All dogs require a behaviour assessment before going to a home.

These assessments allow us to see what the dog is comfortable with, what insecurities they have and will determine what circumstances they will require in their potential home.

In most cases, we have no idea how the dog will be in a home environment, as we can only give an educated guess on how they will be. It may be a case with the individual dog that what you see is what you get. However there are no guarantees - they may be perfect with us at the rescue but display negative behaviours in the home.

Or they may display negative behaviours in the rescue and turn out to be perfect in the home.

Assessments also protect the rescue if any negative altercations were to happen in the home. If a dog displays negative behaviours in the home that we didn’t witness here and a full assessment has been done with the dog, then it’s all in our favour. Or if negative behaviours were witnessed and documented here, and owners were made fully aware of them also, this is also in our favour.

When it comes to doing behaviour assessments on our dogs, we will, more than likely, have a very good idea of their temperament as they will have been with us for a short while before doing their assessment.

Safety During the Assessment

When doing any part of the Assessment:

Always protect your FACE and NECK

Always keep your face and neck away from the dog and always have your hand up in front of these vulnerable areas to protect yourself.

Even if the dog displays very calm and relaxed behaviours, always be ready in case they quickly react defensively at any point - remember, in most cases, we don’t truly know these dogs.

If at any part during the assessment you feel the dog is too nervous to proceed with a particular section, that still counts as part of the assessment. Picking up for example, you can add the dog was ‘too nervous to be picked up’. Just write in detail what behaviours the dog was portraying and why you didn’t feel comfortable.

It’s always worth making notes on the dog’s temperament as soon as they come in to us, which will benefit you when it comes to writing up their assessment.

General Handling

If comfortable to do so, gently give the dog affection and test all the following areas:

Make sure not to be too intense when assessing. Be relaxed and keep it light and keep it fun.

Always be casually aware and ready for the dog to be reactive.

The dog may have sensitive areas - they may quickly be defensive or react in pain. Especially around sensitive areas like the stomach and rear end. Some dogs may not like their eyes / paws being touched etc.

Is the Dog Comfortable Being Picked Up?

You can start by putting a little pressure on their underneath where you would usually pick them up.

If the dog is timid/unsure with you or very nervous, then there is no need to push this as it could provoke a reaction, as it’s a very intrusive manoeuvre to pick a dog up.

Please do not pick up elderly dogs as there is no need. You can simply put on their assessment they were too old to attempt to pick up.

If the dog is a very large breed - then don’t do your back in trying to pick it up!

How is the Dog with Being Restrained?

If the dog isn’t too nervous, gently see how they are when being restrained. Again be mindful of your face and neck areas.

Behaviour Around People

How confident were they when they first arrived?

For this part of the assessment they need to meet a variety of people, or at least see how they are when close to people if they’re very fearful.

You will, most likely, already have a very good idea of how confident they are with people. How are they with men/women?

Be cautious who you choose to be guinea pigs for this - volunteers are usually really good, just make sure they’re not too over the top with affection with nervous dogs.

With nervous and scared dogs, make sure you ask the people you’re using not to show them too much attention or affection - see if the dog comes to them in their own time.

If they’re very confident and relaxed, you can potentially see how they are in the café. This will usually be an unfamiliar environment to them so you will get a good sense of how they are in new environments. Be cautious of other dogs in there and there will be public and potentially children in there.

How Do They React When Introduced to Unfamiliar People?

Are they -

Children

Regarding what age children they can potentially live with: Stray dogs can only live with children aged 5 years+ (no exceptions) - however, they are rarely suitable to live with children that young.

If there are very nervous/petrified/mouthing heavily/possessive and potentially aggressive behaviours displayed - then the age of children they can be rehomed with is strictly 16+, or adult only home depending on the severity of the behaviours.

Other behaviours and observations which may affect what age children they should live with:

The age of the children can be negotiated as you can get some very mature 10 year olds and some very immature 18 year olds. The children need to be confident and sensible with the dogs.

If there are young children in the home - you can guarantee they will have friends of a similar age that will visit at random times.

If we know the dog may be living with young children - an extensive assessment must be done.

When it comes to deciding what age children dogs can live with - we need to get this right. Ask several other handlers what their opinions are and ask if they have seen any with the dog before deciding what age they can live with - and always check with the supervisor to make sure they agree.

The kennel supervisor will always be the one who will ultimately decide.

If we decide a dog can live with younger children but we then see negative behaviours further down the line during its stay with us, then this needs to be addressed and the age of children will need to increase.

Behaviour Around Dogs

We need to assess the dog’s temperament with and around other dogs as part of the assessment. This will decide if they can potentially live with other dogs, or if they would be better suited as the only dog in the home.

Do a few on-lead mixes with a couple dogs of different temperaments - ideally a calm relaxed dog and then an excitable dog. This gives us a great idea of how they will generally be like with dogs as they will most likely be calm or excitable.

If it’s a male dog unsure of other dogs - maybe a mixing with a female might be best.

If the dog in question is unsure/scared/reactive towards the calm dog, then there’s no need to proceed with an excitable dog as you can guarantee the nervous behaviour will intensify with an overly excitable dog.

