Category: Behavior Program

Seattle Animal Shelter Behaviorist Tina helps animals and humans live better together 

Posted on by Tom

By Madeline Johnson 

The Shelter Behaviorist role, crucial to many animals’ success at the Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS), was created thanks to and continues to be made possible by the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF). Tina Hope took on this position at SAS in July 2023. Recently we talked with her about her work at the shelter and in the community, the importance of improving human and animal relationships, and how it impacts the animals she works with. 

Tina and Kafka 

What is a behavior success story that you were a part of recently? 

T: Kafka! He’s a 110-pound Giant Mastiff mix dog who was surrendered to us in February, due to his owner losing their housing. He had some resource-guarding tendencies, and he had one minor bite on his record, due to a bandage being changed on his arm. The owner wasn’t quite sure how to manage the resource-guarding, and they were having trouble finding housing with a dog his size. When he came in he was very fearful and had intense barrier reactivity (which can sometimes go away as soon as you open the door), and touch sensitivity. Understandably though, he was intimidating to a lot of people. I started working with him through the kennel, tossing treats to him, and got him to be less reactive to the kennel barrier. I opened the door, asked him to go for a walk, and we went for a walk. He was very wary of me so it took a couple weeks for me to be able to touch him, but by the end of it he would climb up and sit in my lap (even though he didn’t fit). He was adopted in September by two folks who he immediately took to. 

While he was here, Kafka actually helped another dog named Merci. Merci was a victim of significant physical abuse and was very anxious around humans. In my work I’ve often found that some dogs who are victims of abuse will feel more confident and comfortable in the presence of another dog. He gave her space, he let her come to him, he helped us introduce new people to her on paired walks. I don’t know that we could have helped her come around as quickly as we did if it wasn’t for him. He’s a success story and he created another one too. 

What’s your background in animal welfare? Have you worked for other shelters/rescues before? 

Tina: I’ve been working professionally in animal welfare training and husbandry for about 18 years. I started my professional career with horses, but I’ve worked with a number of species including dogs, cats, fish, guinea pigs, goats, birds, reptiles, pigs, and more. Prior to moving to Seattle, I worked at a high-intake shelter in California, the Municipal Shelter for the City of San Jose. There were a lot of differences between sheltering in California and Seattle as far as what challenges we faced on a daily basis, although some of the problems remain the same. When I started there we had about a 50% positive outcome, which was very low, and during my 8 years on the team we were able to build the positive outcome rate to 89% by the time I left. Part of that was I developed their first behavior program, and coordinated rescue transfers, including large transports of dogs to Southwest Washington Humane Society, in Vancouver Washington. So I came up here during a drought in California, it was green and pretty, and found that Seattle was for me. 

What’s one of your biggest challenges in your work? 

T: One of the biggest challenges is the lasting impacts we see from systemic racism, ableism, and classism, and how humans and non-human animals are treated, viewed, and often dismissed by the organizations that have been established to provide support. We are still operating as a punitive institution from the Animal Control perspective, so trying to bridge that gap to being more of a community support organization is our challenge. We’re really fortunate to have our Director Esteban because he’s leading the charge, getting those things in motion. You wouldn’t necessarily think that it impacts Behavior but it definitely does, because we see animals coming in that maybe don’t need to come in, ones that we potentially could have diverted a surrender if we were able to provide some behavior training or support, so it really all trickles down. So we’re working on creating more of a community organization that is here to help keep animals at home unless of course those homes are mistreating them. 

As this behavior program continues to grow, we’re hoping to get to a place where adopted dogs and their families can come back and do training classes, and maybe an internship program for at-risk youth. I’m big on sharing the knowledge and getting everybody involved if they’re interested. And for me it’s important that we are reaching into communities that we haven’t historically served or had positive relationships with, and building that up. 

What drew you to the animal behavior field? 

