Importance of Enrichment and Socialization
Recently, we evaluated 3 pit bull type dogs who had recently been released from custody. The evaluations were really interesting, considering the dogs’ background, and the evaluation provided the students with a lifelong lesson about the importance of socialization of puppies.
Two dogs, Tom and Cherry were six month old puppies when they arrived at the shelter. The other dog, Rasberry, was 1.5 years old. A dog’s primary socialization period, the period in life where it is very important to expose them (gently and positively) to anything and everything they will be exposed to later in life (other dogs, cats, people, noises, different environments), occurs between 3 and 13 weeks. Research has demonstrated that puppies who are raised from birth to 14 weeks of age in impoverished kennel environments may suffer from irreparable damage to their behavioral health.
All 3 of the dogs arrived at the shelter past their primary socialization phase; however, we don’t know what kind of socialization, if any, they received while in their previous living situation. Once at the shelter, they did what they could in terms of exposing the puppies to the world around them, but they, like many shelters, are chronically short staffed and don’t have the resources to meet the needs of a puppy… it takes a lot of time and effort. Their policies, like many shelters, did not allow them to send any of the dogs to foster homes. According to shelter staff, Tom was fearful at first, and at one point while he was waiting for his case to be resolved, he lunged suddenly and aggressively at a person when a loud noise occurred.
When we met the dogs last week, they had been in the shelter for approximately 5 months. We evaluated Tom, Cherry, and Rasberry with Match-Up II Online. We were unable to evaluate Tom, due to concerns for his welfare and the evaluator’s safety. Tom demonstrated severe fear and anxiety. He startled and then cowered in response to sudden movements and noises. When people he didn’t know moved toward him, he behaved similarly, cowering, but also moving away from people and quickly moved away each time a stranger approached him or attempted to put a slip lead on him. Tom was clearly suffering from generalized anxiety. His anxiety was severe, yet, the other two dogs were OK… they certainly weren’t perfect, but they demonstrated acceptable behaviors on their evaluations, and another shelter (that had the resources to provide adoption counseling and follow-up) was willing to take them and find them a home.
Why was Tom so much worse off, behaviorally, than the other two dogs? Maybe he had different experiences and less socialization with his original owner. Maybe his genetics make him predisposed to display anxious behavior. It is impossible to know…
The shelter provided for these three dogs to the best of their abilities. The puppies were all emaciated when they arrived at the shelter, and the shelter did an excellent job of keeping the dogs safe from physical harm and improving their medical health. Unfortunately their behavioral health suffered, and at the time of our evaluation, Tom was an unsafe dog to place in the community. A VERY skilled foster home might be a good option for Tom, but the foster home needs to know that Tom might never be safe to place, in anything but the most experienced of homes.
A shelter CAN maintain the integrity of evidence, while preventing dogs from deteriorating behaviorally, with some effort.
It is critical that law enforcement puppies under 14 weeks of age, in custody, get out of the shelter and into foster homes, if there is a chance of that puppy being deemed behaviorally healthy and safe for adoption, when the case is resolved. These dogs were over 14 weeks, but still puppies… A motion to the court, to intervene on behalf of Tom, pleading that foster was necessary to maintain his behavioral health, may have allowed Tom to develop normally, and find a home once the case was resolved.
What are your thoughts on this topic? What is our responsibility with regard to custody dogs?
-Dr. Sheila D’Arpino, Veterinary Behaviorist, Center for Shelter Dogs