In 2002 I put dogs at Wayside Waifs into small playgroups for the first time. I had been a shelter volunteer since 1999 (a trainer since 2002), but there had not been an emphasis to let dogs socialize in a group due to fear of dog fights. At the time Wayside did not have a structured temperament test program as it does today, so the incident of dog-aggression occurred a little more frequently back then.
The first playgroups began as a method to get more dogs out of their kennels for exercise and bathroom breaks. The shelter manager at the time and I played around with some dogs and based on the size of the Wayside play yards and came up with a maximum number of five dogs for playgroups. I still keep to this number today, but for different reasons and the idea of structured playgroups also changed with time to focus on more behavior modification and adopt-ability.
Over the seven years, the concept of “structured playgroups” within the shelter industry is more prevalent. I think the popularity of doggie daycares helped to promote the idea of playgroups within in shelters. Wayside is not unlike other shelters. Many adopters come to Wayside to adopt their second (or third) dog. As a result, we require a dog to dog (D2D) meet and greet between the adopters dog and the Wayside dog. While not fool proof in it’s ability to predict future D2D issues between the two dogs, it does identify the obvious mismatches.Shelters know that a well-socialized dog may be born to some extent, but a well socialized is more the sum of their life experiences. If shelters do not work to maintain these skills in their dogs, then the skills will degrade over time due to shelter stress and type of interactions that occur within the shelter. A well designed Structure Playgroup program should accomplish the following;
- Maintain the socialization skills of shelter dogs.
- Improve the socialization skills of shelter dogs with minor issues.
- Increase the success of dog to dog introductions during adoption meet and greets.
- Decrease dog to dog reactivity within the shelter.
- Implement behavior modification programs for multiple dog issues
- Provide the ability to exercise and relieve multiple dogs at once with limited staff.
- Handlers should prevent dog fights rather than continuously break fights up.
Structured playgroups consist of more than just putting dogs together for a play session. Shelters and doggies daycares need to be careful to socialize and not traumatize. Ian Dunbar as a good video on this topic - http://dogstardaily.com/radio/03-socializing-vs-traumatizing. Trainers have known for years that uncontrolled play or inappropriate play can lead to dog aggression issues or to de-socialization. Staff or volunteers should choose dogs for playgroups that compliment each other and improve social skills. This could include neutral dogs, shy dogs, rough players or a multitude of sizes based on the expected outcome of the playgroup. More and more shelters require dog-to-dog introductions with potential adopter dogs. If you maintain and improve the social skills of the shelter dogs in the same are they will meet their potential families, you increase the chance of a successful dog-to-dog meeting.
Unfortunately, before your shelter gets to this stage, you have some work ahead of you. Here is an example of a quick playgroup that includes play, training all in the area these dogs will meet potential adopters and dogs
Setting your shelter and preparing the staff/volunteers for structured playgroups
For your shelter to successfully implement a structured playgroup program your shelter should have the following:
- A temperament testing program that includes a D2D evaluation.
- At least one area (indoor/outdoor) that is a minimum of 20X20 feet. A preferred set-up would include three areas: 30X40 room, 1 acre outdoor area and a larger 3+ acre area. The initial playgroups should occur in a smaller area to maintain control.
- A developed group of core volunteers and staff able to identify the appropriate dogs for playgroups and resolve D2D incidents. This will be your greatest challenge.
The initial evaluation
The playgroups should not be the place to “test” the shelter dogs. The shelter temperament test should identify the adoptable and the borderline dogs. If adoptable, the behavior modification team should identify the type of playgroups the dog should be put in. Unless the dog displays obvious dog aggression issues that will lead to injury, the evaluation should include a minimum of three dogs; male, female, and a rude dog. The behavior team should essentially run a “min-playgroup” with each dog. The dog’s stress level, health and other issues may preclude this in some instances. The determination of whether a dog is “dominant” has no practicality in playgroup development. The public, television, shelters misuse the dominance label and it really does not articulate or describe the actual behavior traits of the dog. The dog-to-dog evaluation should determine, does the dog simply get along with other dogs , if not, to what extent and what is the potential danger? The follow-up article to this one will go into the "how to" part of setting up shelter and rescue playgroups.
Playgroup Areas
The size of the playgroup area is important. The size of the area will affect the amount of control your playgroup coordinators will have and also how the dogs will interact. In a very large outdoor area there may be enough distractions and space to prevent any D2D issues, but if they do the handlers will be too far away to prevent the altercation or stop it before harm occurs. In other instances, a sprinting dog will stimulate the prey drive of another dog. If possible, start with a small area for the initial playgroup with a new set of dogs. This will allow the handler(s) to control the D2D interactions, increase or decrease the arousal level of the group and immediately remove a dog if necessary. The first place to run a dog in a playgroup is not a 5 acre dog park. In the small area you can work with different size dogs, with or without resources etc. Look at your shelter and determine where playgroups can be run safely.
