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Dog Orientation Training Information
The following information is intended only for Second Chance For Animals volunteers. It is meant to assist them with learning to work with shelter dogs. This information is intended to provide guidelines on how to behave around shelter dogs. It does not make anyone an expert in handling dogs and Second Chance For Animals cannot be held responsible for any situations a person may find themselves in.
Many of these documents are available as downloadable PDF files. If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free by clicking the button. 
Sections of this page:
Color Coding System For The Shetler Dogs
Walking The Dogs
Safe Handling Skills
Color Coding System for the Shelter Dogs
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Do you ever have trouble deciding which dogs to walk? Have you ever started to take a dog out, only to discover that you had gotten in over your head and had trouble controlling the dog? Have you limited your involvement in walking the dogs because you dont feel confident with them?
Color-coding will allow volunteers to make quick and safe decisions about what dogs to walk. While volunteers should not be walking dogs when there is no one around, often the only shelter staff or volunteers present are not directly involved with the dogs and cannot provide much history. This is often a problem for volunteers who are interested in walking dogs during the week.
While the color code is not a guarantee of the dogs behavior, it gives you a better idea what to expect.Color-coding will allow volunteers to choose to walk dogs that are appropriate for their skill level and physical strength. New volunteers and volunteers who are less comfortable with the dogs or less physically strong should be encouraged to walk only easy (green) dogs until they develop the skill and experience to deal with more difficult dogs.
This system will also better utilize more experienced volunteers to walk the more difficult dogs. Often, these dogs need more exercise, not less. The more experienced volunteers can start by walking the more difficult dogs, knowing that if they dont get to the easy dogs that day, those dogs are more likely to be walked by someone else.
Color-codes will be noted by a colored sticker placed on the dogs cage card.
Factors to consider when color-coding:
Color-coding is simply about how easy or difficult a dog is for a volunteer to walk. It says nothing about how nice a dog is or whether he would make a good pet. Things that influence how easy a dog is to handle include:
- Pulling on leash
- Jumping up
- Ease of getting on and off leash
- Aggression towards other dogs
- Shyness with people
A dog who displays any of the behaviors of a Yellow or Blue dog will be classified as Yellow or Blue, even if in every other way the dog is very easy.
A dogs color-code is not a permanent marker. As we all have seen, some dogs improve dramatically while at the shelter while others go downhill (become aggressive with other dogs, for instance.) Volunteers are encouraged to leave notes when they believe a dogs code should be changed.
Green Dogs:
- Easy to leash
- Easy to walk past other dogs in their runs
- Jumping up: Big dogs minimal or gentle; Little dogs minimal to moderate
- Pulling on leash: A small person of average strength and little experience could
- control
Examples of current and past Geens dogs:
- Storm (Shepherd mix, Green at the time he was adopted. He started out Blue)
- Gracey and Lacey (sisters, black pit mixes)
- All the beagles weve had recently
- Farley (black pointer mix)
- Link (black and white border collie/rott mix)
- All the puppies weve had in the past six months
Yellow Dogs:
- More difficult to leash because is never still OR is hesitant about being leashed
- Tries to get at other dogs, is hard to get out of kennel
- Jumping up: Big dogs moderate is uncomfortable and hard to control, but wont
- knock you over; small dogs very insistent and bouncy
- Pulling on leash: Requires strength and skill to walk, but wont pull a person of
- average size and strength off their feet
Examples of current and past Yellow dogs:
- Bonnie (black pit, excessive leash pulling and jumping)
- Aspen (the escape artist excessive jumping)
- Dennis (Doberman mix, dog aggression)
- Freckles (chow mix, hesitant about being put on leash, was moving towards Green)
- Rusty (red pit mix, excessive jumping)
Blue Dogs:
- Difficult to leash: Bites at leash, tries to evade leash by jumping, pawing, escaping
- OR wont approach front of run and must be noosed
- Very difficult to keep from attacking other dogs ehn taking out
- Jumping up: Is very forceful, could injure or knock over an unprepared person
- Pulling on leash: person of average size and strength could be knocked over
Examples of current and past Blue Dogs
- Shiloh (huge, purebred Rottie, pulls off feet)
- Killer (Golden/shepherd mix, dog aggression, pulls off feet)
- Sonja (shepherd, very hard to get on leash and keeps escaping)
- Charlie (pointer mix, blind, must be noosed)
Uncoded Dogs:
Dogs that have not yet been evaluated, are not yet up for adoption (seven day hold) or are under quarantine. Also dogs that have been evaluated, but are not safe for volunteers to handle (aggressive or feral dogs, for instance) or cannot be leashed or walked due to injury. Unless a dog is under quarantine, or has bitten someone you can work on sits with these dogs through the chain link fence but they should not be taken out of their runs.