T: Animal and human behavior has always fascinated me. I grew up in California, and when I was 7 or 8 years old I would exhaust my mom by always asking her to go to the animal shelter, Santa Cruz SPCA. I would sit in front of their kennels and just talk to them. I had my own dogs (I like to say I was raised by pitties), and ever since I was a small kid I was really interested in animals and just felt this very strong connection with them. I’ve always wanted to be able to better communicate with them and better understand their needs. We ask them to live with us, we ask them to do things that aren’t species-specific behaviors, and I wanted to get a better understanding of the ways they think and how we can help improve our relationships with them.  

Animal shelters in particular I really enjoy working in because it gives the opportunity to reach folks and animals on a grander scale. In my day I get to talk with volunteers, my co-workers, members of the community, and help them all better understand their animals and the animals they’re interacting with. As far as working with the community, it’s really great to be able to start a conversation where this person feels like they’re doing everything wrong, and end the conversation with them feeling empowered and they have the tools to be a good pet parent.  

Tina at the Seattle Animal Shelter with a fuzzy friend 

It seems like it’s a real calling for you! It also seems like so much of this work is about improving the relationship between the humans and the animals – it’s not just a human training an animal, it’s the relationship, connection, and how you’re understanding each other.  

T: Definitely. We tend to forget the human side of it, but until we help the humans heal, we can’t really help them help the animals they’re working with. 

Why is behavior training important? 

T: Training really helps build that bond between the human and the animal. It’s a give-and-take of trying to understand what the other being wants. You can gain that trust and bond with cohabitation, but training helps form that language between the two of you on a deeper level, so you can coexist more harmoniously. 

What is one of your most eye-opening or teaching moments in your work? 

T: When I first started in sheltering, I was helping a person who wanted to surrender their dog for some behavior reasons and also wanted to adopt a dog back-to-back. I was upset with them, went to my supervisor to talk about it, and she told me something that still resonates with me today. She said, “Let’s start with they showed up here today, and that was the right thing to do. And then we can figure out what’s happening with this dog that they think they can’t hold on to. Then move on from there.” Once I gave them that space to talk, I learned it was more that the dog wasn’t getting along with the children at home, he was showing significant fear, and they were worried he wasn’t having his best life. Once I gave them room to tell their whole story, it all made sense, and I knew they did do the right thing by bringing this dog in. If they hadn’t, he probably would’ve eventually bit the kids, since he might feel he had no other choice in communicating. That was a turning point for me in the way that I realized that I’m not here just to help these animals, I’m here to help these humans too. 

Seems like having that empathy for the humans in that situation actually turned around and helped the dog as well, because it benefits both parties to find the right fit. 

What would you say to people interested in animal behavior/animal behavior training? 

T: It’s important to keep your mind open if you’re interested in animal behavior because there are so many ways to approach and operate in the field and help animals and humans at the same time. I think if you’re just starting out volunteering with the species you’re interested in working with, try things like volunteering at your local shelter, aquarium, and local groups to get a better idea of what part of behavior you’re interested in. There’s a lot you can do within this field, and it’s important to cut out the misinformation, be a good student, do your research, and think about the impact on the animal that you’re working with. Make sure that you are allowing them their autonomy and allowing them to choose to participate in the training or not, and not forcing any training on them. 

The SAS Animal Behavior team and training program is financially supported by donors of the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation. Visit the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation‘s website to donate. 

And to learn more about adopting animals, visit the Seattle Animal Shelter website at https://www.seattle.gov/animal-shelter.  

Scary world turns welcoming thanks to a new friend

Posted on by JenniferW JuliaL

For most dogs, going into a shelter is an overwhelming experience. There’s noise, strange smells and a lot of uncertainty. And these feelings were magnified exponentially for little Tarsier, a mini-Aussie/retriever mix. 

After being found on the streets of Capitol Hill and brought to Seattle Animal Shelter, Tarsier was immediately identified as a pup in need of additional support. She was placed in Shelter Behaviorist Tina Hope’s office to get one-on-one attention as well as a little peace. Tina spent the day with Tarsier trying to socialize her a bit, but she still wasn’t eating well or engaging with toys. 