Staff and Volunteer training
More than likely your shelter will have the dogs and the space to run playgroups. The most difficult part of playgroups will be identifying the right people to run the playgroups. Since 2004 I’ve have trained staff, volunteers and other dog trainer on playgroup development within a shelter. It will not be the knowledge of the person that limits their ability to run playgroups, but the fear of the inevitable dogfight. Dogfights scare the hell out of people (trainers, shelter staff, volunteers). You can get certified or even have your PHD in animal behavior and still be scared to death around 5-10 strange dogs. Unfortunately, if you put dogs together a fight will eventually occur. I have other trainers who are still amazed that I take shelter dogs off the floor and run 5-6 dog playgroups alone. If your staff or volunteers are unable to conquer this fear, they will never safely put dogs into playgroups. Their fear will cloud and distort their view of the dog interactions and more importantly, their fear will inhibit their ability to act timely when they need control the dogs. This could result in serious damage to dogs and humans. Stop by your local doggie daycare and watch the handlers at the facility. They appear calm and cool within a mix of 20-50 dogs. If you were to ask them a question on dog behavior, you would find few that will sound like a dog trainer. These people have an innate ability to manage dogs, spot problems before they start and maintain control. They can also look at a new dog and immediately pick the best dogs to match up with the new dog.
How to identify and develop your playgroup coordinators
I can now identify within three sessions which people in my playgroup class I can develop into playgroup creators. I find it funny, dog trainers seemed surprised that I can put shelter dogs, rescue or client dogs together in playgroups without major issues (this includes my work with rescue Akitas). In eleven years, I’ve never had a dog seriously injured in a play session, in our out of the shelter. My only injuries (human and canine) have been a few scratches or small punctures, but no major wounds. This equates to approximately 10,000 dogs over 11 years.
Those who will excel at playgroups need to be able to get past the fear of a dog fight and focus on reading dogs quickly and correctly. This does not involve ranking due to dominance, but soaking in small behavior cues the dogs will provide, then add in a bit of possible breed and age related characteristics.
Before you release anyone to perform playgroups you must observe them stopping or breaking up a “real dogfight”. Morally, you never purposely put any dogs together that you let fight for the sake of breaking them up. During a behavior modification program, you may socialize and introduce dogs with dog-to-dog issues, but the goal is always to decrease the fight ratio with these dogs. However, if you can observe your playgroup coordinators creating dog playgroups, within 30-40 dogs there will be a skirmish between two dogs that will allow you to see how the person will react. Just let it occur naturally, I’ve noticed for every 30-40 dogs you will invariably put some dogs together who are not too keen on each other. You have to see if your playgroup coordinator will “freeze” and not react or worse, reach in between the two dogs during the fight. Afterwards, does the person recuperate or were they simply one dogfight away from never creating a dog playgroup again?
The playgroup coordinators will have an air of calm and matter-of-fact demeanor. If an altercation occurs, they appear as calm afterwards as before. When I teach I can recognize the fear on some students faces and body language. They will be plastered against a wall while 3-4 dogs interact or freeze at the first sign of an altercation. Your playgroup coordinators are interactive and controlling with the dogs, but it appears natural and relaxed. You may see this on their first day running a playgroup. They may initially have very little solid dog behavior knowledge, but have a keen natural sense to read animal behavior. Once you identify the potential playgroup coordinators in your staff or volunteer population then you need to quickly get them up to speed with a solid dog behavior background. One of the best methods is to review playgroups back on video that the coordinators run in slow motion. You will gain a new respect for how soon dogs begin to communicate their intent in a playgroup. The video work needs to be supplemented with the appropriate dog behavior textbooks, behavior DVD’s, seminars and public observation of dog interactions. http://kcdogguy.com/DogBooks.htm Your staff and volunteers should visit dog parks, doggie daycare and other areas that dog interact. Have your playgroup coordinators expand beyond the shelter and see dog-to-dog interactions out in public. Your playgroup coordinators cannot learn or master dog behavior and handling skills simply by reading or watching, it must be an interactive program. I can see marked improvement in dog handling skills after people handle 30-40 dogs (8-10 playgroups) over a short period (1-2 weeks).
The next blog will address How to Create and Design Structured Dog Playgroups. It will address the questions concerning; pitbulls (and other breeds) in playgroups, size and age issues, playgroup tools, and playgroup games and training methods. You will be amazed that you can work on leave it, jumping, leash walking, recall and variety of other behaviors with 2-5 dogs at once.
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