Fear Free Shelter Course: Module 1 Script PDF

FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE Module 1 Script Slide 1: Welcome to Module 1: Emotional Health. In this module, you will learn about the emotional health of animals in the shelter. You will also learn about the stress response and its effect on animal behavior...

FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE Module 1 Script Slide 1: Welcome to Module 1: Emotional Health. In this module, you will learn about the emotional health of animals in the shelter. You will also learn about the stress response and its effect on animal behavior and health. Finally, you will learn how dogs and cats perceive the shelter environment. These lessons will help you understand the importance of emotional health for shelter animals. They will also help you identify things that create stress for animals in the shelter. Slide 2: Module 1 consists of the following three lessons. Lesson 1: Health of body and mind Lesson 2: The Stress Response And Lesson 3: How animals perceive the shelter Slide 3: Lesson 1: Health of Body and Mind Slide 4: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Explain that animal health relies on both physical health and emotional health Describe what it means for an animal to be emotionally healthy Describe the emotional needs of dogs and cats List the ways that animals communicate their emotions Slide 5: What does it mean to be healthy or well? Health is not complete if only the body is sound. Being healthy means being sound in body, mind and spirit. When we are healthy, we feel good—physically and emotionally. Health is greatly influenced by the environment in which we live. A healthy environment is essential for healthy animals and people! Slide 6: We strive to keep animals healthy while they await new homes. Providing for animals’ basic physical needs involves major commitments of time and resources. The animals depend on us for shelter, nutrition, grooming, basic medical care and more. fearfreepets.com 1  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE At the same time, they rely on us to ensure that their basic emotional needs are met and that their emotional health is supported. That is a tall order. Yet our ultimate task is to make sure that the animals feel good because it is crucial for their overall health. It is not only beneficial for them, but also for those around them. This is because feeling good can literally be contagious. Positive energy truly spreads! Positive energy also helps shelter animals to connect with potential adopters. This may be their ticket to a loving home. Slide 7: Good emotional or mental health indicates a state of psychological or behavioral well-being. When animals have good emotional health, they are able to effectively function, learn and adapt in everyday life. Emotionally healthy animals regularly express feelings of pleasure and comfort such as joy, playfulness, relaxation, and excitement. If faced with a briefly stressful situation, they are able to cope with it. And, they bounce back from it without remaining anxious or on edge. They do not experience significant or lasting feelings of fear, anxiety and stress (FAS), frustration or other negative emotions. In short, emotionally healthy animals are content and resilient. They enjoy their everyday lives! Slide 8: We all know the basic physical needs of dogs and cats—food, shelter, warmth, medical care. But, what are their emotional needs? For dogs and cats, emotional needs typically include opportunities for social interactions with humans and other compatible animals; the ability to create different functional areas in their living environments for elimination, resting and eating; the opportunity to hide in a secure place or to rest without being disturbed; the ability to change locations within the environment; the ability to engage in species-typical behaviors such as scratching for cats and chewing for dogs; and regular opportunities to play, exercise and engage in mentally stimulating activities. Individual animals possess a variety of emotional needs depending on their species, genetic makeup, personality, prior socialization and past experiences. In other words, what one animal finds rewarding and pleasurable will be a bit different from one to the next! Each animal is an individual! Slide 9: With training and experience, we can tell a great deal about an animal’s emotional health and how they are feeling by observing their behavior. In fact, the best way to figure out how an animal is feeling is by carefully watching what the animal DOES and what he/she DOESN’T do. By carefully watching the animals, we can deduce what an individual is experiencing emotionally when we accurately interpret their body language and vocalizations and understand more passive forms of communication such as withdrawal from normal behaviors—like not eating, grooming, or withdrawing from healthy activities or social interactions. We can fearfreepets.com 2  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE also get a handle on how they are feeling when we recognize displays of abnormal behavior like repetitive spinning, constant hiding, or continual barking. Slide 10: Think of it like this: dogs and cats communicate in two major ways. Actively and passively. They actively communicate how they are feeling through their body