Behavior & Basic Training: Shelter Dogs Need Time

by Victoria Stilwell
Watch Victoria Stilwell's "It's Me or the Dog" on Animal Planet

The shelter dog has acquired a great reputation:
'Second hand goods,' 'Unpredictable,' 'Soiled by past baggage.'

Most dogs are relinquished to shelters due to behavioral problems, i.e. behaviors that are natural for the dog but unacceptable in our society. It is easier to blame a problem behavior on a dog's character than look at how the environment we have created might be affecting them.

Lily is a typical puppy who, like a human baby, needs constant stimulation and guidance from her human parents to facilitate healthy development. A home lacking these important ingredients creates an environment that is physically and mentally isolating. In order to cope with this insecurity Lily begins to demonstrate increasingly desperate, attention-seeking behaviors, which change this picture-book puppy into an unwanted presence and a time-consuming menace.

Struggling to understand her human pack, Lily has little idea that she is living on borrowed time, until she finds herself at the doors of the local shelter. She enters a bizarre world where she experiences high levels of stress in response to the new sights, sounds and smells surrounding her.

The routine changes. She is fed strange food, which she doesn't feel like eating. Her new home is cramped and smells of disinfectant. She senses tension from the dogs around her and endures a constant stream of strange faces passing by her pen. In order to cope with these pressures Lily hides under a security blanket of self-preservation, her true behaviors numbed by this alien environment.

However, fortune favors her when she is adopted by her new human pack. She responds well to their attention and they, in turn, are pleased with her response. Her world changes again but the environment is calmer. The bed smells good and the food is tasty. The pressures of shelter life begin to fall away.

For the first weeks the numbness that protected Lily at the shelter forbids her from showing her true colors, but renewed confidence awakens hidden behaviors that challenge her new owners. Their attempts at control cause confusion and her behavior reflects her inner turmoil. Unable to cope with their 'problem,' Lily is taken back to the shelter. This time she is not so lucky. Her unpredictable behavior is deemed a liability for prospective adopters and her life is ended by the veterinarian's needle.

This is not a sob story. This is the reality for millions of dogs each year in the United States and Great Britain. Statistics show that between six to ten million dogs are euthanized in U.S. shelters every year -- less than 5% for medical reasons.

So what can we do to help adopted shelter dogs adapt to their new lives? We must educate ourselves to understand our dogs by utilizing the wealth of knowledge that is available to us. We must be patient when rehabilitating our new family member and realize that changes have to be made within ourselves to make this transition as smooth as possible.

The effort is worth it. With renewed confidence, the shelter dog can develop into what it was always meant to be, a happy and healthy companion that deserves our time and respect for coping with all the pressures that human life throw at it.

www.dogtrainersofnewjersey.com
Victoria Stilwell is a principle in Dog Trainers of New Jersey is a New Jersey dog training and obedience training organization offering services throughout New Jersey. Their experienced New Jersey client-centered dog trainers and animal behaviorists can train you to train your canine with positive reinforcement. They also provide New Jersey pet boarding. We thank them for their help and continued support for Stray from the Heart Dog Rescue.