Walking The Dogs
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- Choose an appropriate dog. Know your color-codes. Choose a dog within your ability to handle. Also, make sure that you feel comfortable with that particular dog.
- Let the dog you are going to walk inside, let all other dogs out.
- Choose an appropriate leash and collar to fit your dog.
- Make sure the outside door is locked.
- Visit with the dog through the fence. Offer a hand to sniff, give a treat.
- If the dog is making you uncomfortable, change your mind!
- Unlock the kennel; use your foot to brace the door open a few inches, form a noose with the leash or collar and use a treat to lure the dogs nose through the noose.
- Keep both hands on the leash and keep it short. Get the dog straight outside quickly.
- If a dog gets loose, confirm that the door is locked. Use a noose lead to catch the dog (dont try to grab the dog.) If the doors are locked, theres no rush to catch the dog, so dont panic.
- Once you are outside, give the dog a chance to take care of business and acclimate.
- When leash walking, try not to follow if the dog is pulling. Stand still until he stops pulling or change direction and walk the other way. Praise and/or reward for walking nicely.
- If the dog jumps on you or tries to mount you, turn away and use steady pressure on the leash to remove him. Do not knee him the chest, hell, or jerk sharply with the leash. Encourage him to sit instead of jumping and reward sits with praise and treats.
- Stay within sight of the shelter in case you need help with a dog.
- When returning the dog to his run, make sure no other dogs are in the kennel area.
- Try to briskly get the dog back in his run before he is aware of what is happening. If he balks, use the leash to lift him in.
- Take the leash and collar off with care. Ideally, get him to nibble a treat out of one hand as your other hand loosens the collar beneath his neck and then slips it off. If the dog seems afraid and is backing away when you are trying to get his collar off, get someone to help you.
SAFE HANDLING SKILLS
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Donts:
- Dont make direct eye contact - the dog may see this as a threat or a challenge.
- Dont go in the run with the dog.
- Dont corner dogs they must feel they have an escape route. When getting the dog out of the run, hold the collar in front of their exit but dont block it with your body.
- Dont put your face near a dogs face. Dont sit on the ground. If you need to get low, squat so you are ready to move quickly.
- Dont punish or correct the dogs with a leash pop, knee to the chest, etc. You could be corrected back with a bite.
- Dont hug the dogs. When you pet them, make sure you dont startle them. Try petting under the chin or on the side, rather than head pats.
- Dont have more than one volunteer getting a dog out of its run at a time.
- Dont encourage jumping up by petting or playing with a dog that does.
- Dont stick your hands inside the cages. Feed treats through the chain link fence, keeping your fingers safe on your side.
- Dont use your hands to move a dog by pushing him or grabbing his collar. Instead use a leash to guide him.
Dos:
- Do everything you can to make this dog more adoptable.
- Do let the dog approach you first. If he is shy, offer a treat or toss one on the ground.
- Not all the dogs will like you or want physical contact thats OK. Dogs will be more interested in visiting if you stand still and lean on a building or a car.
- Do bring treats. Reward good behavior sitting, calmness, walking nicely on leash.
- Ignore and dont reward behavior that wont help the dog get adopted or live well with people barking, jumping up, pawing, etc.
- Make sure the door is locked and other dogs are outside before taking a dog out of his run.
- Do wear comfortable, no slip shoes, long pants and no loose or dangling clothes, hair or jewelry.
- Keep your balance. Stand up tall, keep your feet a comfortable distance apart, knees flexed, not locked. Keep your hands near your body so that you are not stretched off balance.
- Do think about what you are going to do next, then do it deliberately, confidently, slowly and gently.
- Do enjoy the dogs but be careful and respectful.
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