language, vocalizations, and actions – for example, by running over to greet us with their whole body wagging. They passively communicate how they are feeling through their inactions – for example, by avoiding any interaction with us. Each of these sends a powerful message! In the next module, you will learn more about interpreting the communication signals of dogs and cats. Slide 11: Good health relies both on being physically healthy, as well as mentally or emotionally healthy. Emotionally healthy animals are content and active. They display a wide variety of normal behaviors, including appropriate social interactions, eating, grooming, playing, and resting. In contrast, they do not experience significant or prolonged periods of fear, anxiety, stress (FAS) and frustration. The emotional needs of individual animals vary depending on their unique personalities. We can tell how dogs and cats are feeling emotionally by observing their behavior – including what they are and are not doing in the shelter. Slide 12: Lesson 2: The Stress Response Slide 13: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Define stress and the stress response Provide examples of things that are stressful to animals in the shelter Describe how stress affects animal health and well-being List factors that affect the stress response Slide 14: What is stress? Let’s start by defining stress. We’ll start with a very broad definition of stress. fearfreepets.com 3  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE In a broad sense, stress is the sum of the body and mind’s reactions to anything that disrupts our normal baseline state of functioning. The purpose of these reactions is to return the body and mind to their normal states of functioning. As defined in this broad sense, stress is not necessarily bad IF you can easily return to a normal baseline state. For example, upon entering a surprise party you may be startled at first, but then quickly become happy that people are celebrating with you. Although stress is not always bad, the term stress is frequently used to describe a negative or potentially harmful stress response. In the context of this course, this is how we use the term: we use the word stress to refer to negative, potentially harmful stress responses. In addition, we subjectively characterize stress as being either mild, moderate, or severe. Finally, the word “distress” is sometimes used to describe stress that is especially severe and harmful. Distress most often results when stress is severe or prolonged, or when the individual is not able to cope with or escape from the stress. Slide 15: What is a stressor? Stressors are any stress-producing factor or stimulus. There are 3 general categories of stressors. Environmental, physiologic, and social. Environmental factors which can cause stress include things such as noise, bright lights and rapid movement. Physiologic factors include things like pain, hunger, and illness. Examples of social factors that can cause stress include the presence of unfamiliar people or animals and separation from familiar people and animals. Slide 16: What happens when we are stressed? Stress affects every organ in our bodies and it has a major impact on behavior. The goal of these responses is to return our bodies and minds to their normal states of functioning. When stress is short-lived or mild, we usually experience a rapid return to normal. However, when stress is severe or prolonged, the stress response may not succeed in helping us to return to our normal state. Instead, we may experience harmful effects from the stress. These harmful effects may stay with us for a very long time. Slide 17: Stress triggers immediate responses in our bodies. It can make our hearts race, our breathing increase, and our blood sugar rise. When we are stressed, we may not be able to think clearly. Our perception of pain may be temporarily decreased. All of these things are meant to help us escape from the stressful situation. fearfreepets.com 4  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE Chronic stress triggers additional, longer term responses. It can suppress our immunity, increasing our risk of infectious disease. It can negatively affect our gastrointestinal system, increasing the risk of stomach upset and diarrhea. And, it can predispose us to the development of many other medical problems as well as behavioral disorders. Slide 18: Stress responses are highly variable among individuals: what one finds distressing may not be to another. What is “stressful” is dependent on the perception of an individual animal. For many animals, stress is frequently accompanied by feelings of fear, anxiety, and/or frustration. Stress can have a profound influence on health and behavior. Some animals will refuse to eat. Some may refuse to move. Others will behave aggressively. In shelters, animals experiencing fear, anxiety, and stress (FAS) and frustration are more likely to become ill. Upper respiratory infections are especially common. Chronically stressed animals are also more likely to develop serious ongoing behavior problems. Slide 19: Shelter life is stressful! Housing cats and dogs in animal shelters presents enormous opportunities for introducing stressors and inducing stress. Stressors may include transport; confinement in a new environment; social isolation; changes in