifically how we can use the resilience framework to support rescue dogs. The Resilience framework is an amazing creation from Bobbie and Dr Kathy Murphy, that can be used to take a holistic approach to supporting mental and physical wellbeing.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from stressful events and supports dogs in a stressful experience and environments, so we know this is super important when were working in a shelter environment! We want to help our dogs to do as well as possible in our space so that we can support their adoption as quickly as possible.
If you enjoyed this episode and you want to have a look at a specific case study of the resilience framework in a shelter environment you can join me on 20th of October with educanine use code SSB for 10$ off!
https://educanine.thinkific.com/courses/tom-candy
About Bobbie
Bobbie started her career in 2003 as a pet behavior counselor with the ASPCA Animal Behavior Center. While there, she implemented behavior modification programs for dogs who had been surrendered by the public or seized by Humane Law Enforcement. In 2007, Bobbie joined the Humane Society of Westchester, spending the next nine years as their shelter trainer. She created and implemented training and enrichment programs for the dogs, counseled adopters, trained volunteers, participated in community outreach programs, and performed evaluations.
In 2016, Bobbie joined the North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington, NY as the Director of Pet Behavior. During her tenure there, she managed a team of canine and feline trainers who focused on developing behavior modification and enrichment programs for the animals in the shelter. She also deployed for the ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Behavior Team to work in the field, supporting the team with dog fighting busts, puppy mill cases, and hoarding cases. In addition to this work, she founded and directed her own company, DogCentric Dog Training, helping people whose pet dogs experienced a wide spectrum of canine behavior issues.
About Ferdie
Ferdie Yau (MA, CPDT-KA) is an animal trainer and wildlife biologist helping families in Westchester since 2009. Ferdie has been working with animals from penguins to pit bulls since 2003 and specializes in treating complex behavior cases, drawing on his experience and skills refined through decades of practice. In addition, he is a former ecologist for New York City with a Master’s in Conservation Biology from Columbia University. In his free time, Ferdie studies NYC's urban coyotes with the Gotham Coyote Project – his intricate knowledge of urban coyotes gives him a unique perspective of canine behavior. His compassionate and multi-disciplinary approach incorporates principles from ethology, psychology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience. The upshot: Ferdie's positive training makes an often overwhelming and challenging process safe and fun…while empowering you to create a happier life for your dog.
Links
Ferdie- https://sitsnwiggles.com/
Resilience Framework- https://journal.iaabcfoundation.org/the-resilience-rainbow/
Pattern Games-https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pgxfbWoN9OxGS3jDsXVOm
LATTE pattern game- https://school.grishastewart.com/courses/latte?ref=352ff9
Pattern games Trauma- https://school.grishastewart.com/courses/patterns?ref=352ff9
Camp Maddie Behaviour- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljXtG02rYYk
Puppy resilience- https://school.grishastewart.com/courses/pandemic?ref=352ff9
Ttouch and Bat together, empowered Body awareness-https://school.grishastewart.com/courses/ttouch-bat?ref=352ff9
CATCH Canine!- https://catchdogtrainers.com/
Worry less Wag more https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynv2qT8xwzARLtAhgQNrQ
57 min
September 25, 2024 Ep 22. Applied Behaviour Analysis in the Shelter with Dr. Susan Friedman
ABA in shelter dogs with Dr. Susan Friedman
About this Episode
In this episode we discuss Applied Behaviour Analysis, what it is and how we can use it to support dogs in our shelters. Join myself and Dr. Friedman as we discuss general ABA principles and how ABA can aid us in behaviour modification. Including problem solving reactivity and a case study of a cocker spaniel who’s worried about his harness.
About Dr. Susan Friedman
Dr. Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. Susan has co-authored chapters on behaviour change in five veterinary texts, and her popular articles have been translated into 17 languages. She teaches seminars and courses on animal learning online (How Behavior Works: Living & Learning With Animals), with students from 63 countries so far. Susan also consults with zoos and animal organizations around the world. She was appointed to the F&WS California Condor Recovery Team from 2002 – 2010, after which time the team was retired due to the success of the birds in the wild. She is the Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Committee of American Humane Association (AHA) Film and TV Unit, and a member in good standing of ABAI, ABMA, IAATE and IAABC
Links
https://www.behaviorworks.org/
Susan Friedman: Why Animals Need Trainers Who Adhere to the Least Intrusive Principle https://school.grishastewart.com/courses/hierarchy?ref=352ff9
1 hr 20 min

About Simplifying Shelter Behaviour

From the publisher's feed

Shelter and Rescue can be difficult environments for workers and the animals in their care. This podcast, hosted by Tom Candy BSc (Hons) MSC CCAB, CSBS, CDBC. Brings together some of the leaders in…