Dog Behavior Collection: Shelter Care
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When we can’t prevent intake, our goal is to keep dogs in the shelter for as short a time as possible to reduce the impact of the stressful shelter environment. We all do the best we can in caring for dogs who are in shelters. It’s easy to slip into the mindset of "they’re absolutely fine here" when we’ve had dogs in our care for months or longer. If you want to learn more or share with others about the traumatic impact of the shelter environment, begin this collection by viewing A Trauma-Informed Approach to Understanding Shelter Dogs.
This collection contains information about caring for dogs while in the shelter with content about enrichment, housing, play and more.
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Contains 6 Component(s), Includes Credits
The impact of chronic trauma on animal behavior, how to prevent it and help animals recover.
Presenter: Dr. Sheila Segurson, Director, Maddie's Fund Research
As our communities become more informed about recognizing and responding to human trauma, there’s growing interest in the impact of chronic stress and trauma on animal behavior.
There’s a large volume of evidence that demonstrates the negative impact of trauma on human health and welfare. While research in animals isn’t focused on the concept of trauma, this session will share evidence that demonstrates the impact of stressful experiences on animal health and welfare. Acknowledgement of the role of trauma in animal behavior encourages us to be more understanding and respond more appropriately to undesirable or challenging behaviors that may be caused by trauma. This presentation will discuss practical ways you can prevent trauma and help animals to recover.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the impact of traumatic experiences on human and animal health and well-being.
- Understand why the shelter environment can be a traumatic experience for most animals
- Apply trauma-informed thinking to your interactions with animals
- Develop trauma-informed management plans for dogs and cats
Continuing Education:
- Earn 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits from The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and from the National Animal Care & Control Association.
- This course has been approved for 1.0 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions that recognize RACE approval through 3/5/26. Pass the quiz with a score of 70% or higher to access your CE certificate and then upload it to https://CEBroker.com. This is the broker that the AAVSB uses to track your continuing education credits.
Key Words: trauma, informed, approach, big, dog, masterclass, behavior, stress
BD Day 2
Sheila Segurson, DACVB
Director of Outreach and Research
Maddie's Fund
As Director of Outreach and Research for Maddie's Fund®, Dr. Sheila Segurson's goal is to develop and support research that increases pet adoptions from rescue groups and shelters and improves pet well-being. She relies upon her background working in and with animal shelters, pet foster care programs, and veterinary medicine to lead Maddie's Fund research efforts.
After graduating from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Segurson worked as a general practice/emergency/shelter veterinarian at pet hospitals in California. Then, in 2005, Sheila graduated from Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at UC Davis, becoming the first in the nation to complete a three-year, post-graduate behavior specialty training program with an emphasis on shelter animals and shelter behavior programs. She worked for several pet welfare organizations, including UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, The Sacramento SPCA, and the Animal Rescue League of Boston, where she developed and implemented enrichment/behavior modification programs.
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Contains 3 Component(s), Includes Credits
Learn about the benefits of getting a dog's food out of their food bowl and into a training and enrichment program.
Positive reinforcement training and enrichment exercises are some of the best ways to reduce kennel stress and increase adoptability for shelter dogs. This seminar teaches viewers about the benefits of getting a dog's food out of their food bowl and into a training and enrichment program. Whatever your shelter's budget, you'll learn about quick and easy ways that you can convert a dog's daily ration to an increased quality of life that are fun and achievable for canine and humans alike!
Presenter: Rebecca Lohnes, MS
Maximize In-Shelter Welfare, Increase Live Outcomes, Animal Behavior, Training & Enrichment, dog behavior, behavior problems,
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Contains 3 Component(s), Includes Credits
Best practices for housing animals in shelter settings.
With phenomenal progress being made in so many respects in animal shelters, it is time to really focus on how animals are being cared for and housed. Dr. Sandra Newbury, Extension Veterinarian for the Koret Shelter Medicine Program at University of California, Davis, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Shelter Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, gives a wonderful talk at the 2012 ASPCA/Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Conference on housing and environmental specifications that consider the physical and psychological well-being of animals in shelters.
Presenter: Sandra Newbury, DVM
Keywords: Maximize In-Shelter Welfare, Increase Live Outcomes, Animal & Population Management,housing,capacity for care,shelter design
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Contains 8 Component(s), Includes Credits
How to keep dogs as happy as possible in the animal shelters
This presentation was part of Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition (Day 2, Presentation 2)
Meeting the Needs of the Behaviorally Challenged Dogs in the Shelter
What is "a day in the life" like for the behavior dogs at our shelter? This session, led by Dr. Wailani Sung, Director of Behavior and Welfare Programs at the San Francisco SPCA, will review all the components that are needed to keep our shelter behavior dogs as happy and mentally healthy as possible through the use of daily management plans, enrichment schedules, volunteer involvement, behavior modification exercises and for some dogs, the use of behavioral medications.