temperature, light pattern, and/or ventilation; strange smells; noises; other animals; diet changes; handling; restraint; irregular caregiving schedules; unpredictable events; crowding; illness; the absence of familiar human contact; and the presence of unfamiliar human contact. In fact, anything unfamiliar to a cat or dog can activate the stress response. And, when animals are housed in shelters, stress frequently arises from the lack of opportunities they possess for engaging in activities that would help them to feel better or cope. For example, dogs may want to seek social contact with a person but be unable to do so because they are confined or because they are very scared. A cat may want to retreat to a quiet spot for a nap, but be unable to escape the sounds of barking dogs. Slide 20: Shelter life can have a big impact on emotional health. When confined in an animal shelter, cats and dogs often experience a range of stressors that profoundly affect their emotional health in the short term, and that may also affect their emotional health in the long term. This is particularly true if they experience severe or overwhelming stress (distress) and when stress is ongoing or prolonged. Most of us have witnessed the emotional toll that overwhelming stress can take on people and animals. We have seen situations where we recognized that “he/she was never quite the same after x,y, or z happened”. Like people, animals are emotionally sensitive (some more so than others)—and traumatic experiences can sometimes result in the development of permanent emotional scars that may be difficult, or even impossible, to overcome in the future. Indeed, the experiences that animals undergo during their stay in a shelter can impact their emotional health for the rest of life. fearfreepets.com 5  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE Slide 21: We already mentioned that stress responses can vary considerably among individuals. How an animal perceives a potential stressor is influenced by “who they are.” In other words, the way they respond to a potentially stressful situation will depend on their unique genetics, personality, prior socialization, and prior experiences. These all affect how they will respond to a given situation or a potential stressor. There are also several factors associated with stress itself that can profoundly influence an individual’s response to it. These include the severity of the stress, the duration of the stress, whether or not it is perceived as escapable, and whether or not it is predictable. Obviously, the more severe the stress and the longer it lasts, the more difficult it is for an animal to cope and the more likely they will be to suffer harmful effects from it. When stress is perceived as unescapable or uncontrollable, it is especially severe. Predictability of stress also profoundly influences an individual’s response—and deserves some additional thought. Slide 22: We all like to know what to expect Not knowing what to expect is stressful for people and animals alike. Picture yourself far away from home, from all the things you know—deposited for unknown reasons in a strange, confining place where you don’t know anyone. What would help you cope? What would decrease your stress? One of the most important things would be for you to be able to know what to expect. If you knew what to expect, you could deal with and adjust to the daily routine. In fact, knowing when both pleasant and not-so-pleasant things are going to happen helps both people and animals cope because we can learn what to expect when, and can prepare ourselves. For example, if events that are perceived as stressful or scary (such as cleaning time) occur on a predictable schedule, animals can learn to cope more easily because they will know that they can relax afterward. Having positive predictable events to look forward to every day will also help tremendously. For example, if dogs know that they will reliably get to go outside for exercise at the same times every day, they will learn to look forward to those times, and relax in between. Providing animals with a predictable daily schedule can go a long way toward decreasing stress! As this course continues, you will learn many ways to decrease stress in the shelter both for animals and for people. Slide 23: The more we can reduce FAS and frustration in the shelter, the better it will be for everyone. This is because emotions are contagious! In fact, they can spread like wildfire in a confined population of animals or people. fearfreepets.com 6  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE The process of “emotional contagion” is a simple and widespread form of emotional transfer that occurs among animals whereby animals shift their own emotional state, upon perceiving the emotions of other animals, in the same direction. This process can multiply both negative and positive emotions in animal groups. For example, when some animals are afraid—those around them are likely to quickly feel the same way as well. On the other hand, when some animals are at ease and relaxed, those around them are more likely to feel relaxed as well. Slide 24: To better illustrate this concept, imagine yourself entering a building and being confined to a small cell. As you try to get your bearings and cope with what is happening, you look around and begin to realize that all