An urgent call for foster ended up with Tarsier going home with shelter staff member Jeff. Once there, Tarsier was still showing a lot of fear, specifically hesitancy around going outside. Tina worked diligently with Jeff to manage this behavior with a specific plan suited for his environment, with clear goals and steps on what to do.  

“Bringing home Tarsier was an invaluable experience in demonstrating how we can help facilitate the space for agency in fearful dogs,” Jeff said. “With the help of Tina’s multi-step plan, we were able to have Tarsier be able to choose to go outside on her terms rather than carrying her outside, which could increase long lasting anxiety or stress by removing her agency.”  

Tarsier wasn’t in foster for long. This darling girl with soulful eyes caught the attention of Kim Bryan of Edmonds, who was visiting the shelter with her 13-year-old son to see if they could find a good companion for their current shepherd mix, Finn.  

“We just had this feeling, because we had Finn and we knew his temperament, that she might do better having a dog friend,” Kim said. “We knew any adopted dog who has gone through trauma would have challenges, but we were OK with that.” 

For Tarsier (now Olive), it was bonding at first sight.  

“Finn was so relaxed when he first met Olive that when she first spotted him she immediately perked up. She was still scared, but immediately started watching him and following him. The first ‘puppyness’ we saw was when she met our dog.” 

It was an obvious decision that Olive would go home with them. Kim got a lot of support from shelter staff around Olive’s needs.  

“They were great, Jeff in particular. He let us know what he’d been working on with her, which was promoting puppy behaviors. Oftentimes people are trying to get their puppies to mature, but if she jumped for joy or spun around, he would praise her for that. That was good for us to know. In our two meetings with Olive before adoption, shelter staff allowed us as much time as Olive needed. They sat on the floor with us, helped us introduce our dog Finn to Olive in a safe, drama-free way, and let us know how to best interact with Olive, who was very, very cautious at first. It feels like the shelter staff get to the core of what’s going on with each dog quite quickly: Olive was only there five or six days and they already understood her really well.”  

“On that very first day she would go up to the door and stop, but she kept watching Finn go in and out. I swear he told her, ‘It’s fine.’ By the end of the day she was going out on her own, following along behind Finn.” 

And now, two months later, Olive is living her best life. She loves playing with water, and especially playing with Finn.  

When Kim brought Olive home she had a gradual introduction planned, but Olive had other ideas.  

“They wrestle, play tug of war, they race. She’s very confident in saying, ‘You’re going to play with me now.’ They are very bonded.”  

When the family visits their Anderson Island cabin, now Olive comes along, too.  Her earlier caution has given way to a huge curiosity. Her current fascination is standing for long moments in the yard, watching the island deer. 

“It’s quite remarkable,” Kim says, “because she was literally afraid of the outdoors,  and now she’s the first one out the door.” 

The Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation funds many shelter programs, including the Behavior Program. To learn more about the Behavior Program click here, or follow this link for information on how to donate.  

Behavior program gets to the heart (and mind) of the matter

Posted on by Tom

For an animal, being involuntarily away from its home can bring up all kinds of emotions. Just like it would for a person. But without words, the feelings emerge as behaviors, which can be problematic.  

The Seattle Animal Shelter tackles these issues with care, knowledge and respect, thanks to its specialized Behavior Program.  

“Dogs and cats are social animals. They do best where they have social companionship,” said Dr. Sheila Segurson, Director of Outreach and Research for Maddie’s Fund and a behavior consultant for the shelter. “Oftentimes animals aren’t being housed with their best friends. The big things lacking in shelters are the companionship piece and control over their environment. It’s such a big factor in terms of wellbeing for animals.” 

This team of 10 people is a volunteer-based program that aims to correct behaviors that could be barriers to adoption. The program has a manager position that is fully funded by the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation. The first person to take on that role, Kimberlee Spicer, moved on in June 2022. 

