Created in partnership with the San Diego Humane Society, a DOGS RULE. grant recipient, “Welcome Committee: Helping Dogs Transition to the Shelter” delves into strategies and practices shelters can use to enhance the welfare of dogs from their very first moment in animal shelters.
The Welcome Committee initiative was created to address the unique challenges faced by dogs experiencing fear, anxiety and stress in the shelter. The toolkit outlines the comprehensive approach the initiative takes, including multiple departments from Admissions and Operations Leadership to Animal care, Behavior & Training and Volunteer Engagement. Further, the toolkit explores the program’s core components, like enriched housing, additional enrichment activities, and focused, practical behavior plans.
Click here to read the toolkit.
The toolkit is accompanied by two webinars. The first, featuring Amanda Kowalski (M.S., CAWA, UW-AAB, CPDT-KA), Fernando Diaz (CSBS, CDBC, CPDT-KA, FFCP), Shannon Feeney (CSBS CPDT-KA, FPPE), took place on March 27. Click below to watch the recording.
The second webinar, “Training for Staff and Volunteers: Lessons Learned through the Welcome Committee,” explored the training components of the Welcome Committee educational program, including the structured educational framework developed to ensure staff and volunteers are well-versed in modern, science-based canine behavior and training protocols. This includes a detailed look at the program’s required courses, the implementation of chunked learning for effective knowledge retention and the integration of assessment components to gauge learning outcomes. Further, it covered the challenges and triumphs of designing and implementing an impactful educational program within the shelter environment. Click below to watch the recording.