the other people appear frightened, scared, and/or confused. What an unnerving experience that would be—and how different would it be if instead, you looked around and saw people that were relaxed and smiling. Automatically, you would feel better, right? Your outlook would be much more positive. The same holds true for animals. And, importantly, it is much easier to care for animals that are not stressed out! It is also easier to find forever homes for them! Slide 25: Lesson 2: Conclusion Stress is the sum of the body and mind’s reactions to anything that disrupts normal, baseline functioning. Stress can be mild, moderate, or severe; and distress occurs when stress is particularly severe or prolonged. There are numerous factors that can result in stress for animals in shelters, including environmental, physiologic and social stressors. Examples include loud noises, strange smells, being confined to a cage or run, exposure to unfamiliar people and animals, and unpredictable handling and events. Animals that are stressed are more likely to develop illness and problem behaviors, and chronic stress can lead to the development of permanent emotional scars. Stress can be contagious among animals, readily spreading through a group because when one animal witnesses the stress of another animal, they are more likely to become stressed themselves. Providing a regular routine of care for animals can reduce stress because they will learn what to expect in their daily lives. Slide 26: Lesson 3: How animals perceive the shelter environment Slide 27: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Describe unique characteristics of the five senses (sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch) in cats and dogs Recognize how an animal’s senses affect their perception and behavior in the shelter fearfreepets.com 7  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE Slide 28: How do dogs and cats perceive the world around them? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a dog or a cat for a day? It’s truly hard to imagine—this is because their five senses are so very different from ours. The way they see, the way they hear, what they can smell, what they taste, and their sense of touch are all very different from yours and mine. Because of this, they truly experience the world differently than we do. And, the way they perceive the world affects how they feel emotionally and how they behave. Learning about their unique senses can help us better understand how dogs and cats perceive the shelter. When we have a better understanding of how they are experiencing things, we can better anticipate how to improve our interactions and their environment to prevent fear, anxiety, stress (FAS) and frustration. Slide 29: Dogs and cats have astonishing sensory capabilities, including specialized eyesight. They are highly sensitive to movement, and they are able to see and function at very low levels of light. They also have a very wide visual field – meaning they have greater peripheral vision than we do. Although their eyesight is specialized in these ways, dogs and cats are not able to see as sharply or as clearly as we do. They lack the same degree of depth perception. And, their ability to focus on objects up close and far away is not nearly as good as ours. Their color vision is also limited compared to ours. In fact, their overall visual acuity has been estimated to be only 20-40% that of humans. For example, a dog can only distinguish an object at a distance of 20 feet away that a human could readily identify from a distance of 90 feet. Slide 30: Because of their unique sense of vision, dogs and cats perceive the environment very differently than we do. They are sensitive to the very smallest amounts of motion. And, because of their greater peripheral vision, they may be able to see movement that is out of our range of view. Like people, rapid movements tend to make animals more stimulated, while slower movements are often more calming. When movement is fast, animals are more likely to be startled and to respond quickly without thinking. When movement around them is slow, it allows time for them to observe, assess, and respond more thoughtfully and appropriately to the given situation. Slide 31: It is important to realize that fast motion toward a cat or dog can be interpreted as a threat, and must be avoided. Don’t forget that they may be able to see you in their peripheral vision even if you think you are out of the range of their view. Additionally, animals may interpret some of your postures as threatening. These include leaning over the animal, reaching toward them, and moving quickly into their personal space. Dogs and cats, just like people, have a distance at which they may be unwilling to let some individuals enter. This distance is what most of us refer to as our “personal space.” In animals, it is sometimes called their “flight distance.” This is because if you get too close and invade their space, their urge to run away or otherwise fearfreepets.com 8  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE resist or fight will be great. By moving slowly and by using nonthreatening gestures, you can help to put an animal at ease, rather than triggering their stress response and their urge to flee or fight. Slide 32: For all of these reasons, it is always best to avoid fast motion