“She did a great job collaborating with foster parents and foster leads,” said Tracy Bahrakis, Seattle Animal Shelter’s manager of animal care. “She would try to connect pets with the right parents and then help troubleshoot with parents of pets in foster homes. She did a great job taking the program from part-time into (something) really robust.” 

The program is now in a transitional period, evaluating its needs while looking to hire a new manager. SAS is working with Dr. Segurson, DVM, who has advanced specialty training in animal behavior, to identify shelter needs and develop the job description for the new leader. 

“Seattle is so lucky that the (Seattle Animal Shelter) Foundation funds this position,” Dr. Segurson said. “Even having one funded position is really not enough — this person is responsible for supporting the welfare of all animals in care: helping them get adopted, support them after adoption, and to prevent animals from coming in with regard to behavior. This position relies so heavily on volunteers.” 

Dr. Segurson has been working to help define the scope of this role and match resources to needs. Goals looking forward include stronger focus on supportive training for staff, volunteers, and foster and adoptive parents to decrease stress in shelter – supporting the animal throughout its journey.  

Watch this video to learn more about the Behavior Program and animals that the volunteers and staff have helped. 

The program will continue to shift away from just doing behavior modification in the shelter and instead using techniques to support adopters and keep the animal in its home, out of the shelter in the first place. Shelter behaviors can be artificially stimulated and not reflect the true personality of the animal. 

“The future program in behavior is about the mental health of the animal, really focusing on enrichment,” said Jocelyn Bouchard, deputy director of the Seattle Animal Shelter. “Some animals don’t do well in a shelter setting. To move them into foster and work with them in foster is all part of it. We’re making sure we’re doing everything to minimize stress and care for their mental health.”  

“The general goals haven’t changed,” she said. “It’s to save more lives and to help rehome these animals in a way that they’re going to be successful. How we’re going about it will change a little.” 

_________ 

To support the important and valuable programs Seattle Animal Shelter runs, like the Behavior Program, consider donating to the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation. 
___________ 

From Helpless to Happy: How Rue Found Her Courage

Posted on by Leah Traxel

When Rue came to the Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS) in October 2021, she could barely look at anyone. For weeks, the four-year-old American pitbull terrier mix remained curled up in the corner, averting eye contact, and avoiding all human interactions. The more staff and volunteers tried to engage with her, the tighter she curled up against the wall, even staying in that position overnight.

One of the shelter’s more difficult cases, Rue was rescued by the Seattle Police Department from a hotel room, where she was found penned in her own waste alongside several other dogs. Her companions were covered in scars consistent with dog fighting. While SAS’s medical examination showed Rue to be physically well, her emotional scars ran deep.

Rue scared
Shortly after arriving to SAS, Rue curled up in fear.

“If you looked at her, moved towards her—even to just place a food bowl down—she would curl up tighter or push herself even further against the wall,” said SAS’s lead behaviorist Kimberlee Spicer. “We would attempt to take her out on walks, but she did not want to move. If we needed to get her out to clean her kennel, she would walk with a tense body—tail tucked, ears back, closed tight mouth, and pupils dilated.”

Kimberlee explained that Rue was exhibiting behaviors consistent with a condition known as learned helplessness, which can develop when a dog is repeatedly frightened or abused and learns to shut down, believing they have no control.

SAS’s behavior team immediately stepped in to help, starting by moving Rue out of her kennel and into a quieter shared office space. Typically, a behavior training session consists of walks, treats, and lively positive reinforcement. For Rue, the trainer would come into the office, sit down at a comfortable distance, read to her for several minutes, drop a tasty treat on the floor, and then slip back out.

Rue and Kimberlee at the shelter
Kimberlee sits with Rue in a non-threatening manner.

Progress was slow and steady. Rue would not eat in front of anyone (a significant show of trust for a dog) or move from her corner, even to go to the bathroom. But around a month into the behavior program after constant and consistent support, Rue began improving, moving about the office space, taking a treat from an outstretched palm, and allowing the staff and volunteers to take her on brief walks around the parking lot.

