My little sister really wants to volunteer at our local shelter. She can't have a dog where she lives so she's very excited about helping there. We had an orientation session and I was wondering if anyone here had experience with training shelter dogs. They said it helps with their adoption if they know a few basic commands, but didn't offer much insight into how to work with the dogs. We would be working with each dog (varying ages and breeds) for only 10-15 minutes at a time maybe 2 times a week. What I'd like to know is since we won't be able to consistently train, what might work? I'd also like to get her some training books, does anyone know of any books that would be good for a 4th/5th grade reader? I've seen some books mentioned, and am checking them out, but most seem to be a bit above her level. Thanks.
Training in a shelter
- Thread starter Ailish
- Start date
Only advice i would give is forget books and any of that kind of stuff and just learn her self from her own experience around the dogs. Obedience type commands are so easy to teach it should not really take longer than 20 mins per command to teach each dog.
I started training dogs competativly when i was 10 so as she is gonna take it seriouse and not get bored after 5 mins then i see no problem
I started training dogs competativly when i was 10 so as she is gonna take it seriouse and not get bored after 5 mins then i see no problem
She can work with puppies (under 6 mos) by herself and she can work with me with the older dogs. She can work with them on or off a leash inside the run. I'll be with her the whole time, and she really wants to learn how to do it. I thought a book or two would be good for her to compare approaches and learn more about behavior, but I haven't found anything in between basic elementary and adult reading. Thanks
I am a volunteer trainer at the shelter here. Honestly, I can't think of any training books that are at a 4th-5th grade level. No offense, but a lot of the shelter dogs that need the training the most are most likely going to be a bit too much for her to handle on her own. Will you or an adult be helping her?
If you or an adult in the family will be helping her, I would recommend that YOU read the books and then teach her what you have learned, but present it in a simpler manner. A better-than-average understanding of dog behavior is absolutely necessary to be able to get through to dogs in a shelter environment, but once you understand them it is extremely rewarding to train them.
Also I agree with Tucker, check and see if the shelter will allow her to train. I'm sixteen and always had to "prove myself" to a lot of shelters and rescues before they would allow me to do much with the dogs. Sensibly so, too, IMO.
If you or an adult in the family will be helping her, I would recommend that YOU read the books and then teach her what you have learned, but present it in a simpler manner. A better-than-average understanding of dog behavior is absolutely necessary to be able to get through to dogs in a shelter environment, but once you understand them it is extremely rewarding to train them.
Also I agree with Tucker, check and see if the shelter will allow her to train. I'm sixteen and always had to "prove myself" to a lot of shelters and rescues before they would allow me to do much with the dogs. Sensibly so, too, IMO.
She is allowed to train the dogs and I'll be with her each time. I'm sorry if that was unclear from my previous posts. We have been to the shelter, talked to a few other volunteers, even one her age, and it seemed like those volunteers weren't really interested in training so I thought it would be useful to ask here. I'm perfectly willing to do more research to help her learn, but it would be great for her to take an active role in learning so I thought someone might have some resources she could use independently of me.