Shelter Dog Training

Shelter Dog Training I Janelle Davidson am applying for the Do Something Animal Action Grant to increase the amount of animals that are adopted from the Yates County Humane Society. To accomplish this, I would like to increase the amount of training shelter dogs receive. If I were awarded the $1,000, I would work with the employees at the Yates County Humane Society to the increase the training that the dogs receive to improve the adoption rate. I would use the majority of the funds to buy training books. These books would be stored at the shelter where volunteers could access them and work with the dogs. I would also invest in training devices including clickers, toys, and treats to be used during the training sessions. I would also like to purchase a foam arm to be used in training dogs to prevent food aggression. The dogs that come into the shelter via animal control, owner surrenders, or are born there have had a wide variety of training. The training books and devices would allow volunteers to determine what level of training each dog is at and begin working with them to improve their skills. Training would also help socialize the dogs with humans and they would learn to interact with different people. Logs will be kept for each dog so everyone can access their progress and know what commands are currently being trained. When someone comes to the shelter considering adopting a dog, one of the volunteers can explain to them the progress the dog has made and maybe show them a few of the commands. If there was any money left over after I bought the training books and devices, I would use it to purchase some agility equipment, including jumps and weave poles. The humane society already owns some agility equipment and I think it would be beneficial to purchase a few more items to be used to increase the activity level of the dogs. Unfortunately, like in most shelters the dogs are only let outside to play for short periods of time every day. Having a small agility course set up would allow volunteers to work with the dogs in a constructive way. The dogs will be interacting with volunteers and getting enrichment exercise. The live release rate will increase as a result of these changes because many people will be more likely to adopt a dog that knows it basic commands. I created a small survey that I passed around to students at my school and the results I received indicated that student who would adopt a shelter dog would be more likely to adopt a dog with basic training than one who is not trained. Many of my peers indicated that the final decision to adopt would depend on other factors as well, but a well trained dog would have a better chance at finding his or her forever home.