Rue dog getting pets
After a brief walk with Kimberlee, Rue allows a shelter volunteer to pet her.

Finally, Rue was taken in by an amazing foster family. Her foster parents, Krista and Andrew, were endlessly patient with her, allowing her the time, space, and praise to learn to be a normal dog again. They worked with Rue on house training, leash training, being around people, exploring the yard. They also exposed her to different people and rooms in the home, sounds and textures.

Rue especially benefited from being around her foster brothers and sisters. While she was hesitant to seek out interactions with them, she was observant, watching how the other dogs behaved and slowly mirroring their behaviors.

Rue
Rue takes cues on how to relax from watching other dogs.

After two and a half months in foster, Rue was adopted on February 9, 2022. Some animals will backtrack when they are adopted, but Rue leaped forward. Less than a week after her adoption, she was eating in the kitchen (not in her crate), sleeping on a dog bed in an open room, and spending time with her new family in the open living spaces. Like her namesake, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she was courageous.

Her new favorite activities are performing zoomies and leaping over the small stream in her backyard; taking car rides with her little head out the back window; and eating vanilla ice cream from Salt & Straw with her big brother, Spike, another SAS rescue.

“Our goal was to get Rue’s little tail to wag, even just once, by her 1-year ‘Gotcha Day’ (adoption) anniversary,” said Shannon Ryan, her adoptive mom. “I am happy to report that Rue’s little tail now wags daily, and it makes my heart so happy every time I see it.”

Successes like this would not be possible without the continued generosity of SASF donors, who provide support for programs such as dog behavior training and the vet clinic. If you are interested in supporting the important work SAS does in getting animals to their forever homes, consider joining the annual Furry 5K. Held at Seward Park on June 12, 2022, the proceeds from this fun walk/run go directly to the Help the Animals Fund at the Seattle Animal Shelter, which supports medical care for pets in need.

Rue dog snuggles
Roo is comfortable in her forever home and loves snuggling with her new mom.
Rue dog snuggles

Meet SAS Animal Behaviorist Lead – Kimberlee Spicer

Posted on by Carol Eicher

Kimberlee Spicer is the Animal Behaviorist Lead at Seattle Animal Shelter. She started at SAS in January 2020. We recently had the chance to chat with her about what she does as an animal behaviorist and why it’s important.

What is your background? Have you worked for other shelters/rescues before?

I started volunteering with cats when I was 13 years old at my local pet store. At the ages of 15-18, I spent a lot of my free time just visiting shelters in southern California and sitting outside kennels, talking and petting the dogs. I was that kid that when I was over at my friend’s house — I usually was spending time with their pets vs. playing or hanging out with my friends.

Growing up, we always had cats. But it wasn’t until I was 8 years old when we adopted my first dog at a local adoption event. Ironically, I picked the shutdown, terrified-of-the-world 1-year old shepherd mix. It wasn’t until I started working with animals professionally that I realized my first dog was a “behavior case.” He was under socialized, fearful of strangers (especially men), sound sensitive, and had a lot of body-handling sensitivities.

I started working with animals professionally about 9.5 years ago when I was hired as an adoption counselor at Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville, WA. I very quickly realized that working with animals is exactly where I needed and wanted to be. At that time, we did not have a behavior department and animals were not being trained. About a year into working there, leadership announced they were going to work with a veterinary behaviorist on a dog that came into the shelter and they wanted to know if we knew volunteers that may be interested in implementing the training. That piqued my interest, and I responded asking if staff could also participate in the training. With the training, I got to work with one of the 72 veterinary behaviorists in the country, Dr. Wailani Sung, MS, PhD, DVM, DACVB. Being able to work with Dr. Sung, get her feedback, and seeing a dog progress with the use of evidenced-based positive reinforcement training just lit a fire in me and the rest is history.

Since then, I have become a certified canine behavior consultant (CBCC-KA), certified professional dog trainer (CPDT-KA) and Fear Free Certified Professional. I have attended countless workshops given by top veterinary behaviorists like Dr. Sung.

