Shelter and Veterinary Staff & Volunteer Training

The Feline Fundamentals Webinars Bundle and the Canine Fundamentals Webinar/Videos Bundle are the ideal way to train staff and volunteers on dog and cat behavior and humane feline handling.

Happier animals experience less stress and display fewer behavioral problems.
Better-trained staff and volunteers means better animal welfare.
More educated, proactive and confident staff and volunteers result in better safety protocols and fewer injuries.

Benefits:

Easy to incorporate into meetings, work routines and hiring
Ensure all staff and volunteers have the same starter knowledge and skillset
Cost-effective
Prevent injuries to animals and people
Better animal welfare
More educated staff
More proactive and educated volunteers
Develop empathy
For all levels of knowledge and experience
Downloadable SOP’s to modify and use at your facility or practice

Each webinar delivers factual, up-to-date behavioral information and handling techniques that can be implemented immediately. Instructional training videos help lessen pulling on leash and prevent injuries and dog reactivity. Webinars and videos are easily accessible with log-in access and can be viewed multiple times and as often as needed.

“Alana has worked to create comprehensive operating procedures for shelters that respect a cat’s natural behaviors, focus on reducing stress, and integrate feline-friendly handling techniques that are integral in working with cats.”
~ Heather O’Steen, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)

“Alana Stevenson is an animal behaviorist with an up to date, science-based approach to reduce behavior problems presented in a heartfelt way. Her contributions to low-stress feline care have improved the shelter, veterinary and home care experience for many cats.” ~ Dr. Sally J. Foote, Veterinarian, Speaker DrSallyJFoote.com

Training and presentations can be tailored to teach staff and volunteers, specifically addressing behaviors that emerge in the shelter and clinical environments.

Assessing & Defining Behavioral Problems

How we define and explain behavior is important. Often people label or criticize animals when discussing unwanted behavior. Words or phrases like alpha, dominant, ‘out of control,’ stubborn, mean, or obstinate are used or signs such as ‘Caution,’ ‘Fractious,’ or ‘Aggressive’ are placed on cages and carriers. Learning how to explain and describe behavior clearly allows you to assess an animal in an objective way and to implement any training or behavior modification more effectively. By clearly defining and explaining behaviors objectively, you can help an animal in need and remedy behavioral problems without stigmatizing that animal or creating unwanted behavior problems in the future.

Behavior Modification for Shelter Dogs

Alana has developed a Use of Harnesses SOP or protocol for animal shelters.

Preventing stress and behavioral problems is pivotal for dogs in the shelter. Dogs who end up at shelters are already anxious from being in new scary surroundings and often have suffered from prior instability, inconsistency, punitive or ‘correction-based’ training, and/or poor handling.

In this series of lectures and workshops, you will learn how to read dog body language so you can understand what dogs are communicating to each other and to the people they interact with. Alana will discuss body language that dogs present when stressed or afraid so that adjustments can be made to keep them calmer. You will discover how your own body language, tone of voice, and manner of touch can directly influence a dog’s behavior and how even subtle gestures and changes in your body language can alter responses in dogs very quickly.

Alana will demonstrate simple behavior modification techniques, including desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises, that can be applied to work with dogs who are fearful, head shy, avoidant, show kennel stress, and/or jump or mouth excessively. She will provide ways to keep dogs behaviorally healthier in the kennels and tips on how to reduce noise.

Training and behavior modification techniques volunteers and staff can practice in their daily interactions with dogs at the shelter to ease anxiety, lessen reactivity, and make them more adoptable will be presented.

Monitoring Dog Play Groups

Alana will discuss the importance of monitoring and intervening in play groups to set dogs up for success. Play groups have become very popular. Oftentimes, dog aggression can occur. Many dogs may be mismatched and others are or become fearful.

In this lecture, you will learn how to read dog body-language so you can evaluate a dog’s behavior appropriately and interpret dog-dog interactions correctly, as well as how to intervene when and if play gets out of hand or dogs become unruly. Alana will teach you how to use positive reinforcement during playtime to encourage and reward desirable behaviors and prevent conflict. You will learn how to pair up or group dogs based on their behavior.

Feline Handling

Humane handling makes handling cats easier!

