For understandable safety reasons, many shelter and rescue organizations test a dog’s “sociability” with other dogs on a leash or through a fence. Members of PPG’s Shelter & Rescue Committee found that this results in false positives for “dog-aggression,” which can result in dire consequences for the animal, including euthanasia or increased length of stay due to adoption barriers. When 60% of US households have dogs, a sheltered dog who must be the “only animal in the home” has a much lower chance of being adopted. A great many dogs bark, lunge, growl and/or snarl when introduced to other dogs on a leash or through a physical barrier like a kennel door or fence. However, we have found that a significant number of these dogs have the ability to exhibit appropriate, pro-social and playful behavior with other dogs when these barriers are removed. This session will focus on introduction methods and behavior modification protocols that are realistic for resource-thin shelter and rescue organizations, who may not have the luxury of qualified behavior specialists to perform dedicated and time-consuming desensitization and counterconditioning procedures. We believe we can increase adoption rates, reduce euthanasia, reduce “kennel stress” and length of stays with the playgroup and behavior modification protocols presented. This was previously aired at Geek Week 2021 Learning Objectives: Learn about the free PPG resource ThePetRescueResource.com for shelters and rescues, and see case studies and examples of the treatment of aggressive behavior with playgroups. Define and understand barrier frustration vs. fear, proximity sensitivity, compulsive fighting, etc. Why mislabeling dogs presenting with frustration as “dog-aggressive” is a serious welfare concern. How to treat barrier frustration without the resources for desensitization.

Sponsor:Pet Professional Guild
Speaker(s):**K. Holden Svirsky

Contact: Sharon Nettles
 Email: events@petprofessionalguild.com
 Phone: 184-446-26473
 Web: https://petprofessionalguild.com/event-4758488