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Doggy Death Panels

  

Category:  Pets & Animals

Via:  johnrussell  •  7 years ago  •  16 comments

Doggy Death Panels

Dr. Sara Bennett administered a behavior test to a pit bull mix named Elsey at Indianapolis Animal Care Services in May. Credit A J Mast for The New York Times

 

nytimes.com

Is This Dog Dangerous? Shelters Struggle With Live-or-Die Tests


Jan Hoffman

The 10- to 20-minute tests, developed by behaviorists and tweaked by practitioners, ask two basic questions: Will the dog attack humans? What about other dogs?

Evaluators may observe the dog react to a large doll (a toddler surrogate); a hooded human, shaking a cane; an unfamiliar leashed dog or a plush toy dog.

But these tests have never been rigorously validated.

Dr. Bennett’s 2012 study of 67 pet dogs, which compared results of two behavior tests with owners’ own reporting, found that in the areas of aggression and fearfulness, the tests showed high percentages of false positives and false negatives. A 2015 study of dog-on-dog aggression testing showed that shelter dogs responded more aggressively to a fake dog than a real one.

Janis Bradley of the National Canine Research Council , co-author with Dr. Patronek of the analysis published last fall, suggested that shelters should instead devote limited resources to “observing the many interactions that happen between dogs and people in the daily routine of the shelter.”

But Kelley Bollen, a behaviorist and shelter consultant in Northampton, Mass., maintained that a careful evaluation can identify potentially problematic behaviors. Much depends on the assessor’s skill, she added.

In fact, no qualifications exist for administering evaluations. Interpreting dogs, with their diverse dialects and complex body language — wiggling butts, lip-licking, semaphoric ears and tails — often becomes subjective.

Indianapolis Animal Care Services , which admitted 8,380 dogs to its municipal shelter in 2016, is often overcrowded and understaffed, yet faces intense scrutiny to save dogs while protecting the public. Last year it euthanized 718 dogs for behavior, based on testing and employee interactions. The agency consulted Dr. Bennett, a shelter specialist, to better manage that difficult balance.

Even as she demonstrated assessments for staff members, Dr. Bennett noted another factor that renders results suspect: the unquantifiable impact of shelter life on dogs.

 


Dogs thrive on routine and social interaction. The transition to a shelter can be traumatizing, with its cacophony of howls and barking, smells and isolating steel cages. A dog afflicted with kennel stress can swiftly deteriorate: spinning; pacing; jumping like a pogo stick; drooling; and showing a loss of appetite. It may charge barriers, appearing aggressive.

Conversely, some dogs shut down in self-protective, submissive mode, masking what may even be aggressive behavior that only emerges in a safe setting, like a home.

Little dogs can become more snippy. But no matter what evaluations may show, they always seem to get a pass. “I’ll warn, ‘He nips and snarls,’” recounted Laura Waddell, a seasoned trainer who does volunteer evaluations for Liberty Humane Society in Jersey City, N.J. “And I get back: ‘I don’t care! I’m in love!’”

One way to reduce kennel stress, Ms. Sadler, the shelter consultant, said, is through programs like hers, Dogs Playing for Life, which matches dogs for outside playgroups. Shelter directors say it is a more revealing and humane way to evaluate behavior . The approach is used at many large shelters, including in New York City, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

The most disputed of the assessments is the food test. Research has shown that shelter dogs who guard their food bowls, as Bacon did, do not necessarily do so at home.

The exercise purports to evaluate “resource guarding” — how viciously a dog will protect a possession, such as food, toys, people. Common-sense owners wouldn’t grab a dog’s food while it is eating. But shelters worry about children.

Dr. Bennett suggested that Bacon’s bite of the fake hand didn’t necessitate a draconian outcome. With counseling, she said, a household without youngsters would be fine.

The shelter workers dearly wanted to save Bacon. But they were so overwhelmed that they did not have the capability to match him appropriately and counsel new owners.

So Bacon remained at the shelter for several weeks, waiting. Finally, Linda’s Camp K9 , an Indiana pet-boarding business that also rescues dogs, took him on. He settled right down and recently was adopted. Linda Candler, the director, placed him in a home without young children, teaching the owners how to feed him so he wouldn’t be set up to fail.

“His potential made him stand out,” Ms. Candler said. “Bacon is amazing.”


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JohnRussell
Professor Principal
link   seeder  JohnRussell    7 years ago

More people looking for a dog should use adoption from shelters. That is the only way to minimize this.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   Kavika     7 years ago

Shelter life can be difficult on dogs. Our no kill shelter adopted out over 800 dogs and cats last year, more than they took in. We have a regular group of people that work with the dogs giving them a ''human'' sense and helping with the stress of the shelter. 

 

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
link   seeder  JohnRussell  replied to  Kavika   7 years ago

shelters are difficult places, when i got my last dog from a shelter, i saw some people hurrying out of the viewing area. they could not tolerate the barking crying and all around commotion in the cages. you can just see the desperation in some of these animals eyes

 
 
 
The Old Breed Marine
Freshman Silent
link   The Old Breed Marine    7 years ago

Mankind cannot even act as surrogate custodians of animals without totaling failing. 

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
link   Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  The Old Breed Marine   7 years ago

Apparently not. 

 
 
 
Larry Hampton
Professor Participates
link   Larry Hampton    7 years ago

Humans walked upright, and noted that the top dog was indeed canids. They hunted, raised young and lived in packs unlike any other large predator, and even unlike our ancestors. The pack was a great model for human tribes, and probably gained credence for that reason as we attempted to make our way. Then when we finally reached a point in our co-evolution canids willingly became part of our pack, to the point of allowing us control of their evolution. They watched our flocks. They protected our families. They were loyal beyond belief. They became man's best friend. Then we tortured and murdered them.

 
 
 
Randy
Sophomore Participates
link   Randy    7 years ago

This is our shelter dog, Bo. We've had him a bit more then a week and he seems to be coming out of his shell. For the first few days every time you tried to pet him he would flatten on the floor and duck, like he was expecting to get hit. He was picked up as a stray and is a bit thin, but we'll fix that.

DSC_8766.JPG

 

DSC_8761.JPG

 
 
 
Larry Hampton
Professor Participates
link   Larry Hampton  replied to  Randy   7 years ago

What a sweetie!

Hello Bo!

 
 
 
Randy
Sophomore Participates
link   Randy  replied to  Larry Hampton   7 years ago

I named him Boris, but my wife kept calling him Bo for short and now that's all he answers to. Blast!

He likes Sally, though she usually ignores him, but Molly seems to be waiting for us to take him back. Especially when he gets in my lap, where she thinks only she belongs.

 
 
 
Larry Hampton
Professor Participates
link   Larry Hampton  replied to  Randy   7 years ago

Lol; jealous nellies everyone of them...

:~)

So glad you guys got to add him to the home.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
link   Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Larry Hampton   7 years ago

I see that daddy loves his new baby! He's a cutie, Randy! 

 
 
 
Randy
Sophomore Participates
link   Randy  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A.   7 years ago

And just a tad spoiled too. I think he is finally realizing just what he's gotten himself into. Big hugs

There is an issue with the chat function. Please bare with us as we work on the issue. Thanks.  

What are we supposed to bare with you?

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
link   Kavika     7 years ago

I'm cute beyond comprehension. I'm a great protector as well and I love ''Greeenies'' do you have one for me?IMG_0799 1.JPG

 
 

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