The Best Medicine: Playing With Shelter Dogs

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