cheltonian pets


ShelterLife OPEN PAW...


RosieTaylorTrigg,AnimalBehaviourist at CheltenhamAnimal Shelter explains a newtraining programme that can help dogs find their forever homes


Imaginewalking into a dog shelter and seeing a group of relaxed dogs, wagging their tails, sitting as youwalk past, engagingwith you calmly and settling in their bedswhen youwalk away. Imaginewalking into a rescue and it being quiet,with hardly any barking. This iswhatOpen Pawcan help us


achieve. Open Pawis a rescue dog training


andwelfare programme,with its origins inAmerica. It has started to becomemore popular inUK shelters, withNationalAnimalWelfare Trust leading theway by launchingOpen Pawwithin all of their shelters. Open Pawwas founded by


behaviourist KellyDunbarwho saw dogs being returned to rescue for relatively easy to rectify behaviours, and highly adoptable dogs sitting in shelters formuch longer thanwas needed because they had developed stress related behaviours, making themharder to adopt. TheOpen Pawprogramme


focuses on several key areas. The first of these is actually very


simple but should not have its importance underestimated. It is the provision of sufficient toilet breaks throughout the course of a day! If


46 NOVEMBER /DECEMBER 2018 THECHELTONIAN


you imagine a dog going froma home with the garden just a door away, to a kennelwith no owner to let themout when they need to go, thismust be highly stressful. We have seen atCheltenham


Animal Shelter that in just oneweek of a dogmoving to anOpen Paw blockwith increased toileting opportunities,many of their other training issues lessen dramatically. The dogs very importantly also


gain amore positive associationwith visitors. This is done, again very simply and cost effectively,with food pots attached to each kennel. The pots have food specific for that dog’s diet, and a sign that asks visitors to


drop a piece of food down the shute for the dogs to sniff out and find. The dogswho have found it


stressful as they have been unable to greet visitors because of the doors, become calmer,wag their tails and sit whilst they await their treat. These behaviours all showthe dog off in a better light to a potential newfamily. Training forms a big part ofOpen


Paw,with small achievable sessions of training such as learning to show more settled behaviourswhen they see theirwalking equipment instead of becoming over excited, or enjoying some relaxation time in a home simulation roomto prepare themto unwind in a newhome. The dog’s brains are kept busywith


meals being fed in interactive toys, which stops themwolfing their food down and givesmental stimulation. Wewould recommendOpen Paw


to other shelters and soon look forward to openingmore of our kennel blocks toOpen Paw.


CheltenhamAnimal Shelter, Gardner’s Lane, Cheltenham Tel:01242 523521 www.gawa.org.uk


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