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Animal Sheltering Magazine Articles |
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Creature Feature: The Long Way Home
A series of three-day demonstrations of Pat Parelli’s kinder, gentler approach to equines are at the heart of an HSUS initiative to improve the care of horses, who all too often end up abandoned, neglected, or sent to slaughter.  More...
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For the Comfort of Canines
A new DVD shows and tells shelters how to keep their dogs comfortable, healthy, and stimulated—with an eye toward encouraging the positive behaviors the dogs will need to be accepted in their new families. More...
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The Behavior Department: Dealing with a Small Problem
Most shelters weren’t built with the needs of little dogs in mind, but there are steps that staff and volunteers can take that will make the environment much better for them. One shelter director created a special area just for the little guys—Smallville—that resulted in remarkable behavior improvements. More...
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Feline Good
There's a growing movement in shelters around the country to provide innovative enrichment programs to their feline residents, putting kitties on par—for the first time, in many cases—with dogs and the quality of care they’ve long received. Want to get in on the trend? It starts with shelter staff, volunteers, and potential pet adopters changing their overall understanding of cats. More...
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And Then What Happened?
Study examines animal health and behavior post-adoption. More...
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The Behavior Department: Enriching a Shelter Dog’s Experience
Making a shelter dog’s life richer can be as simple as smearing some peanut butter on a rubber toy. Even if you’re pressed for time, there are easy ways to spice up your dogs’ daily routines through environmental enrichment. More...
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Precious Cat Provides Free Kits for Shelters
Precious Cat is giving away free shelter kits to animal organizations that are part of the Shelter Partners program. The kit contains a litter additive that may help newly adopted cats and pet felines who have developed new potty problems to think inside the box. More...
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The Behavior Department: The Way to Tame a Feral Kitten’s Heart
There are no guarantees when it comes to taming feral cats, but the process is most likely to work if you get ‘em while they’re young! Here are some guidelines from successful feral kitten tamers. More...
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The Behavior Department: Canine Play: The Good, the Bad, and the Squeaky
It’s not all fun and games! Playtime for pooches can be more complex than adopters realize. Dr. Patricia McConnell gives some important tips to keep canine play from getting out of hand. More...
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Buddying Up
In Edmonton, house-soiling cats are given a second chance and becoming farmers' friends through the Barn Buddies program. More...
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The Behavior Department: Helping Family Cats Be Friends
Conflicts can crop up in multicat homes, causing the animals undue stress and health problems. But dissension can be minimized without calling the kitty shrink. More...
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The Behavior Department: Burning Out on Behavior
While shelter work can provide trainers great personal satisfaction and a sense of purpose, it can also be a huge source of stress. More...
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The Behavior Department: What Placement Groups Say—and What Adopters Hear
New adopters don’t always understand the jargon counselors use when describing a dog’s personality and behavior issues. Here’s how to make sure your messages don’t get lost in translation. More...
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The Behavior Department: Bad, Bad Cats—Whatcha Gonna Do?
A post-adoption survey helps the Animal Rescue League of Boston figure out how their adopted cats are getting on in their new homes. More...
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The Behavior Department: Preventing Pooch Problems
Trainer and behaviorist Nan Arthur explains how new dog owners can help their pooches make a less stressful transition from the shelter to the home. More...
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The Behavior Department: Helping the Scaredycats
Give cats a chance in their new homes by preparing adopters for reclusive getting-to-know-you behaviors. More...
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The Behavior Department: In the House
The Kentucky Humane Society brings behavior help to where the problems occur: the homes of pet owners. More...
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The Behavior Department: The Basics of Shelter Dog Training
Mychelle Blake discusses the benefits of training and socialization for shelter dogs and outlines the training methods that have worked best in her sessions with volunteers. More...
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People Power: Kevin Simpson
Kevin Simpson, the first ever Director of Animal Behavior and Training at his shelter, offers the scoop on his background, program goals, and invention of Crazy Tubes. More...
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Introductions, Please: Helping Foster Dogs Adjust to Temporary Homes
Fostering dogs can be a rewarding experience or a disastrous one. It all depends on how well you prepare. More...
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Quieter Shelter Dogs? It's a Laughing Matter
Researcher’s recordings of canine merriment provide comfort to shelter pooches. More...
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The Smell of De-stress?
Scottish study investigates effects of “dog appeasing pheromone” on shelter dogs More...
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DVD Helps New Owners Train Their Pooches
The Shelter Helper Program allows you to offer the training DVD to adopters for free. More...
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The Breed Report: The Beagle
While every dog is unique, knowing some behaviors and tips specific to beagles may help caretakers provide a better temporary home—and locate the ideal permanent one. More...
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The Breed Report: Border Collies
This interview with an expert on border collies can help shelters and adoption groups learn more about the needs and characteristics of this specific breed. More...
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Small Postcards, Big Results
Postcards advertise behavior helpline at the SPCA of Pinellas County in Florida. More...
