Sasha went home on Saturday afternoon and was returned to the shelter less than 24 hours later. While we're very disappointed that it didn't work out, we also realize that, unfortunately, this kind of thing "comes with the territory" when you work in sheltering.
Frequently, when I meet someone who has adopted a pet from CCHS, their story includes the phrase, "the staff tried to talk me out of adopting him." Sometimes, that's actually true. In those cases, the staff is providing the applicant with information in the hope that the applicant will realize that the animal they are considering is not a good match for them. Sure, we could come right out and say, "No, we'll deny your application for Fluffy, please select a different cat." However, by providing the applicant with information upon which to make their own decision against adopting Fluffy, the staff is attempting to avoid hurt feelings and guide the applicant to consider the factors that will lead him/her to select an appropriate animal for their lifestyle.
In many other cases, and particularly in those cases where the adoption goes through and the pet is still in the home years later, the staff was not trying to talk the adopter out of the adoption at all. In these cases, the staff was simply making sure that the adopter was provided with as much information about the animal as possible. Adoptions tend to fail when they are based on unrealistic expectations. Our staff is often in that difficult position of trying to promote and encourage adoptions, while also making sure that each adopter knows what they're getting into. Walking that line is not easy. Sometimes the attempt to ensure that an adopter's expectations are in line with reality comes across as an attempt to discourage the adoption.
So, what happened with Sasha? A number of things happened on the day she went home that made the transition into the adopters' home a little more difficult than we hoped it would be. However, the bottom line is that the adopters didn't quite realize how difficult it would be to manage this young pup's behavior. Pam tried to tell them. The staff tried to tell them. It seems to me that sometimes when people attach to an animal, an impression forms in their mind that is very hard to alter with cautionary tales and factual information. At the same time, I have to admit that Sasha probably showed behaviors at the home that the adopters did not observe at the shelter or with Pam. That is not surprising with a young pup, and especially not with a headstrong one like Sasha. Pam is an experienced dog trainer who knew how to be very consistent with Sasha so that Sasha was starting to learn boundaries and acceptable behavior. She is too young yet to know that "the same rules apply" in all situations.
Sasha's adopters are good pet owners who, no doubt, will make a wonderful home for the right dog. We hope they'll adopt from us again. As for Sasha, we'll keep working on her manners and use what we learned from this experience to help us make a good match. I'll keep you posted.
Sunshine Update
12 years ago
I also know from experience that an animal can behave differently once in its new adoptive home than it was behaving at the shelter. I adopted an elderly beagle mix last summer and the staff was very good about telling me in advance about all her "issues" (arthritis, previous heart worm, dental issues, etc.)of which they were aware, but she was "advertised" as house broken and I'm sure she was at the shelter. Once we had her home, however, I really had to struggle with her over WHERE she was allowed to "go potty." Until we got it clear with each other that I had very specific expectations about this (as in "do it outside", but there was a whole big fenced yard from which to pick a spot), and that lots of opportunties would be offered to satisfy that expectation, we struggled--she'd just pop a squat wherever she happened to be at the moment, without so much as a look at me to tell me she needed to go. Since I was a dog owner already, and had housebroken not just him but 3 humans :-)I was prepared to deal with this unexpected behavioral issue, but it took a lot of patience and positive reinforcement (and some expensive vet bills just to make sure she didn't have a health problem driving the issue) to get this resolved and I know there are some animal owners who might have given up and returned her.
ReplyDeleteWe love CJ dearly, however, so I'm hoping that Sasha finds the loving and patient home it seems that she needs.
Always keep in mind is that dogs do not generalize behavior. They do not learn something once and then generalize that to all situations. This applies to alone vs. group, location, handler, etc.
ReplyDeleteThat's why many people in training classes say their dog will sit or whatever perfectly at home, but not when in class. You have to reestablish the behavior in each new context. That doesn't mean you start from scratch--it's easier each time--but you have to do the reinforcement nonethless.
People generalize things they learn automatically so they take it for granted that dogs can do the same. Unfortunately, this assuption can lead to dashed expectations and unfortunate outcomes for the dog.
Thanks to Big Sis and Tom for your comments; you both make good points. It's so true that the behavior we see at the shelter doesn't always predict behavior at home. CJ didn't want to soil her own kennel (sleeping area) at the shelter, but that didn't mean she was "house trained" in the way most dog owners interpret the phrase.
ReplyDeleteThis also illustrates what may be a simple communication problem (one that would be easy to fix). At the shelter, we will put a sign on a dog's kennel that says, "I'm house trained, please take me outside often," when we notice that the dog is reluctant to relieve herself in the kennel. The sign is intended to inform our dog-walking volunteers and staff members about the dog's need to go out. It's not intended to inform potential adopters that the dog is actually housetrained. Our staff is instructed to very rarely assert that a dog is house-trained, as many dogs need to re-learn housetraining when they are getting established in their new homes. Maybe we should just use a colored flag of some sort to indicate which dogs need more frequent potty breaks.
Tom's point is an excellent one! Most dogs don't generalize well, and they need our help.
I know this is not about sasha but I was wondering if you could let us know why Myles is back, I see him on the adoption page.
ReplyDelete