around dogs and cats. And, remember that dogs and cats are both predatory species. This means that fast motion away from a cat or dog could be interpreted as fleeing prey, and might stimulate chase behavior before the animal really has a chance to realize what they are doing. Fast motion is especially disturbing for fearful animals, and should always be avoided. Fast motion toward a fearful animal will increase their fear. Fast motion AWAY from a fearful animal may trigger them to come after you to attack. This is why you should never turn and run away from a fearful dog! Slide 33: When an animal is overwhelmed by visual stimuli in the environment, it can be very helpful to block it. For example: Doors can be shut to block the activity occurring outside of the room. Towels can be used to cover an animal’s head blocking their vision during a procedure. A sheet can be draped over a carrier. A visual barrier can be placed on the front of a cage or run. Let’s look at some simple examples. Slide 34: In this example, a soft blanket has been gently draped over a small dog’s face. The blanket serves to prevent him from seeing unfamiliar animals as he is moved through the ward in his caregiver’s arms. For this dog, blocking visual stimuli using a blanket over his face helped to keep him calm and prevented him from getting overwhelmed by the sights of the environment. Slide 35: Blocking visual stimuli can be a powerful tool for reducing FAS in some animals, but keep in mind that every animal is different. When animals show us that they are fearful, we can use this strategy to help reduce their fear. For example, this dog was afraid of the microchip scanner, so covering his eyes during scanning made it so much easier for him. Slide 36: That said, it is always important to remember that “one size does not fit all.” What we need to do to reduce FAS will vary from one animal to the next. For example, this puppy is not displaying signs of fear. Instead, he appears relaxed and alert. Note his relaxed body posture, his legs draped loosely over his caregivers’ arms, and his head held high with an alert but soft facial expression. Covering his eyes for transport through the shelter is not necessary. In fact, it may even increase FAS and frustration in this case because this dog is content and eager to look around at his environment. Slide 37: fearfreepets.com 9  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE Here a sheet has been draped over a transport carrier containing a cat in order to shield her from the sights of the busy shelter during the admission process. The sheet helped to prevent her from feeling overwhelmed, reducing stress and helping her to cope with the situation. Slide 38: Draping a blanket, towel, or even a piece of newspaper over a cage door provides privacy for the occupant. In this case, a blanket over the cage door was used to shield a cat from outside sights and activities, helping her settle in to the shelter environment. Once she is comfortable in her new place, she will be ready to see out of her enclosure and the door covering can be removed. Slide 39: In this example, a sheet of plastic sign board is attached to the front of a kennel run using zip ties. This barrier on the bottom of the kennel run door provides the dog with a bit of privacy and shields him visually from activity outside his kennel. Slide 40: The dog here was frightened and cowering in the back of the run—signs of FAS. She immediately felt safer and more confident with the barrier in place. She was relaxed enough to come forward right away and look out at her new world. In time, the barrier could be reduced in size or removed as the dog settles in to the new environment. Inexpensive shower curtains are also useful for this purpose. Slide 41: Here’s another example that involves both sight and motion and how the dog perceives it. In this picture, the person is leaning over and reaching for the dog. Although she means no harm, she is not approaching the dog in an appropriate or considerate manner and is making the dog uncomfortable. Note that the dog’s ears are pinned back against her head, her tail is held down low, her left front paw is lifted, her lips are pursed about to lip lick and her weight is shifted back as she starts to move away from the person. Note that she is wagging her tail, but is also showing signs of FAS. This interaction ended with the dog moving away from the person. Later in this course, you will learn more about safe and considerate approaches to handling animals that minimize FAS and keep everyone more comfortable. Slide 42: Dogs and cats have a very acute sense of hearing—in fact, they can hear many sounds that we cannot and and they also hear sounds from farther away. Dogs and cats can rotate their ears in many different directions. This helps them to identify the faintest of sounds and to determine where the they are coming from. Because of their sensitive hearing, dogs and cats are more sensitive to sounds than humans and many have a difficult time with loud noises. And, they often hear sounds that we are not even aware of. For example, has your dog ever raced to the door barking for what seemed like no reason? There is a good chance he heard something you didn’t! fearfreepets.com 10  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE Slide 43: Animals can learn to predict the meaning