If the dog appears to be very relaxed and enjoys the dog’s company then there may be potential to live with other dogs. Or you may feel they will settle overtime but are not ready at present and require more canine socialisation.

If it’s an older dog you’re assessing and it seems relaxed with other dogs, advise it would most likely be best for it to live with an older compatible dog.

It is never guaranteed when doing assessments that they can live with other dogs - it just gives us an all-round general idea of what will work best for them.

Dogs Behaviour Around Other Animals

You may not spot this on the assessment as other animals never appear when we want them to.

When walking any dog - if prey drive behaviour is seen either before or after the assessment, make note of it to add it onto their assessment when it’s done.

Food Possession

When doing a food possession test, you just want to see if there is any nervous or possessive behaviour.

Remember: you are only seeing if there is a reaction - not to push for one.

You can accidentally teach dogs to be food possessive! Which is why some already are.

Don’t be complacent if you think you know the dog - some of the loveliest, friendliest and most playful dogs can surprise you when it comes to food possession!

All wary behaviours stem from the eyes of the dog. You’re looking for tense and wary behaviours. Are they -

It’s incredibly rare a dog will choose to bite you right away without giving several warnings first.

We want to spot and respect the signs of food possession and not to proceed any further with the assessment when we see any behavioural signs.

Make sure you’re as relaxed as possible - if you’re looking tense and very on edge, the dog won’t feel comfortable either.

How to Conduct the Food Possession Test

Avoid direct eye contact wherever possible.

It’s best to do food possession tests in the dog’s kennel as that’s where they will have a routine with feeding. Do not be overbearing. Stand/crouch side on to the dog so it’s less threatening.

Use a larger bowl than you normally would for the size of the dog - this is so there is more surface area for you to hold onto, it will not be as intense and safer for you as you can have your hands not so close to their mouth.

You want to put a fair amount of decent meat in the food bowl - if you don’t put enough food, they can wolf it all down before you’ve even had a chance to start the assessment.

When you present them with a bowl of decent meat and place the bowl down -

Firstly: just stand at a distance. This is to see if they’re comfortable with you being there. Do not be overbearing. Stand at a distance to the dog so it’s less threatening.

Gently and slowly move your foot closer to the food bowl whilst they’re eating. If they’re comfortable with this, then glide it side to side in front of the bowl, and then tap it gently if you’re able to do so.

If the dog is fine with this, and only if you feel confident to do so - crouch down side on to the bowl.

If the dog is still very relaxed with this, gently move your hand that is closest to the bowl towards the bowl and see if you can move it around slowly and potentially take it away. Don’t snatch it away, just move it slowly at first.

There is a fake rubber hand in the back office if you prefer to use that rather than your own hand.

Do not put yourself at risk - think of the breed of dog you’re assessing. Any breed of dog can be food possessive.

If it’s a very large and powerful breed, make sure you’re being extra vigilant on watching out for nervous and wary behavioural signs.

Always position yourself side on - this is so if you need to move quickly away, you can do so very easily, and make sure your hand can be moved away quickly.

Do not push for a reaction and annoy the dog.

When you see any signs of tension/wariness it’s up to you and the situation as to how far to proceed. Do not put yourself at risk - if it doesn’t feel right and you get a sense the dog really isn’t comfortable, then you can stop there.

If you don’t get a reaction when moving the bowl away from the dog, you can lightly touch their back or on their head - again make sure you position yourself so if you need to move away quickly you can do so. Only do this if you haven’t seen any tense or wary behaviours.

If the dog is potentially living with children then you need to be thorough.

Sometimes you may not be sure when it comes to food tests - some dogs can be nervous and scared to eat (but not possessive) but it comes across as very tense behaviour. This may be because they may have been told off for eating before.

Toys

Types of toys to try:

To see if they’re possessive over toys - use the same approach as food. Crouch down close to them if they’ve got a toy - again try not to be overbearing and non-threatening. Gently move your hand towards the toy. Are they -

If it feels safe to do so and you haven’t seen any potentially possessive behaviour - see how they react when attempting to take toys away.

Exercise and Play

No matter how perfect their recall is - always note to keep them on lead for at least 8-12 weeks. This will allow time to -

With very very nervous dogs the time scale to keep on lead will increase to 6 months minimum - especially dogs that could be a flight risk.

With dog aggressive dogs, always advise to keep on lead and avoid popular dog walking areas and to avoid wide open spaces - e.g. the beach.

How are They in the Vets?

How were they for their general health check and being vaccinated? Were they -

If you’re unsure, ask the member of staff who took them down. It usually says on their vet notes on analogue how they were, as written by the vets.

How are They with Traffic?

When walking them, take them to the end of the drive to see how they are with traffic. You may be able to gauge how they are as you move closer to the road. Are they -

Notes Section

In the notes section, you can recap on any issues seen and can go into detail of what socialisation is required (Dog, People, all round general socialisation with the outside world).

If there are any aggressive or possessive behaviours witnessed during the assessment that staff weren’t already aware about - make sure it’s written on their boards and make sure everyone is fully aware of them.

Be sure to write the date of the assessment down!

If at any point of the assessment you feel you need a second opinion, or are not confident or are uncertain on any behaviours seen, there’s absolutely no harm or shame in asking another handler to re-do a certain part of the assessment if you were unsure.