I literally spend my downtime reading behavior books and watching webinars… there is so much information out there! While it can be overwhelming sometimes, I am just grateful that the animal training world is evolving and people are really considering how our learners are feeling.

Why do you work in the animal behavior field?

I work in the animal field because it is part of who I am. My passion truly is working with behavior case animals in a shelter environment, and I am humbled to do what I love every day. I enjoy having a better understanding why animals, humans included, do what they do. It is having that understanding and asking ourselves, “What is going on in the environment that is making the learner respond in that way, and how can I change that for them?” is just so fascinating to me. I also thoroughly enjoy the education component. Despite what people may think, working in the animal behavior field requires working with people A LOT! I enjoy that piece and find it crucial because I am just one person; I can’t do behavior modification with every animal in every shelter, but I can share my knowledge with others so they can implement strategies with their own pets or animals in shelters.

What is your favorite part about your job at SAS?

Gosh, just one?! I enjoy almost all aspects of my job. I am grateful to be working with such an amazing group of staff members that work day and night and are dedicated to the betterment of animals and people. I am grateful to work with such a dedicated group of volunteers that devote so much of their time, resources and love to help our animals.

I thrive when working with the animals and feel so humbled to be a chapter in their lives… but if I truly had to pick just one favorite part of my job, it would be getting that post-adoption email that the animal you worked so hard on training, enrichment, foster support, adoption counseling, etc., found their forever home and is thriving. Knowing that an animal may have been euthanized elsewhere, if weren’t for the behavior programs I am lucky to be a part of, is one of the most rewarding parts of the job — I would call it my favorite part.

What is a behavior success story that you were a part of recently?

To learn more about adopting dogs, visit the Seattle Animal Shelter website.

Each story has an element of success, as there is always something I can take from each animal and learn and grow from. Recently, I worked with an adoptable dog named Tippi. She has fear-based aggression towards people; I am sure you can imagine a dog who is uncomfortable with people, then put in a shelter with nothing but strangers, can be a scary picture. We gave her a few days to decompress, and I began working with her through a baby gate. After a couple of sessions, I was able to take her on walks — and within a week, she was walking with all staff. The week after, she was working with our entire dog behavior team. It turns out Tippi is incredibly smart and so affectionate with her people. She has flourished in a foster home, and they are teaching her tricks every day. While it takes her a little time to warm up to new people, once you are in, you are in and she loves you for life! Tippi is another dog that if she ended up elsewhere, she may not have had the same chance or opportunities as she has had at SAS.

Why is behavior training important?

I believe the most important thing someone could do for their pets is just take the time to learn about animal body language. A lot of the time we hear from people, “it came out of nowhere,” when in reality our animals are communicating to us all the time — but most people just don’t have the knowledge or training to understand what our animals are saying to us and miss the signals they are sharing with us.
A lot of negative situations and outcomes can be avoided if more people had more education about animal body language. Training is so important on many levels: it helps create a bond between the person and their learner; it helps our learners understand what we may want from them; and most importantly, it is a great form of mental enrichment for our animals. It is not just enough to put a roof over our animals’ heads and feed them — we should be engaging our animals with daily mental and physical enrichment. A handful of behavior challenges are present because our animals are bored and frustrated; if we take the time to understand what they are communicating to us and implement that daily mental and physical enrichment, you will see a decrease in most unwanted behaviors.

The SAS Animal Behavior team and training program is financially supported by donors of the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation. Visit the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation‘s website to donate.

Tux’s Second Chance

Posted on by Carol Eicher

When Tux was surrendered to the Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS) in February, it was not his first time. A four-and-a-half-year-old American Pitbull Terrier, Tux first met shelter staff in 2016 when he was picked up as a stray. His owner came to redeem him the next day, but he was picked up as a stray again a month later. Over the next four years, Tux was surrendered twice more by another owner due to severe “stranger danger” behaviors.