of sounds. This dog quickly learned the sound of treat cart. He knew the cart was coming long before he ever saw it. The sound of the cart quickly came to mean that he would soon get a delicious stuffed Kong. Hearing the cart made him excited in anticipation of the treat he had learned was on its way. Just as a dog learns the sound of the treat cart, they can also learn the sounds of the dog walkers, the sounds of the cleaning equipment, and many other sounds of which we may not even be aware. They certainly hear the sounds of other animals – and when they hear howling, barking, and whining, and yowling they understand the meaning of these sounds and may become upset or agitated as a result. The sounds of dogs barking are especially stressful for cats, and this is a huge problem in many shelters. Separating dog and cat housing areas is extremely important to prevent the emotional distress that is triggered in many cats by the sounds of barking dogs. Sounds can be blocked by using other sounds like soothing music, fans, water fountains, and white noise machines. Slide 44: Unfortunately, in many older shelter facilities, dog and cat wards are in close proximity like the one in this video. The sounds of barking dogs are extremely stressful for cats, creating high FAS and increasing the risk of infectious disease and emotional distress. This shelter solved the problem by repurposing another area of the building for cat housing. By simply minimizing the loud sounds of barking dogs, the shelter was able to dramatically reduce FAS and feline upper respiratory infections as well. This made the cats and the staff much happier! Slide 45: Some sounds are soothing and can be used to enhance the environment. After all of the dogs have been out for daily exercise and play time, this small shelter plays a calming “Canine Lullaby” in the kennel as part of their regular nightly routine. As part of a healthy routine, calming music can health reduce FAS and boost emotional health. Slide 46: Cats and dogs have a very keen sense of smell compared to humans. It’s been said that people see in color, but dogs SMELL in color! Indeed, a dog’s capacity for odor detection has been reported to be as much as 10,000–100,000 times that of the average human! Imagine having the nose of a dog for a day – being able to sniff out lost people, bombs, bed bugs, or even cancer. Just think of all you could smell! Slide 47: For both dogs and cats, it is very important to keep their keen sense of smell in mind. Because they have an amazing ability to detect and differentiate scent, we need to pay special attention to the scents in the shelter fearfreepets.com 11  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE environment. Dogs and cats learn to associate certain scents with certain things. As such, smells can trigger both happy emotions (like the smell of treats) and negative ones. For example, the smell of isopropyl alcohol may trigger fear and anxiety in animals who have learned to associate the smell of an alcohol swab with a needle stick for a vaccine. Slide 48: Avoiding using strong odors can help prevent FAS. And, you can use pleasant odors to your advantage to help keep animals calm or happy. For example, if you have tasty treats in your pockets the animals will be able to smell them. They will learn to associate you with treats and that will be a positive thing! Slide 49: In addition to smelling odors, dogs and cats can also detect “pheromones.” Pheromones are invisible hormone-like chemicals that animals excrete. They can impact the behavior of other animals. For example, when animals experience FAS, they may excrete pheromones that trigger FAS in other animals. In contrast, animals can also excrete pheromones that are calming. Synthetic or manmade animal pheromones can be sprayed in the environment to help calm animals. You will learn more about using pheromones to reduce FAS later in this course. Slide 50: The ability of animals to detect even very small amounts of scent and pheromones makes it particularly important to remove potentially stressful ones to the extent possible. Good air ventilation and routine sanitation protocols are important means of reducing stress-triggering odors from the environment. Whenever possible, select agents for cleaning and disinfection of animal areas that are highly effective and that do not produce strong or noxious odors when used. Using odor eliminators and enzymatic cleaners as part of the shelter’s routine sanitation protocols can also help to reduce odors that may be unpleasant for animals and people alike. Slide 51: Always be aware of the scents you may be carrying on your own clothing and how they might affect the animals around you. For example, if staff or volunteers are going to be working with both cats and dogs, it’s ideal for them to work with cats first. This is because cats may be stressed by the scent of dogs on their clothing. In contrast, dogs will be more likely to find the scent of cats interesting and positively stimulating, rather than stressful! Slide 52: Like humans, dogs and cats have taste buds and respond to a variety of different tastes. Many dogs prefer meat flavors and cats tend to enjoy fish and strong-smelling foods such as liver. Like people, dogs and cats are sensitive to bitter tastes and work to avoid them. Many animals for example will take medication