How cats are handled during veterinary exams and some forms of restraint can dramatically affect their behavior. The mishandling of cats can have long-lasting negative effects on their emotional well-being. When cats are poorly handled, handling them in the future becomes more difficult. Cats can be labeled as ‘mean’ or ‘unapproachable.’ They become fearful more quickly and aggression can escalate. Because of past stressful experiences, many cat owners become reluctant to take their cats to the vet unless in an emergency.

By learning humane handling techniques and how to manage the environment to make cats less fearful, you can prevent cats from panicking or becoming aggressive. Humane low-stress handling will lessen staff injuries. This will make working with cats easier and more enjoyable.

In this presentation, Alana will teach you ways to keep cats calmer in the lobby and during examinations. You will learn how to read cat body-language so you can determine when a cat is fearful or anxious and you will discover how your own body-language, manner of touch, and tone of voice can influence a cat’s behavior. Understand how subtle gestures and changes in your body language can alter responses in cats very quickly.

Alana will present ways to make handling less stressful for cats when examining them or moving them from one place to another, and you will learn how to assess cats during handling to determine which approaches might work best for each cat. Learn why minimal restraint produces more cooperation in cats and why scruffing should be avoided.

Topics covered include: how movement and sound can affect a cat’s behavior; the importance in the placement of carriers and cages; use of towels and small blankets to keep cats calmer and prevent aggression; removing a cat from a cage; removing a cat from a carrier; how to pick up and carry cats; and how to hold and handle kittens.

Alana will provide additional tips that can be given to clients so they can help make veterinary visits in the future less stressful for their cats.

Behavior Modification for Shelter Cats

Cats who end up at shelters are often already anxious. Many have suffered from prior trauma, instability, or poor handling. They may become shut down and/or wish to remain hidden. Some cats lie in their litter boxes. Other cats may seem friendly, but then playfully bite or they bite during and after petting. Many cats squirm or leap out of arms when they are lifted or carried.

In this series of lectures and workshops, Alana will present behavior modification techniques, including desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises, that can be implemented to work with these cats to ease their fears and keep them behaviorally healthy.

You will learn how to read cat body language and discover how your own body language, tone of voice, and manner of touch can directly influence a cat’s behaviors. Understand how to approach cats to prevent fearful responses and how subtle gestures and changes in your body language can alter responses in cats very quickly.

Alana will go over environmental modifications that can be made in the shelter and within cages to keep cats calmer and prevent stress. She will discuss the importance in the placement of carriers and cages and will demonstrate how to lift up and carry cats, remove them from cages, and remove them from and place them into carriers.

Behavior modification techniques volunteers and staff can practice in their daily interactions with cats will be presented.

Feline Behavioral Enrichment

In this seminar, Alana will teach you how to enrich the environment for cats to make it feline-friendly and prevent behavioral problems. You will learn how to read cat body-language so you can make modifications according to the special needs and personalities of individual cats.

Alana will discuss the importance of play and vertical territory, and explain how to position food and water bowls, litter pans, scratching posts, and cat condos in locations that will boost a cat’s confidence, reduce fear and stress, prevent conflict between cats in multi-cat households and litter pan problems.

You will learn how to acclimate cats to carriers, and to being handled, picked up, and carried, as well as creative ways to play with cats to prevent boredom. The special needs of declawed and shy cats will be addressed and tips will be provided on how to bring outside cats indoors.

To schedule a dog or cat behavior consultation or training with Alana Stevenson, call 617.921.1224 or

EMAIL ALANA

Easy • All levels • Cost-effective • Knowledgeable staff and volunteers • Better animal welfare

Feline Fundamentals Webinar Bundle, $48

Approach Scruffing & Minimal Restraint (8 min.)
Humane Handling Basics 1 (25 min.)
Humane Handling Basics 2 (25 min.)
Behavior, Body Language & Communication (35 min.)
Downloadable SOPs: Assessing Behavior to Develop a Behavior Modification Plan and Humane Feline Handling
Webinar scripts

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Canine Fundamentals Webinar/Videos Bundle, $85

Includes:

Canine Fundamentals: Body Language & Communication (webinar, 24 min.)
Leash Handling: Isometrics, Balance & Control (instructional video, 21:46 min.)
Positioning Techniques for Fearful & Aggressive Dogs (instructional video, 14:33 min.)
Two instructional guides accompanying the videos with photos
Downloadable SOP’s: Assessing Behavior to Develop a Behavior Modification Plan and the Use of Dog Harnesses
Webinar and video scripts

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