Choice and agency are more than just the latest catchwords in the world of animal welfare. Giving animals a sense of control in situations where they are exposed to potential triggers can have significant, desirable effects: it can reduce the stress associated with the triggers in question, retard future fear conditioning, and facilitate the extinction of fear-related behaviors. Given these benefits, it makes sense for shelter teams to have animal care practices in place with agency-building in mind. Best practice recommendations for shelter animal care include both “choice of environment” and “choice of interaction” as ways to promote shelter animal welfare. Environmental choice is commonly obtained by providing larger enclosures, with multiple compartments, resting surfaces, perches, hiding amenities, etc. Choice of interaction is generally taken to indicate an animal’s choice of whether or not to interact with a human carer or shelter visitor, but there are few specific recommendations regarding how shelter residents can exercise choice in the way they interact with humans when they do decide to engage. This session presents games designed to give shelter animals a chance to demonstrate control over day-to-day interactions with humans. These activities are accessible to beginner trainers, resource-friendly, and give fascinating glimpses into the preferences of individual learners. At the end of this session, participants will be able to: -Identify the benefits of adopting a choice-based approach to interactions with humans. -Incorporate several agency-promoting training games into enrichment and behavior modification plans for animals, whether in shelter or beyond.

Sponsor:KPA
Speaker(s):Melissa Taylor, CBCC-KA, CSB-C, CSB-D

Contact: Melissa Taylor
 Email: melissa@friends4life.org
 Phone: 281-908-6351
 Web: https://clickerexpo.clickertraining.com/clicker-expo-virtual/