Barks Blog

BARKS presents session details from PPG’s 2020 Summit and Workshops in Phoenix, Arizona

Session Details:
Presenter: Dr. Lisa Gunter
Session Title: Canine Welfare – What Is It and How Do We Measure It in the Animal Shelter?
Session Type: General Session Lecture (1.5 Hours)

Considerable progress has been made to improve the outcomes for dogs arriving to animal shelters, resulting in substantial increases in the number of dogs adopted and returned to their owners as well as reductions in euthanasia. Over this time, the role of the animal shelter has changed as well, from one of temporary holding to longer lengths of stay as they attempt to save the lives of more dogs. As such, we must also evolve the care we provide to adequately meet and, ideally, exceed welfare needs.

This session will discuss how we can best assess welfare and promising measures found across the scientific literature that can help us better understand dogs’ experiences in the shelter. By identifying meaningful welfare measures, interventions intended to improve the lives of shelter-living dogs can be tested and disseminated to animal shelters.

Learning Objectives: 

• Explain the difficulties inherent in measuring welfare.
  Identify stressors in the shelter environment that may compromise canine welfare.
• Reference the different physiological, cognitive, behavioral, and health measures that can be used to measure canine welfare.
• Describe which in-kennel behaviors relate most closely to the welfare of dogs in shelters.

PPG Summit 2020 will take place in Phoenix, Arizona and offer two unique programs:

Program 1: The Four-Day Summit
Program 2: The Four-Day Summit + Daily Off-Site Workshops at the Arizona Humane Society

Dates: Friday, September 18 – Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Event theme: Collaborative Care and Enrichment – Creating Partnerships for Positive Results

Quick Links
Event Schedule
Workshop Groups
Presenters and Workshop Instructors
Sponsorship Opportunities
Register