Lecture 9

Learning Obj -types of behavior assessments -benefits and drawback of assessments -alt assessment -adoption matching

Why do we do behavior assessments in shelters

• safety of staff, other animals and the public

• determine best outcome for animal

  • adoption, foster, rescue, mandatory training, euthanasia

• improve animal well-being while in shelter

• reduce or acknowledge LOS

ASPCA’s position on behavior assessments

ASPCA acknowledges that

• it’s still unknown whether any particular source of info is more predictive of future behavior in a home than any other and,

• current scientific thinking on usefulness of behavior assessments in predicting aggressive behavior is inconclusive

• recommends that, unless aggressive behavior during an assessment is egregious, shelters should consider it valid only if corroborated in another environment

SAFER assessment (Safety Assessment for Evaluating Rehoming)

• developed by ASPCA in collab w/ research/behavior specialists, shelter staff piloting data

• common in practice to do SAFER for each dog (unless staff/behavior resources low)

  • other assessments available, however not commonly used/discontinued use (Match-Up II, Assess-a-pet)

• some components designed to help w/ adoptive home matching, but mainly designed to determine SAFETY of rehoming

• person doing assessment should be unfamiliar w/ animal to prevent bias

SAFER tools

• assessment room

  • ideal: large, quiet, relatively empty, at least 10’ x 10’ can work

• video cam and tripod

  • records every assessments

  • behaviors occurs quick and review can help what behavior was

  • quality control to review assessor handling and improvement provided

• assess-a-hand

  • used for 2 assessment items

• food bowls

  • food behavior item

  • appropriate size for dog

  • metal bowls preferred bc most easily slide across floor when manipulated

• 2 armless chairs

  • observer and assessor should be seated during the same items

• dry and canned dog food (at least 2 types)

  • food behavior assessment

  • mod value food (kibble mixed w/ canned)

  • 2 types provided if dog doesn’t like the 1st choice

• 2 to 3 toys

  • toy behavior item

  • big enough to be removed from dog’s mouth

  • varied textures and shapes

  • recommend rope and squeaky

• new unbasted rawhide per dog

  • large enough that it can be touch w/ assess-a-hand when dog has it in mouth

• buckle or martingale collar

  • during assessment, dog must wear collar w/ buckle or clasp that doesn’t tighten when leash is tugged

  • buckle collar preferred

• 6 ft leash

  • cotton web, nylon or leather leashes ½ in to 5/8 in in width strong and easy to handle

• optional sound machine

  • emit white noise to buffer noise outside assessment room

SAFER item 1: Look (Scoring and what it tells us)

Tells us

• how dog responds to gentle restraint

• how dog responds to eye contact from a stranger

SAFER item 2: Sensitivity (Scoring and what it tells us)

Tells us

• if dog has any touch sensitivity

• how dog responds to touch from strangers

• if we need to provide any warnings to future handlers

SAFER item 3: Tag (Scoring and what it tells us)

Tells us

• how the dog responds to fast movement/ stimuli

• if dog feels comfortable to engage in play

• if dog may present w/ fear-based aggression

• identify jumpy-mouthy behavior

SAFER item 4: Squeeze (Scoring and what it tells us)

Tells us

• if dog has any touch sensitivity

• how dog responds to mild restraint for up to 3 seconds

• how dog responds to repeated discomfort

SAFER item 5: Food (Scoring and what it tells us)

Tells us

• if dog has food-related aggression (resource guarding)

• severity of respond to food

• motivation of food as a reward

• potential to rehome into home w/ kids

SAFER item 5: Toy (Scoring and what it tells us)

Tells us

• if dog has toy/possession-related aggression (resource guarding)

• severity of respond to toy/rawhide

• motivation of toy/rawhide as a reward

• potential to rehome into home w/ kids

SAFER item 6: Dog-dog (Scoring and what it tells us)

Tells us

• if dog has dog related fear or aggression

• if dog has reactivity towards other dogs

• potential to rehome into home w/ other dogs

• are they dog selective

SAFER scoring

P = potential behavior modification and/or management

R = behavior modification and/or management strongly recommended

S = STOP item for safety reasons. Behavior modification and/or management strongly recommended. Move to food if SOP suggests

• for ex: if, during Look item, dog averted his eyes and was stiff and fearful, score is 2, the assessor would mark in X in the look column at row 2

Benefits and Drawbacks (SAFER assessments in dogs)

Benefits

• relatively short assessments (~10 min)

• helps to identify dogs that may benefit from behavior modification

• helps to identify adoptive home requirements/limitations (kids, dogs)

• provides precautions needed to safely manage dog in shelter and new home

Drawbacks

• doesn’t provide much info on adoptive home matching

• designed for dogs over 6 m (what’s used for puppies)

• questions about reliability/ validity of behavior translating into home

• behavior assessment is a snapshot of time, highly influence by animal’s current emotional state, stress level, and environment

Canine-ality asessment

• developed by ASPCA in collab w/ research/behavior specialists

• provides adult and puppy personalities

• offers customized pet matching to ensure client satisfaction when adopting a dog

• need to perform SAFER assessment first

• not common in practice to do Canine-ality assessment but most shelters do assign personality

• person doing assessment should be unfamiliar w/ animal to prevent bias

Canine-ality tools

Facility requirements and equipment

• get acquainted room

• outside fenced play area/yard

• high value dog treats (hot dogs, soft chewy treats)

• variety of dog toys (tennis balls, tug toys, plush squeaky toys)

• 6 ft leash w/ clasp (kennel ropes and slip leas not appropriate)

• watch, stopwatch, or clock w/ second hand

• TV/audio monitor

Props for get acquainted room

• comfortable but easy to clean chair

• trash can

• dog toy

• dog bed or blanket

• large crate

6 items to evaluate (canine-ality assessment)

in a novel room

1. left alone

   1. energy level/ house behavior

2. greeting

   1. sociability/ arousal

3. crate (doesn’t impact score)

