The Individual Animal

Dr. Lisa Gunter, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, discusses her journey into animal welfare research, including her work on breed labels, fostering, and field trips for shelter dogs. She shares insights on the impact of these programs and the importance of individualized care for shelter animals. Dr. Lisa Gunter discusses her work at Virginia Tech, including a hybrid fostering program for dogs and a shelter training program for students. She also shares insights into a collaborative study on post-adoption outcomes for dogs with biting behavior. Dr. Gunter emphasizes the importance of workforce development in animal sheltering and the need for accessible science to improve the lives of dogs.

www.lisamgunter.com 

In this conversation, Nikki and Kate discuss their experiences in animal welfare and their work at different shelters. They talk about their past internships, the challenges of working in animal shelters, and the importance of community engagement. Kate shares her role as the volunteer and community engagement coordinator at MADACC and the various initiatives she has implemented to increase adoptions and engage with the community. They also discuss the difficulties of the current dog overpopulation crisis and the need for innovative adoption programs

Show Notes:

https://madacc.org/

Training Assistance/Good Pup - https://shelter.goodpup.com

BSL - https://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/breedspecificlegislation/

Connect with socially minded companies that want to make a difference - https://www.visit.org/

https://heartsspeak.org/

Mike shares his journey in animal welfare, starting as a kennel attendant and working his way up to becoming the Chief Operating Officer of Brandywine Valley SPCA. He emphasizes the importance of advocating for oneself and taking opportunities to learn and grow in the field. Mike discusses the impact of the stressful shelter environment on dogs' behavior and highlights the need for social interaction, exercise, and mental stimulation. 

Hi everyone, there won't be a full episode this week. However, if you're going to the HSUS Expo, we'd love it if you could visit our table and say hello to Ashley and Nikki! We have a bunch of fantastic resources to share, as well as some cool giveaways.

In this conversation, Jessica Hekman, DVM, PhD discusses the work of the Functional Dog Collaborative (FDC) and the need to improve dog breeding practices in North America. She highlights the issues with current breeding practices, including the prevalence of large-scale commercial kennels. Jessica emphasizes the importance of moving the needle towards responsible breeding practices and reducing the number of dogs ending up in shelters. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the concept of heritability and its implications for selective breeding. In this conversation, Jessica Hekman discusses the concept of heritability in dog behavior and the role of genetics in shaping traits. She explains how selective breeding can influence behavior and the importance of considering both genetics and environment in understanding dog behavior. The study she conducted on breeds and behaviors was also discussed. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the importance of early socialization in shaping dog behavior.

The functional dog collaborative

       Podcast and Facebook group, Instagram, and Tik tok

Groundbreaking study

Companion dog project with associated companion dog registry 

Dogzombie.com for more on Jessica and Jessica's webinars, teachings, and to get on her mailing list

Lisa Gunter on The Functional Dog Collabrotive Poscast

In this conversation, veterinarian and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Amy Marder discusses the importance of recognizing that every dog is an individual and that behavior evaluations should be tailored to each dog's unique needs. She emphasizes the need for guidelines and observational methods to understand a dog's behavior and provide appropriate support. The conversation also touches on the stress levels in shelters, the benefits of foster homes, and the importance of considering a dog's behavior in their previous home when making adoption decisions.

Shelter Medicine Courses - https://onlinesheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu/about/faculty/amy-marder/

Alexandra Protopopova - https://scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=QzzG6YUAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Dixie:

Join us this week as we chat with Amanda Kopec and Mindy Naticchioni from Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter and discuss the positive impacts playgroups have had on their organization.

Instagram cuyahogadogs

Facebook Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter 

Tik tok cuyahogadogs 

Website cuyahogadogs.gov

The stats for Cuyahoga County we mention in the episode are: 

Dynamic Stats: Cuyahoga County Shelter Director reported stats since Playgroup implementation: • 176% increase in volunteer hours • 62% decrease in bites • 20% decrease in LOS = average of 4.2 days/dog • 20% increase in adoption rate • 3.8% decrease in Returned Adoptions

Learn valuable marketing tips and tricks for animal shelters on this week's episode, featuring the special guest, Caitlin Quinn.

• https://petsmartcharities.org/pro/resources/adoption-partner/introducing-rescue-writer
• https://heartsspeak.org/chatgpt-impact-on-marketing-2023/
• https://heartsspeak.org/pet-bios-using-chatgpt/

Top 5 Animal Shelteing Organization to Follow:

https://monmouthcountyspca.org/

https://www.awla.org/

https://www.southernpinesanimalshelter.org/ 

https://www.oaklandanimalservices.org/

https://www.onetail.org/

https://www.ruffhaven.org/

https://www.instagram.com/ruffhaven_/

HeARTs Speak is launching some learn-at-your-own pace courses this spring so keep an eye out for those and, in the meantime, they are always adding more tools to the Marketing Resource Center. https://heartsspeak.org/marketing-resource-center/