DAY TWO
Today I had my second day at RSPCA Block Fen. I began by aiding with their day-to-day activities before under-going my observations. I was initially assigned to the 'Staff Only' block to aid with the cleaning. To my surprise, as the block is within an enclosed area, the staff allow a few of the dogs to run loose in roughly 10 minute intervals to encourage interaction with the staff during their duties alongside changing their environment from being within a kennel. However, only a select few 'trusted' dogs are allowed to ensure they will go back into the kennels without too many reservations. The unsure, nervous dogs who may refuse will effectively slow the workers down from undergoing their multitude of daily tasks.
Nonetheless, all of the dogs are taken for a long 20-25 minute walk across the stretch of four large fields, once a day. This was ideal for my investigation into whether a shelter dogs behaviour changes once removed from a kennel environment, as the walk route takes the dog and walker far out of reach from the kennel facility until it cannot be heard or seen.
SELECTING CASE STUDIES:
During my two days, I will work closely within the two different blocks: the public re-homing block and the private assessment block, (as stated above). This will give me a broader selection of 'case studies' to observe and document behaviour in and away from a kennel environment.
I aim to select four case 'dogs' as this facility - two from the main re-homing block, and two from the private assessmet block. I aim to select the dogs at random as to not make the observations bias. Once this choice has been made, I will then determine what breed they are and the length of stay they have been in a kennel environment. Once chosen, I will closely observe and document their behaviour within a kennel environment, and whether their mentality changes once removed from the kennel compund altogether and placed in a natural setting.