Unfortunately, with Tux’s history, the shelter determined he couldn’t be put up for adoption without specialized training. In the past, when a dog couldn’t be put up for adoption right away, it was at risk for being put down. But today, dogs like Tux are getting a second chance.

Tux was enrolled in the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF) donor-funded Behavioral Training Program. Built on a foundation of positive reinforcement, love and patience, the program applies a unique range of behavior modification techniques that help dogs overcome their fears and start to trust humans again.
“Usually, when working with animals that have issues with strangers, the root of the issue is fear and/or anxiety,” explained SAS Behaviorist Kimberlee Spicer.

During his first assessment, Spicer observed that while Tux was fearful and anxious, he exhibited no obvious signs of territorial aggression. However, territorial aggression doesn’t usually manifest in a shelter environment, often due to stress or a lack of ownership over a shared space. So, Spicer knew Tux would also need to be assessed in a home environment right from the start.

Spicer recommended that SAS’s Vet Services team examine Tux to start him on anti-anxiety medication that would help him relax and aid in his training sessions. The behavior team then began working with Tux on crate and muzzle training. Crate training is essential to give every dog a sense of safety and security, but in Tux’s case, this was also a safety measure, both to ensure a home assessment could be conducted safely and to set up his future adopters for success. Muzzle training is also especially important because it allows the behavior team to safely observe a dog’s response to potentially problematic situations.

Tux quickly became a behavior team favorite.

“Ah, Tux!” said Penny Bolton, a member of SAS’s volunteer behavioral team. “His first time in the conference room, he was so cautious. Outside and in his kennel, he seemed pretty rambunctious, but when I opened the door to the room, he crawled across the threshold very slowly. He saw all the stuff and walked around looking at it with his tail tucked. I got down on the floor with him and showed him how to take apart a box with food in it because he was afraid to get into things. After we broke the ice, he very happily spent 20 minutes snuffling and eating and getting pets. He totally relaxed into the ‘real’ Tux.”

In no time at all, Tux became friendly, affectionate and cuddly. He was also highly food-motivated, which made training easy and fun for him. Tux also received daily enrichment, which is an essential element of the program and looks different for every animal.

The science of behavior training and enrichment

“We look at the 5 senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch and what that specific animal is most enriched by,” explained Spicer. “For example, some dogs might find the sound of classical music most relaxing, whereas another dog may find the taste and smell of a frozen Kong more enriching. There are also some days that the dogs do not feel up to doing training, and that is okay. Training is a choice, and they have the right to opt-out. On those days, we may heavily rely on enrichment instead of structured training, such as agility, Nosework or dog-to-dog play.”

When dogs are bored, they can develop abnormal behaviors, including excessive licking or chewing of their feet or tails (which can sometimes even result in self-injury), barking, digging or escaping from their enclosures, circling or pacing, and eating feces, according to research from the University of Bristol Anthrozoology Institute’s Department of Clinical Veterinary Science.

But giving a dog a “job” to do, a food puzzle, for example, helps keep them stimulated by requiring them to work to access their treats. Tux especially loved using his nose and had fun with snuffle mats and Noseworks (an activity that stimulates a dog’s ability to detect scent).

“At the end of the training session, we would usually leave him with a bully stick or Kong, as having that option of enrichment when left alone is crucial to the mental health of our animals,” said Spicer.

Behavioral modification training is about building trust. It is a highly repetitive and ongoing process that takes time, sometimes months. But Tux was a fast learner. Over four-and-a-half weeks, he began to excel, at which point, Spicer and the SAS Dog Foster Program began searching for a foster home for Tux.

The foster care assessment

Trying a dog in foster is an essential element of the program because it helps behaviorists assess progress and see how the dog does in a true home environment. SAS works to pair dogs with foster parents who are patient, eager to learn and willing and able to continue training with the help of the behavior team.

