How Useful Are Shelter Dog Behavioral Assessments?

How Accurately Do Young Children Interpret Dogs' Emotions?

Many young children live in households with dogs or they encounter them in other environments. Humans' ability to understand dogs' emotions and body language is integral to good dog welfare and to mitigate safety risks, so knowing how well children are able to do this is key to positive and safe dog-child relationships. In this interview, Dr. Sarah Rose, PhD discusses her research on young children's ability to accurately interpret dogs' emotions and body language. Her research also investigated how children decide to interact with a dog when they have correct knowledge of the dog's emotional state. Drawing on her background as a researcher in developmental child psychology, Dr. Rose then discusses how best to help young children learn how to appropriately interact with dogs.

How Useful Are Shelter Dog Behavioral Assessments?

Shelter behavioral assessments are a large part of the dog rehoming process. In this interview, Dr. Kate Mornement, PhD discusses her research on the usefulness of these pre-adoption assessments. This includes a review of common practices, the development of a behavioral assessment, and an investigation into its ability to predict behavior post-adoption. Dr. Mornement then discusses other ways shelters and potential adopters can gain information about dogs' behavior, with recommendations on how to set them up for success in their new home post-adoption.