Providing great customer service is critical to helping animals in our communities. How we support our clients has far-reaching ramifications for good or ill. This course first lays the groundwork for the connection between serving people and helping pets, as well as the elements of great customer service. Then it gives practical advice for developing the skills needed by anyone who interacts with clients or customers.

This course will be useful to anyone working in a shelter or rescue who interacts with the public. 

A review of research into reasons owners surrender dogs, with the surprising finding that behavior concerns were not a primary risk factor for owner surrender.

Presenter: Janis Bradley, MA, Director of Communications & Publications, National Canine Research Council

·       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.

Keywords: owner surrender dogs, dog behavior in shelters, canine behavior, behavioral incompatibilities and dog relinquishment to shelters, canine behavior evaluations for shelter dogs, Janice Bradley, National Canine Research Council, animal sheltering, big dogs, Big Dog Master Class, animal behavior, big dogs, large dogs, Maximize In-Shelter Welfare, Maximize physical and behavioral health, Animal & Population Management, Strategic & Operational Planning, Policies & Procedures, webcast

Through a series of short videos, this course explains concepts underlying dog handling in a shelter setting and demonstrates dog handling techniques. The course begins with fundamentals of dog handling in a shelter setting and then covers techniques for handling dogs who exhibit behaviors commonly seen in the stressful shelter environment. 

Keywords: Training, behavior 

This course focuses on both the principles of disease transmission and the techniques of preventing disease transmission in the shelter setting.  

This course has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

The course Canine Body Language in the Shelter focuses on understanding how dogs communicate what they are experiencing. The course includes a video followed by interactive materials to reinforce the learning. 

This course has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and National Animal Care & Control Association.

behavior, dogs, fear, training

This class will be useful to foster caregivers and adopters, as well as foster care managers. As a foster caregiver, you can have a huge impact on the life of your foster dog. Your care and attention is critical in helping that dog find the right match. As an adopter, your new dog needs your help to make a comfortable transition to a new environment. Short videos model techniques for introducing dogs to new people, interacting with children, house training, dealing with separation anxiety, and more. It is recommended you take this class in conjunction with the class Helping a New Dog Adjust, which will give you even more training tips.

This course has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

training, behavior, dogs, puppies, foster, adopter, adoption

Medical and husbandry care is important for the health and well being of all pets. However, the treatments we need to perform can be stress inducing for the pet. Even veterinary professionals can find it challenging to perform routine procedures while minimizing stress for pets. As a foster caregiver, pet owner, or shelter or rescue staff member or volunteer, you can help your pet be comfortable with treatments you may have to administer, from applying eye drops to something as simple as pet brushing. The training videos in this class were created for Maddie's Fund® by Fear Free. Although many of the strategies presented can work equally well for cats, the emphasis in the videos is on dogs. 

This course has been pre-approved for 0.75 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement.

behavior, cat, dog, training, medicine, medical

Can cats who are shy and fearful in the shelter still get adopted?

Yes, says board certified veterinary behavior specialist Dr. Sheila Segurson. Feline behavior while in a shelter is not always a good representation of that same cat's behavior in less stressful surroundings. Proper housing, handling, and, if needed, behavior modification can turn that hissing and hiding cat into a beloved family pet.

Cats who remain scared and fearful can have a happy outcome, too. Attendees will learn how to use the information gained in assessments and by observation to place them into either a home adoption program or barn and community cat programs.

In this presentation, you will learn:

What types of cats might show fear and fearful aggression

How to handle intake of shy and fearful cats

How to house and handle shy, fearful cats to reduce stress

How to treat shy and fearful cats with behavior modification, enrichment, medication and more

Options for rehoming shy, fearful cats

How to provide post-adoption support for these cats

Presenter: Sheila Segurson, DVM, DACVB

shy cats, fearful cats, behavior modification, cat behavior, rehoming cats, feline stress, feline assessment, feline behavior modification, re-Homing strategies, feline behavior, cat behavior, in-shelter welfare, maximize physical and behavioral health, Animal & Population Management, Animal Behavior, feline training, feline enrichment, cat behavior, webcast

In this video from Maddie's Fund® day-long session at the 2010 HSUS EXPO conference, you will learn that 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.

Presenter: Mike Fry

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

Presenter: Susan Krebsbach, DVM