Hover to pan and click to magnify. Click again to pan at full screen.
Amanda J. Kowalski, MS, Mara J. Velez, MA
San Diego Humane Society, Shelter Playgroup Alliance
ABSTRACT:
The Welcome Committee program was developed (2018) to address the fear, anxiety, and stress (FAS) experienced by canines entering a southern California animal shelter. In 2023, a 16-week virtual behavior program was launched as a training aid for staff and volunteers to implement the program. The goals of the virtual behavior program were to increase understanding of animal learning, communication, counter-conditioning plans, and low-stress handling skills. A previous study found that formalized behavior education programs have demonstrated improvement in staff and volunteer knowledge and safety in the shelter setting (Lily et al., 2022). This new project is divided into two phases: (1) evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the virtual program on staff and volunteer knowledge, skills, and confidence; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of counter-conditioning behavior plans on canine FAS during the first four days in a shelter. This poster will report the preliminary results of participant surveys taken before and immediately after the program concludes.
DISQUS COMMENTS WILL BE SHOWN ONLY WHEN YOUR SITE IS ONLINE