Today I attended an arranged induction day at RSPCA Radcliffe on Trent animal shelter. During the induction, we were initially taken to a meeting room whereby we were given a brief introduction to the background of the RSPCA and predominantly the Radcliffe shelter themselves. It unfolded that this shelter, despite holding the RSPCA name, is an independent charity and does not receive any funding from the RSPCA. During this initial talk our spokesperson, Ann O'Brien, stated that there were plans to expand and build more kennels, however after the hit of the recession, all plans came to a halt and have not been looked at since. Despite their minimal amount of available kennels, today we learnt that one out of two kennel blocks is completely shut for minor renovation. This means at present they can only house half of what they have the capacity for.
After the first talk, we were given a tour of the facility. We walked through the only block currently open. The design was typical of a stereotypical kennel block - 17 kennels in a straight line with a very narrow walkway running past all of them. In this case, there are no dogs directly opposite one another - but due to the materiality of metal caging the echo of barking was almost unbearable. On observation, there were many dogs that had just come in, who looked extremely frightened and unsure - almost intimidated by our presence. I have denoted a potential limitation to my research at this facility. As a 'green badge' volunteer, we are only allowed to handle the dogs that have been highlighted as green on their behavioural 'traffic light' system. Nonetheless, I am still allowed to observe the more aggressive / agitated 'amber' or 'red' dogs for the purpose of my investigation. However, this means I will not have the opportunity to physically take them particular dogs out of their environment to witness if there is any change in behaviour.
After this, we attended a second talk with Ann once again. On this occasion, she ran us through how to distinguish different dog behaviour within a kennel environment. She stated that the kennel environment is unnatural, and ultimately gives all dogs an edge - even if they seem friendly within the kennel or on a walk (for example), that kind of environment makes them mentally unstable and they could snap at any time. This is also the reason why the do not let any of the dogs socialise with one another for safety reasons. This is interesting as based on my questionnaire results, many of the responses encourage an environment where dogs can learn to interact with one another. The RSPCA encourage no socialisation at all, to the point whereby two dogs cannot be in the large walking paddock at the same time. Is this method being over-cautious and prohibiting dog socialisation? Or does the kennel environment create such a mental strain on dogs that socialisation is not possible under such circumstances?
CALMING MEASURES
In terms of attempting to induce calm onto the dogs, the shelter relies heavily on volunteers to give the dogs the extra love and attention that the staff cannot physically give them, already overwhelming with the task of running the facility alongside all the daily duties e.g. cleaning, feeding.
They implemented a scheme called 'K9 Story Telling and Relaxing with the Dog'. This procedure requires the volunteer to bring in a book, and sit in with a dog in its kennel and read to it. Initially I thought it was a bit strange, however the method behind this is very inspiring. As most of the volunteers only enter the kennels to take them for a walk, dogs remember this and only associate people coming towards their kennel to walk - causing them to become extremely over-excited whenever anyone comes towards them - a potentially off-putting behaviour for adoptive families. By sitting in with them and getting them accustomed to your slower, calmer presence - this in turn should implement a sense of calm onto the dogs in a stressful environment.
When taking dogs out for a walk, they encourage that all dogs closer to the door be shut out on their outside run before the selected dog is directed towards the door for a walk. This deters any unsociable acquaintance between the dogs such as snapping at the caging as they are dragged past. Dogs do this as a means of exerting uncontrollable pent up energy, giving them something to focus on in such an un-stimulating environment. However, if this habit becomes too cemented in their behaviour to the point of no return, this is when their outlook becomes very bleak, seen as unsociable to dogs, intimidating and therefore not likely for adoption. This method is using as a means of calming as best they can with the kennel design they have to work with.
Going into more depth about dog behaviour within a kennel environment, the session began to expand into dog psychology and mentality, linking back to my previous research into dog psychology. If a dog see's something as a threat, it displays the appropriate body language such a cowering, hackles up or slight snarling. It is crucial that we understand what they are saying, and effectively remove the threat (being us hovering outside the kennel) to allow for 'distance increase'. If we fail to remove the threat of another dog or even us being the threat, the dog will then try to take control of the situation in the only way it knows how - escalating and showing aggression to try to resolve the situation it is in. Dogs cannot think rationally and act on retaliation to protect themselves from a perceived threat, as they would in the wild. This notion begins to link to previous investigations into the link between the differences of the wild and domestic dog.
During the session, Ann made numerous interesting and relative points to my investigation. On the subject of shelter designs, she admits the design of a typical kennel block is not ideal and does inflict stress onto the dogs, causing them to immediately have an 'edge' of unpredictability. She continues to say she does not know any other kennels who have mastered a solution, and many make do and try to exert the best with what they have.
OTHER POINTS
The facility similarly has 'meeting areas' for adoptive families to interact with their potential dog outside of the kennel. However on initial observation, this area is simply a concrete square enclosed by yet more metal caging. Similarly, the meeting areas are located directly opposite the kennel blocks - thereby the hype and noise from the blocks can still affect the dog.
The facility also runs a 'Staffie Club' as a means of educational programmes for the general public to learn about this iconic breed, learning how to handle the breed correctly and attempt to rid them of their 'status dog' image.
(O' Brien, A., 2014. RSPCA induction / Animal behaviour. [Induction speech at RSPCA volunteer induction to green badge volunteers, RSPCA Radcliffe-on-Trent]. 6th December 2014.)