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A Little TLC for Kids and Canines
Program provides training lessons to dogs and life lessons to preteens. More...
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Taking Cats on the Road
New York shelter director provides advice on cat transport. More...
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Punishment Doesn’t Work—And May Make Things Worse
Study finds that dogs subjected to negative reinforcement develop more problem behaviors. More...
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Naughty Kittens Can Grow Into Good Cats
Study finds some behavior problems in adopted kittens tend to diminish with time. More...
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A Breeze of Goodness in an Unlikely Place
Puppies Up for Parole, a training program for shelter dogs run by the Nevada State Prison and the Nevada Humane Society, changes the lives of both the dogs and inmates involved. More...
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The Declaw Dilemma
This feature article takes an in-depth look at alternatives to declawing, strategies for educating potential adopters, ways to discuss the issue with local veterinarians, and several organizations' position statements on the procedure. More...
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What's Happening: Misinformation about the Dangers of Toxoplasmosis
A mailing to OB/GYN offices nationwide addressing misinformation about the risks of toxoplasmosis receives an overwhelming response. More...
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A Romp in the Park or a Barroom Brawl?
Researchers at Butler University find incidence of aggression is minimal at one Indianapolis dog park. More...
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Puppies Who Attend Kindergarten Are More Likely to Stay in Homes
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association showed that puppies who attended humane society socialization classes when they were between 7 and 12 weeks old were more likely to stay in their homes than those who did not. More...
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Dealing With a Wee Problem
Litter box issues are high on the list of reasons for surrender of cats at shelters all over the country. But a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science (Vol. 5, No. 4, 2002) should give hope to shelter workers tired of seeing cats relinquished for potty problems. More...
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CD Accustoms Pets to Lullabies and Baby Cries
Couples expecting their first baby shouldn’t forget to include their dog or cat in the pre-birth planning—and a new CD called Preparing Fido can help. More...
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Pet Project: Researchers Explore Cats’ Reactions to Being Petted
A study at the Department of Psychology at New Zealand’s Massey University to determine cats’ responses to being petted. More...
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JAVMA Study Blames Selective Breeding and Inbreeding for OCD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder in dogs and cats appears to be a genetic trait more common among certain breeds, and researchers find that only about one in ten dogs with OCD comes from an animal shelter. More...
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When Even the Best Efforts Fail
Sometimes even the best pet parenting isn’t enough to help an independent-minded animal adjust to human society. More...
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Improving the Ounce of Prevention
Report concludes veterinarians can do more to help clients with pet behavior problems. More...
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Feline Foibles or Human Misunderstandings?
A behaviorist discusses how the findings of modern feline behavior research can help pet owners encourage friendships among their cats and acclimate them to unnatural human environments. More...
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How to Set Up a Comfy Dog Kennel
Here’s how to provide your canine critters with the most basic of homes away from home: a cozy but no-frills stay that will help keep their bellies full, their minds active, and their bodies rested. More...
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“Help! My new cat is peeing outside his litter box!”
Oregon Humane Society behavior/training specialist Tanya Roberts talks about the logistics of the behavior helpline program she set up in her shelter and its many successes. More...
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Training Wheels for Pet Owners
Renowned dog trainer and shelter operator Sue Sternberg describes "Training Wheels," the inspiring program her shelter has created to reach out to the most needy members of the community. More...
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How to be King Kong
Dogs can get a little bored with the humdrum kennel existence, but yours don't have to stare into space. You can liven up their lives by providing a little entertainment with toys like stuffed Kongs. More...
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Profiling Pets and Their Relinquishers
In their continuing investigation of the reasons behind pet surrenders, researchers for the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy have conducted a study comparing the people and pets involved in relinquishment cases to those who have stayed together. More...
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How to Teach a Dog "Down"
Shelter dogs who know how to respond to the flick of a wrist also have a hip edge over their counterparts in pet stores. More...
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How To Teach A Shelter Dog to Sit
Find out how you can have your canines sittin' pretty when prospective adopters approach. More...
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When Animals Behave Like Animals
Study examines causes of behavior-related pet relinquishments. More...
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Teaching People and Their Pets
Profile of shelters that have found ways to help pet owners who believe they have run out of options for solving behavior and other pet-related problems. More...
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Giving Dogs Another Chance
A group of psychology professors and animal behaviorists suggests ways that shelters can modify the behavior of shelter dogs. More...
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Teaching Manners for Life
Mindful of studies that reveal "problem" behavior as a primary reason for animal relinquishment and euthanasia, shelters around the country are taking a closer look at how they can help animals and their caregivers solve problems before they spiral out of control. More...
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How to Walk a Shelter Dog
Every time you take a dog for a stroll, you're teaching him how to respond to his caretakers and his environment. If you can spend a few moments teaching an unruly, overanxious dog how to behave, you'll not only make future walks go more smoothly but also increase that dog's chances of finding a lifelong home. More...
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