Katherine Humphrey has been volunteering as a dog adoption assistant for SAS for nearly 6 years. Tux was her first foster dog, and she was concerned at first that she might not have the necessary experience to care for a dog with potential behavioral issues. But SAS made sure she had everything she needed.

Humphrey continued to work with Tux on his crate and muzzle training, which she said he took like a champ. But he was still very anxious when new people neared Humphrey’s home.

Not long after she began fostering Tux, Gov. Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order went into effect.

“Having him during the beginning of the quarantine was really important for me,” said Humphrey. “It was an uncertain time, and having him there was so comforting. It also got me outside walking and seeing the world even when there was very little person-to-person contact.”

Thanks to Humphrey, Spicer was able to conduct extensive virtual assessments on Tux during foster, and soon decided Tux was ready to be put up for adoption. In the end, he was only available for one week before they found a perfect match.

The forever home

Riley and Daylen G. knew from the start they had the patience to adopt a dog that might need extra love and attention. Determined to rescue an animal rather than buy one from a breeder, they began calling local shelters looking for pitbull rescues, dogs they knew were much less likely to find a home because of the negative stereotype so often associated with them. When they saw Tux’s pictures online and read his story, something clicked.

“When we finally were able to meet him, we knew that he was an anxious boy, so we let him come to us, and he came right up and gave us kisses on the face and was ready to go for his walk,” said Riley. “He just wanted to play and do whatever he needed to in order to get a treat…He was a great little boy who seemed ready to curl up on our couch and get loved on! We knew he was perfect for us.”

Riley and Daylen adopted Tux in June, and he became an official graduate of the SAS Behavior Training Program.

“When we brought him home, he fell asleep standing up in the car,” said Riley. “He then ‘asked permission’ with his eyes before getting on the couch. It was so sweet. It was like he didn’t know if he was allowed to do certain things. Once we got him on the beds and couches and showed him the yard, he was right at home.”

Not long after bringing Tux home, they realized something incredible. When Tux was home alone, he was quiet and calm when strangers neared the house. Only when Riley and Daylen were home did he grow uncomfortable when strangers neared the house.

“I think he feels the need to protect us,” said Riley. “He is not territorial of himself or the house—it is his people.”

Thanks to Spicer, Riley and Dalen have a system to address this behavior. Tux is happy to greet houseguests on the porch instead so he can make sure they’re safe to be around his people.

“All it takes is a sniff and lick, and then he turns right back around to escort them inside,” said Riley.
Not only can he meet new people and dogs, but he can also now safely interact with children and even likes having his nails done.

Since it was launched in 2016, the SASF donor-funded Behavioral Training Program has saved more than 1,330 dogs with behavioral problems. Consider donating today to give dogs like Tux a second chance at happiness.

Behavioral Training Program funding saves lives

Posted on by Carol Eicher


Watch and share video here.

Published 2018/09/19

From Ann Graves, SAS Director:

Because we are an open admission shelter and the City’s only municipal animal control agency animals come to SAS for many reasons. While we are grateful we to be the safety net for those animals who need us most, we also know that being in the shelter is an incredibly stressful time. Whatever their background or length of stay, the staff and volunteers at SAS care for them and determine whether they can be adopted. As an artificial and stressful environment the shelter can exacerbate or even create behavior that might make an animal seem challenging or unadoptable. Previously many of these animals were euthanized. A grant from the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation allowed SAS to bring in a behaviorist to evaluate animals and work one on one with them. In addition, the behaviorist works with shelter staff and volunteers so that everyone handling animals has the skills to help make their shelter experience less traumatic and help guide animals to their forever homes.

This vital program has already saved lives and it is time to scale it up by creating a sustainable program including a full-time behaviorist position. This will expand the training of staff and volunteers and the capacity to work with every dog that needs it with consistency from the day they arrive at SAS. With this program SAS will continue its long history of being a progressive municipal agency. Like SAS’s lifesaving programs that have come before, we can also look forward to our successes leading to it being emulated elsewhere as shelters across the country recognize this is as vital as providing medical care.