Washington Humane Society HLE Division

Cinco was a large male rottweiler who was impounded by a WHS Humane Officer after being found outside in a filthy pen. He was extremely underweight and was brought to the shelter. No one ever came forward to claim him and he was eventually evaluated for adoption. Though his temperament test showed that he was food aggressive Nicole Brown, Georgia Avenue’s Shelter Manager, was determined to work with him. He was put on a strict regimen of hand feeding where he was required to sit and wait before getting his food. After a few weeks Cinco had improved immensely and last week went to his new home on a 9 acre farm with a family who loves him. The family reports that their child hangs all over Cinco and Cinco loves it.
Cinco is a great example of the work being done by WHS to train the dogs in our care to become better family members prior to adoption. Many of the dogs that end up in the shelters have never lived in a home and have often spent their time isolated in the backyard on a chain or in a pen with little contact from people. Dogs are social pack animals and this isolation causes them a great amount of anguish. When they first arrive at WHS they are often eager to be in the company of people and desperately want to become a member of the family. However, they may lack the skills to successfully live in someone’s home. They have not been taught proper manners and are often overexcited by attention from people. During their time at WHS they are worked with on a daily basis through our newly implemented hand feeding program.
Hand feeding the dogs means that the shelter staff feed the dogs one at a time and require the dogs to behave before getting each handful. One of the most basic concepts is to have the dogs sit before getting each handful of food. But this is only the beginning. The dogs are rewarded for sitting quietly and the dog who is the most calm and quiet while the food is being prepared is the first to be fed. In this way the dogs learn to sit quietly when people come down to see them rather than bouncing off the walls of their kennels barking. This makes for a much more pleasant experience for potential adopters. Nicole and her staff also use this method to teach dogs who try to bolt out of the kennel door each time it is opened. They will leave the kennel door open and when the dog sits inside the open kennel without trying to bolt out the door then they will give the dog food. The results are amazing.
The program was designed by WHS’ Director of Behavior and Training Kevin Simpson who worked with Nicole to implement the system. Together they have made a dramatic change in the behavior and atmosphere at the shelter on Georgia Ave. They will also soon be training staff on walking the dogs. As the dogs at WHS’ Georgia Avenue shelter are walked three times a day at least this is an excellent opportunity for some training to take place. The staff will be teaching dogs how to walk properly on a leach without pulling or fighting the leash.
In addition to these programs is a whole host of enrichment exercises that Kevin is implementing at both shelters. These enrichment exercises will be performed by volunteers as well as staff. Anyone who is interested in assisting in these efforts should contact Eleanor Blackford our volunteer program manager at Eleanor.blackford@washhumane.org. And please visit our shelters to see some of these activities taking place. It is all a part of making our dogs successful in getting placed into permanent homes. Our most successful dogs will eventually earn the title of Canine Good Citizen which they earn after passing through a series of exercises designed to test their manners. Keep an eye on the adoptable dogs on the web site to see who has earned this title.