4. play

   1. sociability.arousal

5. food motivation

   1. what they will work for

6. manners

   1. desirable behaviors for adopters

Total Score and Color (Canine-ality assessment)

Total score = persistence - lvl of training and attention

Color

• high persistence dogs (score bt 15-21) and coded green

  • dogs likely to work v hard for things they want. green dogs like to be kept busy and need stimulating outlets for their energy. do well w/ adopters who have plenty of persistence and can offer training, exercise, and creative activities to occupy these lively dogs

• moderate persistence dogs (score 7-14) and coded orange

  • will work for what they want but not as firmly committed to pursing their own agenda. Though may require some training, dogs are responsive, and thrive on regular interaction and activity in their lives

• mild persistence dogs (score 0-6) and coded purple

  • when they pursue something, likely to give up pursuit if they encounter obstacles or diverting alternative. ideal dogs for novice dog owners bc relaxed, tolerant, and well-mannered

Description (canine-ality assessment)

selecting personality that bests suits motivation of dog within color category

• socially motivated

  • life of party

    • green

  • goofball

    • orange

  • constant companion

    • purple

• internally motivated

  • free spirit

    • green

  • wallflower

    • orange

  • couch potato

    • purple

• externally motivated

  • go-getter

    • green

  • busy bee

    • orange

  • teacher’s pet

    • purple

Example of a Meet Your Match (MYM) and Canine-alities

Gloria

• 5 yr husky

• requires a lot of stimulation and training

• loves to go on long walk, always outside

• independent, doesn’t tend to work for food or social contact

Free spirit

• green coded/ high persistence

• internally motivated

Benefits and Drawbacks of Canine-ality Assessments in dogs

Benefits

• helps to match adopter to dog personality that best suits their lifestyle

• can tailor enrichment to best suit what animal needs/wants

• includes puppy (< 6 mo) personalities for MYM

Drawbacks

• v time consuming

• needs to be completed after SAFER

• may limit which dogs are seen/adopted

• questions about reliability/validity of behavior translating into home

• behavior assessment is a snapshot of time, highly influenced by animal’s current emotional state, stress level, and environment

Feline-ality assessment

• developed by ASPCA in collab w/ research/behavior specialists

• during development, found most shelter perform some form of in-cage and handling assessments

• offers customized pet matching to ensure client satisfaction when adopting a cat

• not common in practice to complete full Feline-ality assessment, most shelters do some variation of it

• person doing assessment should be unfamiliar w/ animal to prevent bias

Feline-ality tools

• assessment room (novel room)

  • 10’ X 10’

  • no hiding places

  • quiet and free of distractions

  • sound machine can be used to decrease outside noise

• silent stopwatches

• chair

  • plastic or metal (no absorbing odor and be able to disinfect)

• cat toys

  • clean toys

  • one of a: toy mouse, cat charmer, feather wand, and a ball

  • replace or wash

• cat carrier

  • disinfect carrier as needed

  • dry and have a chance to air after disinfection

• clipboard

11 items to evaluate (Feline-ality assessment)

In cage

1. body posture

   1. social behavior

2. greeting approach

   1. social behavior

3. cage condition

   1. novelty/adaptation

4. response when door is opened

in novel environment

5. intro to space

   1. social behavior

   2. novelty/adaptation

6. call and approach

   1. social behavior

7. response to open hand

   1. social behavior

8. stroking/petting

   1. social behavior

9. play

   1. social behavior (i think)

10. hug

    1. novelty/adaptation

11. sensitivity

    1. novelty/adaptation

Feline-ality assessment (Valiance and Color)

Valiance = response to novel stimuli, being valiant

Color

• total of 0-13 = low valiance

  • purple cat

• total of 14-28 = medium valiance

  • orange cat

• total of 29-43 = high valiance

  • green cat

Feline-ality assessment (Description)

Independent-gregarious scale = social behavior towards humans

• total of 2-10 = independent

• total of 11-20 = social

• total of 21-32 = gregarious

Meet Your Match (Feline-alities)

Feline-alities example

• Dusty

  • 10 yr old DSH cat

  • easily adaptable to new environments

  • low stress seen in cage

  • loves to play

  • easy to handle

  • runs to front of cage when staff enters the room

Leader of band

Benefits and Drawbacks (Feline-ality assessments in cats)

Benefits

• helps to match adopter to cat personality that best suits their lifestyle

• can tailor enrichment to best suit animals needs/wants

• identify best enclosure for animal (cage, room, foster)

Drawbacks

• v time consuming

• designed for adult cats, kitten results would be skewed and not reflective of adult behavior

• may limit which cats are seen/adopted

• questions about reliability/ validity of behavior translating into home

• behavior assess,ent is a snapshot of time, highly influenced by animal’s current emotional state, stress level and environment

In-shelter behavior assessments

How can we improve validity of assessments

• review history of animal, if surrendered ensure intake history is gathered

• review animal’s history during medical examinations (in shelter and history

• daily monitoring

  • how does animal behave in their day-to-day interactions w/ people

• continuously update info

Adoptions (matching and other details)

• matching and automated programs exist but depend on shelter resources

• often case-by-case basis

• many adoptions occur by viewing the animals

• owners may adapt their lifestyle to fit an animal they viewed and wanted

• adoption matching: helps ensure a better fit between pets and families, reducing the likelihood of pets being returned due to mismatches

adopters (matching and things to consider)

• personality type

• activity lvls

• how often are they home

• dwelling/ yard type

• what types of activities do they want to do

• is there anything they won’t work w/ don’t want in a pet

• current animals/ family members

• animal experience