We’re excited to share that Assessing Dog Behavior Through Everyday Interactions and Building Trust with Dogs Who Aren’t Ready to Come Out of the Kennel are now available for free on Maddie’s^® University. These two self-paced courses were authored by Kristen Brown, CPDT-KA, VSA-CDT, with assistance by Dr. Sheila Segurson DVM, DACVB, Board-Certified Veterinary Behaviorist, Director of Shelter Solutions at Maddie’s^® Fund. They are designed to be completed within 30 minutes, with lots of short videos as well as ready-to-use forms!

Assessing Dog Behavior Through Everyday Interactions:

• When we assess dogs through everyday interactions, we can gather well-rounded information about the dog’s personality, preferences and needs, leading to more informed decisions and better outcomes for the dogs in our care. This course introduces an eight-step protocol for assessing dog behavior through everyday interactions and provides automated forms for collecting behavior information.

Building Trust with Dogs Who Aren’t Ready to Come Out of the Kennel:

• Some dogs arrive at the shelter struggling to cope with fear, anxiety and stress, and may not be ready to accept handling or leave their kennel for a walk. These dogs may benefit from Social Time: low-pressure, positive interactions that build trust from outside the kennel. The positive association built through Social Time can then serve as the foundation for a trusting relationship that may eventually help the dog accept more handling, go out for walks and cope better with the shelter environment. Through a series of videos, this quick course presents three Social Time activities along with automated forms to help you collect behavioral information.

Register today and complete them at your own pace!