hidden in food. However, if they bite into a bitter tasting pill they may refuse that food in the future. fearfreepets.com 12  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE In terms of their sense of taste and how we can use it to our advantage in the shelter, it is always a good idea to keep a variety of tasty treats available. The way to a dog or cat’s heart is often through their sense of taste! When they learn to associate you with delicious treats, FAS and frustration will be reduced! Slide 53: Here’s a simple example of how to use the sense of taste to our advantage and to reduce FAS. This little dog was too afraid to come out of his crate. At first, he would look out—but not come out. Note that his face looks tense, his head is lowered, his pupils are dilated and his ears are pinned back. Tossing a tasty meatball of canned food in front of his carrier helped to reduce his fear and motivated him to come out. After eating the tasty meatball, he was ready to come out for more! Slide 54: Last, but not least it is important to think about the sense of touch. Dogs and cats with their specialized whiskers and sensitive guard hairs can be quite sensitive to touch. Touching can be pleasurable for them, but it can also be uncomfortable and even distressing. In particular, certain areas of their bodies tend to be especially sensitive to touch. These include the head (especially around the eyes and mouth and sometimes the ears), the paws, the anal and genital areas, and their bellies. It is best to avoid touching sensitive areas whenever possible. If touching these areas is necessary, you can help animals to relax by feeding them treats while touching them. For example, let a dog lick some canned food while you examine his ears. Slide 55: The way in which we go about touching animals will also greatly influence their response to our touch. In fact, it may determine whether they will tolerate it, enjoy it, or even respond aggressively to it. Animals tend to relax with slow, steady pressure and become excited with fast petting, and scratching. Massage and other touch techniques can be used to change the way a patient is feeling emotionally. Just as it is for us, a good massage can help us to relax and feel calm! Slide 56: In this picture, the young girl is holding the dog’s paw. Note that the dog appears slightly tense and is looking away from her with his ears held to the side. His tail is wrapped around his body and he’s pulling his leg away from her hold on his paw. Always keep in mind the sensitive areas of an animal’s body when handling them. If it is necessary to hold a dog’s paw, feeding him a tasty treat while doing so would likely go a long way towards making it a more pleasant experience for him! Slide 57: In this example, a caring person hugs a fearful dog against her body. Unfortunately, this sort of touching is not perceived by dogs as comforting, especially when performed by an unfamiliar person. In contrast, hugging a fearfreepets.com 13  FEAR FREE SHELTER COURSE fearful dog can greatly increase their fear. Note that the pup in this photo is very stiff, the neck appears rigid, the eyes are held wide with dilated pupils, tension is present throughout the face, and the ears are back. As humans, we have a tendency to want to hug animals to comfort them, when in fact this action will usually increase FAS and can put the handler at risk of being bitten. Always think about how your touch will be perceived by animals. You will learn more about handling to reduce FAS as the course continues. Slide 58: You’ve learned some important facts about the specialized senses of dogs and cats—how they see, hear, and smell, as well as how they respond to taste and touch. All of these impact their perception and responses to the world around them. You can use this knowledge to improve their experiences and reactions in the shelter. By making some simple changes in what you do: your movements, the sounds you make, the scents you present and remove, the tastes you present, and the types of touch you use, you can make animals much more comfortable in the shelter. Slide 59: In this module, you have learned that animal health relies both on physical health, as well as emotional health. You’ve thought about how shelter life can be very stressful. You have learned that dogs and cats commonly experience fear, anxiety, stress (FAS) and frustration in the shelter. By considering how cats and dogs perceive the world around them, you now know how to make some simple changes to the shelter environment, including your actions, to help reduce FAS and keep animals Fear Free ™. For most animals, it doesn’t take long for them to settle in and learn the routine when FAS and frustration are minimized and their physical and emotional needs are met. When they are provided with regular, consistent, predictable positive interactions and pleasant activities, they learn what to expect and can adapt to the routine. Ultimately, they will feel good—and when they do, it helps the animals around them (including us) to feel good, too. Slide 60: Thank you to our module author, Dr. Brenda Griffin Slide 61: Thank you to our photo and video contributors, Dr. Brenda Griffin, Dr. Staci Cannon and Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida. Slide 62: This course has been made possible by our sponsors. fearfreepets.com 14