Behavior Education and Intervention Program at a Small Shelter I. Effect on Behavior Knowledge and Safety.

Behavior knowledge is a critical component of shelter staff and volunteer training. Canine behavior knowledge was assessed at a small shelter before and after a six-month program of educational seminars and real-time case interventions for staff and volunteers. Participants were asked to complete surveys assessing their knowledge of body language, motivation, and training methodology, as well as rank their own comfort with these topics. Staff and volunteers who participated in the program and interacted with the dogs were compared to board members (who do not interact with the dogs) and feline-only volunteers. Prior to the program, both groups demonstrated poor scores and self-assessments did not correlate with knowledge scores. Those who participated in the program were more likely to be high performers on the post-program survey, odds ratio: 1.594 (95%CI 1.10-2.137) p = 0.002. Psychometric evaluation of the survey answers themselves illustrated gaps in behavior knowledge in shelter members and suggests that both seminar and case interventions can improve this. Formalized behavior education and measurement of behavior knowledge may facilitate the mission of shelters and safety there-in.