Question:
This is going to be mostly dog orientated since that's the focus of most of the material I have read so far.
Which temperament test does your shelter administer to incoming dogs? I have been reading on a temperament test designed by Sue Sternberg (http://www.suesternberg.com) and the misapplication of the test which causes newly surrenderd, fightened dogs unused to their surrounding to react in a manner deemed 'aggressive' and 'unadoptable' by shelter staff. And then these dogs are euthanised.
Another test I read about is designed by Wendy Volhard.
Has anyone attended seminars conducted by Sue Sternberg? Those who say they went claim that Sue said her goal was to euthanise 75% of the dog population in the Northeast.
Here is a VERY long article posted by a former employee of Sue's rescue. I can't verify the source so it could just be hearsay (http://www.petfinder.org/dcforum/doc...ity/10436.html)
Here's another post on NoPuppyMills Forums about Sue's test:
An area shelter had a friend of mine foster a Great Pyrenees puppy. She was about six months old, and I can't remember whether she was turned in by an owner or was a stray.
After she had been fostered for several weeks, the shelter had my friend bring the puppy in for 'behavior testing.' You'll understand the quotes in a minute....
So the puppy is brought back into the shelter (lots of noise, unpleasant smells, probably not very happy associations for the girl). She's taken into a room, tethered, and a couple of strange dogs are brought in.
The puppy crawled under a chair (not an easy thing for a Pyr to do, at six months they're already huge), curled a lip and gave a low growl. At some point they also determined that she would chase a cat. No word of whether she caught it. &g&
Fast forward a few days. The puppy, still living with the foster, is deemed unadoptable. Based on the testing I just described, the shelter has decided that she is dog agressive and will be put down. My friend, in total disbelief, offers to adopt the puppy herself. There have been no issues in her home, she has children and several other dogs and a couple of cats and there have been absolutely NO PROBLEMS with the puppy. The shelter lets the puppy stay with her over the weekend, then insists that my friend bring her back in.
They say they have already expended too many resources on the dog and they don't want the liability and they know my friend occasionally works with rescue and they can't take a chance that the puppy will go into rescue.
If they're basing their behavior testing on the Sternberg or whatever her name is test methods, they ought to be fully aware that the woman has admitted, publicly, to a bias against large dogs. They frighten her and she really doesn't know anything about them, other than to bait them, based on what I've read the past few months (including reports from people who still swear by her).
A Great Pyrenees is a very intelligent *Guardian* dog, who will almost always have the sense to protect herself when outnumbered. This puppy's reaction is exactly what it should have been.
She was killed at the shelter the next day.
This was at a Kansas City area shelter that used to have a pretty good reputation. They lost more than a dog a few weeks ago. :-(
I haven't been able to verify that Sue actually said she wants to euthanise 75% of the dog population in the Northeast since I haven't attended any of her seminars neither can I verify that she is afraid of big dogs like the author of the message says since he/she didn't provide links.
So I guess my question is this: Do you think it would make the process easier if animals with behaviour problems are euthanised to make space for other more adoptable animals? What if the animal is very aggressive towards any type of human contact as opposed to just food guarding? Do you think that ALL temperament problems can be fixed? If the animal is unable to find a home due to aggression or neurotic behaviour do you think they should be kept alive in the shelter to wait for the chance that someone would be willing to work with and adopt them or would they be better off dead?
Okay, that was a lot of questions, lol! But I was just wondering.


Answer:
When we get dogs in that appear frightened...we wait a few days to get them adjusted to the surroundings before we attempt to assess the dog. Otherwise, you don't get a true assessment. Our temperment assessor is very good and even gives seminars of her own to other shelters...some of our staff has attended Sue Sternberg's seminar and last year I was fortunate to attend Dr. Ian Dunbar's seminar in Toronto.
I also have no backup but I would question the reliability of this former staff member who wrote the article. In my opinion, it depends on the severity of the behaviour problem...if the animal is very aggressive, it should be euthanized. I don't believe that ALL behaviour problems can be fixed. If the problem is borderline, the dog might go to a rescue group that can give it the proper training before placing it in a new home (something we haven't time to do)...but as far as adopting an aggressive dog out...that is plain negligence on the part of the shelter.


Answer:
I did more research on Sue Sternberg and it seems like she is being slammed because she does not shy away from the issue of euthanasia. I still haven't found any solid evidence that she said she wants to euthanise 75% of the animals in the Northeast, just other people posting what they heard.


Answer:
I think that's probably the case...I didn't attend the seminar but I heard that she knows her stuff...


Answer:
Hi Clearjade:
As you probably know, I work with Sue in the Lost and Found Department, and I do NOT work in the Behaviour department. However, I do have a lot of respect for Sue Sternberg's test. The temperament assesser *knows* that the shelter environment is stressful for dogs and that will skew how the dog acts at the shelter. However, you must realize, that a big number of dogs in shelters are unclaimed strays, and the shelter staff is under the obligation to understand the dog's personality (without knowing anything about its history) to be able to place it appropriately.
I met Sue Sternberg once (I drove 7 hours to attend a 2 hour seminar -- my friends and I then camped out behind the dog kennels in tents overnight!), and from that meeting, from hearing about the 4 day seminar from my coworkers who attended it, watching the videos by Sue and reading articles by Sue, I've come to respect her. I never got the impression that she was "euthanasia eager": I got the impression that she was able to confront the issue of euthanasia objectively. She stresses QUALITY of life over QUANTITY of life. Is it a good life for a dog who is aggressive, to live 10 years in a shelter in a cage? Part of the issue of the temperament assessment is not only to determine which animals are adoptable, but (and I don't mean for this to sound cold), but which animals can be realistically adopted.
Most dogs don't do well in shelters. No matter how many volunteers and chew toys and blankets and walks they have, it's a stressful environment. I've seen dogs become depressed at the shelter, where something inside of them shuts down and their eyes are empty. These dogs do nothing but lay around, depressed. They don't get excited over treats, they stop eating, they don't care to take walks. Is it fair to make them stay at a shelter for months, as they waste away? A part of them has died, and I'm not sure it can ever be reborn.
Someone who uses Sue Sternberg's approach must take into account many factors. It's not a black and white issue. Euthanasia of homeless pets is a very sad thing, but it's not the shelter's fault. It's the community's responsibility to treat all animals responsibly and humanely, and it's left to many shelters to "clean up" the messes.
I do believe most temperament problems can be PREVENTED -- through proper socialization and training. Most temperament problems are very difficult to TREAT -- some can be, by patient, understanding and trained people. But let's be honest, how many families want to adopt problems? While I'm no expert, I do have a lot of training in regards to dogs, but I would never knowingly adopt a dog that is agressive with children, cats, men, or strangers. I would never knowingly adopt a dog who has food guarding issues. I would not want to have a dog that has a major temperament issue.
Phew! My two cents on your questions!


Answer:
Well said GC...she always explains things better than I do...plus she did attend Sue's seminar...thanks M!


Answer:
Thanks for the very informative reply greencolander! I'm glad to have a perspective from someone who has actually attended her seminars. The feeling I have been getting from Petfinder and NoPuppyMills forums has been that any kind of euthanasia is evil which does not sound right to me.