Shelter Behavior

One of the areas with the greatest room for growth in the shelter world is effective, reliable methods of evaluating temperament and behavior in dogs and cats, along with simple, inexpensive programs for both preventing the development of stress-related behavior problems and rehabilitating animals who have behavior challenges. But if you think that's an insurmountable task, just listen to what these experts have to say.

• Your Secret Decoder Ring: Feline Behavior Assessments

  April 2012
  What if every cat who entered your shelter had a little decoder ring that would let you know what her personality is like, what stresses her out the most, what doesn't bother her, and what type of future living situation will be just right for her? Cats don't come with a real decoder ring, but feline behavior assessments, designed and applied appropriately, will help unscramble some of that secret code - the essence of the cat! They are an important tool for gathering information about an individual cat's behavior, designing a plan for her, and revising and evaluating the process as she adapts and responds to her new environment.  Read More

• Curing the Litter Box Blues - Feline Elimination Disorders

  October 2011
  Dr. Susan Krebsbach, veterinary behavior specialist, presents “Curing the Litter Box Blues: Feline Elimination Disorders" at the Purdue/Maddie's Shelter Medicine Symposium 2011.  Read More

• Seniors and Shelters – Looking After Geriatric Pets in Shelters and Getting Them Adopted

  October 2011
  Dr. Susan Krebsbach, veterinary specialist in behavior with over 20 years’ experience working with animal shelters, talks at the Purdue/Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Symposium 2011 about senior pets in animal shelters and how to get them adopted.  Read More

• Providing Behavioral Care for Treatable Dogs and Cats - Easier and Cheaper Than You Think

  May 2011
  Think you can't afford to treat the behavior problems of dogs and cats in your shelter? Think it's too difficult and time-consuming? Think you don't have the staff or the space to work with these kinds of issues? Sheila Segurson d'Arpino, DVM, DACVB, Senior Applied Animal Behaviorist for the Center for Shelter Dogs in Boston walks you through easy, cost-effective methods that have saved thousands of animal lives.  Read More

• Temperament Tests - What We Do and Do Not Know

  October 2010
  One of the biggest hot-button issues in animal welfare is temperament testing. Temperament Testis – What We Do and Do Not Know, presented by Dr. Sarah Bennett at Purdue University’s Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Conference in October 2010, discusses the importance of temperaments tests and looks at what they can and can’t do. She also examines the most commonly used temperament tests as well as the most popular adoption screening and matching programs.  Read More

• Life Enrichment for Shelter Animals

  May 2010
  Enrichment for shelter animals reduces stress (and disease), increases adoptions and radically improves the well-being and quality of life for canine and feline residents.  Read More