Real Families Realistic Advice

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Real Families/Realistic Advice

• Robin Bennett, CPDT
• Colleen Pelar, CPDT

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Behavioral Assessments

• There has to be some way to gather information
  about a dog
  
• Use that information to help make the best match
• Without an assessment process how can you
  possibly do any kind of match?

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The Adoption Consultation

• Often when you tell clients about a dogs special
  needs, they dont seem to listen or understand.
  
• It is not that they dont care.
• Unless they have had an experience that is
  similar, people cannot fully comprehend what is
  being described.

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Experience Understanding

• Because we know many dogs and have seen
  behavioral extremes, we can understand a greater
  variety of dog behavior.
  
• Most adopters cannot.

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Do You Know What I Know?

• We must be sure that adopters truly understand
  what we are telling them.
  
• First we have to find out what they know.
• Then we have to help them understand.
• Concrete examples are more useful than euphemisms.

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What Do These Mean?

• Best in an only-dog home with an experienced
  owner.
  
• A true velcro dog.
• Needs a job.

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What the owner wants

• Housetraining
• Certain Energy Level
• No Separation Anxiety or Destruction
• A dog that is fine with friends/family

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What they dont realize

• They dont want an aggressive dog but it
  doesnt even enter their mind that a dog could be
  aggressive

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GSD growing up
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What they dont realize

• They want a dog who is social because people do
  stupid things to dogs everyday (especially kids)

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What they dont realize

• Fine doesnt always mean social

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Tolerating petting
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What they dont realize

• Supervision is not a cure all
• People are supervising, but they dont know what
  they are seeing

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Two more bites
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Modifying Behaviors

• MYTH You can fix any behavior with enough
  training
  
• TRUTH You can only modify behaviors within the
  range of genetic potential of the dog

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2 Yellow Labs (male)
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Its all about the match

• A realistic strategy of adoption is all about
  matching the right family with the right dog

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Fear of Rejection

• Try not to make people feel that you are
  rejecting them.
  
• If you think a family is not a good candidate for
  adoption (or for a particular dog), try to help
  them come to that conclusion for themselves.

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Need for Acceptance

• Affirm your clients goals.
• Add important information.
• Try to use, Yes, and . . . rather than, Yes,
  but . . . phrases.

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Listen . . .

• People will tell you what is important to them.
• Take time to hear them out before addressing your
  own priorities.
  
• This will help them trust you . . .
• And it may show you the best way to approach them.

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Empathy Your Best Tool

• Look for common ground.
• When people know that you like and understand
  them, they will turn to you when they have
  problems.

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What Is In It for Me?

• Tell people your recommendations will result in
  an easier, happier transition for the family.
  
• If you make people see how something benefits
  them, the results are better.

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Perceptual Defense

• People hear and incorporate only what they
  understand.

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Hes Fine
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Jack
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Perceptual Defense

• People hear and incorporate only what they
  understand.
  
• Many times we tell people things about a dog that
  dont make sense to them, but seem obvious to us.

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Perceptual Defense

• People hear and incorporate only what they
  understand.
  
• Many times we tell people things about a dog that
  dont make sense to them, but seem obvious to
  us.
  
• If they dont have a frame of reference, their
  mind will block out information that does not
  compute.

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Let them see what you are saying

• If a dog has issues the owner should see it and
  not just hear about it
  
• Let them make a decision based on all their
  senses
  

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Sometimes you have to say no

• Bella a trish in

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Resource Guarding extremes
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Training the dog

• If its a serious behavioral problemwho is going
  to train it?
  
• Do you have a behaviorist foster home?
• The family isnt trained to do it

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Goldilocks

• Jacks training regime
• Bringing Light to Shadow
• Resources
• Time
• Money
• Energy
• Enthusiasm

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Jack

• Scared of new people
• Stocky Men
• Kids on bikes
• Men/women of average build
• People coming from opposite direction
• People going by house
• Arm movements

• Cars
• Balls
• Riding in a car
• Noise
• Bicycles
• Cats

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Helping the Families After the Adoption

• Dont blame them, help them
• If it was truly a bad match, admit it and take
  the dog back
  
• Offer or refer to classes, consults
• Call them to see how things are going

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How can you improve?

• Youll never know without the follow up
• With follow up, youll get better at what you do
• With follow up, youll become more credible
• With follow up, youll learn to make better
  matches

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Colleens book