Presenters: Wailani Sung, MS, PhD, DVM, DACVB, FFCP and Founder, Bay Area Vet Behavior
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Weekly Group Shelter Dog Obedience Classes at Shelby Humane
Joanna Pagel, Operations Director and Behavior Manager at Shelby Humane in Alabama, shares the goals and benefits of hosting a weekly group shelter dog obedience class. All kennel staff and volunteers are invited, and they focus on good leash manners, basic obedience, engagement practice, fun!
--------------------------------------Supporting Shelter Dogs with Behavior Plans at SICSA
In this video, Dr. Joyce Voss, Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Care at SICSA Pet Adoption and Wellness Center, provides a brief overview of SICSA’s process for meeting dogs’ needs with basic care, assessment, and behavior plans.
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This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association. It has also been submitted for approval for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize RACE approval. Complete the quiz to earn continuing education credit for CAWA, NACA and RACE. RACE CE is available until March 12, 2026.
Visit Maddie's Pet Forum to continue the conversation or ask questions about Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition:
https://maddies.fund/BXCampSupportingShelterDogsBehavioralHealth
Please email maddiesuniversity@maddiesfund.org if you have any technical questions.
keywords: Camp Maddie, behavior, Camp Maddie Behavior, Camp Maddie Behavior Edition, dog behavior
Wailani Sung, MS, PhD, DVM, DACVB, FFCP (Moderator)
Founder
Bay Area Vet Behavior
Wailani Sung, MS, PhD, DVM, DACVB was formerly the Director of Behavior and Welfare Programs, San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Dr. Wailani Sung obtained her Master’s degree, Doctorate in Psychology, and Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She achieved her board certification in veterinary behavioral medicine. Dr. Sung provides behavior consultations for privately owned pets and also oversees the shelter behavior program at the San Francisco SPCA. 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 renown trainer, Mikkel Becker. Dr. Sung also co-authored a chapter in “Decoding your Cat”. Dr. Sung has been a contributor to the websites, Pet Coach 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; Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Canine and Feline: 7th edition; Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarian and Staff, 2nd edition; Clinical Handbook of Feline Behavior Medicine. Dr. Sung was interviewed on the documentary, Cat Tales by NOVA: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/... and on the Netflix documentary, Inside the Mind of a Cat.
Joanna Pagel
Operation Director/Behavior Manager
Shelby Humane Society
Joanna Pagel is the Operations Director and Behavior Manager of Shelby Humane with over 10 years of canine behavior and care experience. Her career path has taken her through a range of positions including service and working dog trainer, vet and grooming tech, owner of a pet dog training business, and various shelter positions and professional relationships. After beginning her career years ago in her hometown shelter, she now finds herself having come full circle back into the rescue world. With her experience in difficult behavior cases, community outreach, and group training scenarios, she found herself to be quite at home in her current position. She feels blessed to be able to offer a unique and thoroughly experienced perspective on the struggles that shelter animals and workers alike can face daily. Joanna enjoys her precious free time with her 3 rescues mutts finding new spots to hike, competing in various dog sports, or practicing their mid-day nap skills.
Joyce Voss, DVM, PhD
Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Care
SICSA Pet Adoption and Wellness Center
Dr. Joyce Voss received her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, initially planning to become a physician. Late in her undergraduate career, she had an opportunity to work with dogs on a clinical level, and was hooked on veterinary medicine since. She received dual doctorate degrees, earning a DVM and a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California at Davis in 2006. She worked in general and emergency small animal practice for 10 years before transitioning to spay/neuter and shelter medicine at SICSA in 2016. Since 2020, she has served as the Director of Veterinary Services and Animal Care overseeing the veterinary clinic and animal care and enrichment, and since 2023, has been reinventing and growing the behavior and foster programs. She lives in the Dayton, OH area with her husband, Andrew, two teen sons, Aidan and Connor, and two cats, Purrcy Jackson and Piper.
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Contains 3 Component(s), Includes Credits
Design and implement games to help dogs with behavior issues.
Dogs and games go together - never more than when they're shelter dogs! Play, particularly play with humans, can reduce stress and improve behavioral and physical wellness for dogs in animal shelters. Games like tag and hide and seek can help dogs with poor impulse control, jumpy/mouthy dogs, shy or anxious dogs, and dogs with kennel stress feel better. These dogs then make a better impression on adopters, and transition to their adoptive home more easily.
But play isn't all fun and games! It's important for the shelter staff to design and implement such programs appropriately to get the most benefit from them.
Students will learn:
What constitutes healthy canine play
Why it is crucial for good health and well-being
Different types of play with an emphasis on dog-human play
How to "prescribe" play for enrichment and as a component of therapy for dogs with common behavior problems in the shelter
Presenter: Brenda Griffin, DVM, MS, DACVIM
canine playing, dog play, shelter dogs, canine enrichment, dog behavior, canine stress, shelter dogs, canine welfare, canine housing, canine behavior modification, canine conditioning, desensitization, habituation, play, training, Adjusting to a New Home, in-shelter welfare, Maximize physical and behavioral health, Animal Behavior, Training & Enrichment, foster dogs, webcast
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