ICAWC 2014 - Puppy Love - Sarah De Cesare & Carolyn Menteith
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Transcript of ICAWC 2014 - Puppy Love - Sarah De Cesare & Carolyn Menteith
Puppy Love:
Setting up Dogs Trust Malta and introducing
The Puppy Plan Campaign
The Maltese Islands
• Malta
• Gozo
• Comino
• 420,000 population
• 400km² large
The SPCA and Dogs Trust
Why Malta?
• Little animal welfare education• Numerous stray dogs, cats, puppies
& kittens abandoned• 60% of people felt neutering was
cruel• 15% of owned dogs were neutered
In The Beginning• Dogs Trust Malta was registered as an NGO in June
2009• All local veterinary clinics were contacted to take part
in the Dogs Trust scheme• Rehoming centers were contacted • Dialogue was created with the Government Animal
Welfare Department• Established a relationship with all schools and
Ministry of Education
50,000 Latch-key dogs3,000 Stray dogs
Pilot Offer
• Launched in the Capital city of Valletta
• Available to people on means-tested-benefits
• Neutering and Chipping for €25
Change of Plan• Created an offer for free neutering and
microchipping for people on benefits, farmers, hunters and factory dogs
• Focused a great deal on Education
Farm dogs
Dogs Trust offered free transport for farm dogs to the clinics to be neutered and chipped.
Saving the cost of a bullet used for shooting a puppy
= €0.11c
• A strategic approach to sourcing farm dogs was put in place.
• Starting from the North East, moving North West, toward the Southern tip.
The Strategy
IT WORKED!
Animal cruelty cases started to become more public and the people of Malta wanted their voice
to be heard
‘Star’ in recovery
The authorities were taking note...
Star’s killer got three months in jail and
fined €10,000
Gaia’s killer was jailed for nine months and
fined €20,000 (later reduced to
€4,000)
Over 14,000 dogs neutered and chipped by Dogs Trust since 2009.
The importance of Education
• Over 40,000 children reached through free workshops in public, private and church schools
• Dogs Trust: -• Organized school
competitions• Held outings to clinics• Conducted one-to-one
sessions with children in need
• Held workshops for scout groups
• Visited residential homes and homes for the disabled
• Spoke in centers for troubled families
Dogs Training Made Easy Campaign
• Complaints about badly behaved dogs were being received constantly.
• Dogs Trust created clicker training packs.
• Thousands of free clicker packs with instructions were sent out to people.
• Promoted positive reinforcement instead of negative training or punishment.
Created the website
www.dogtrainingmadeeasy.org.
Prevention
Cure&
=
Dog Training
Made Easy
=
RESULTS
Most canine behaviour problems
arise from fear
Noise phobia - fear of noises
Separation anxiety - fear of being alone
Reactivity - fear of strange situations
Aggression
Resource guarding - fear of someone taking your stuff
Dog to dog aggression - fear of strange dogs
On lead reactivity to dogs - fear of strange dogs when you can't run away
Dog to human aggression - fear of strange people
Inability to learn
Fear = adrenaline = fight/flight
No learning possible
All these fears - and problems - are
preventable with appropriate puppy
socialisation
Not just 'being social' but instead
'socialisation, habituation and early
learning'
Introducing positively the people and animals we want
the dog to have a social relationship with
Socialisation:
Socialisation only has a positive effect if the
socialisation is positive
Introducing the things in life that can be ignored
because they aren't scary!
Habituation:
There is a time pressure to this early eduction in
dogs
Soft skills
Social interactionsCommunication
Conflict resolutionProblem-solving
Behavioural competencies
Habituation: pre hazard avoidance period lasts up to 5-7
weeks – so while puppies are still with breeder
Socialisation: from sentience up
to 12-16 weeks - so both with breeders and then ongoing
with new owners
www.thepuppyplan.com
The Puppy Plan Strategy
Phase One: BREEDERS
Phase Two: POTENTIAL NEW OWNERS
Dogs Trust put The Puppy Plan into action to get first hand experience
• The process was filmed and turned into a tutorial which would be given to breeders and new owners
• The daily activity was posted on the Dogs Trust Facebook page
Puppy Plan booklets, mock journals, CD video tutorials and car stickers were created
Received the backing of The Kennel Club Malta, the Malta Canine Federation and the Ministry for Animal Rights
An agreement was put in place with an Insurance company to offer free pet insurance for one year to anyone buying or adopting a Puppy Plan Graduate
Started attending Dogs Shows
Set up seminars for breeders
Created The Puppy Plan Facebook group
Official Launch to the Public
• Took advantage of every marketing opportunity• Radio• TV interviews• Online• Print media
• Sent flyers to all households for free workshops on how to spot a Puppy Plan Graduate and continue The Puppy Plan at home
Worked with local councils, local artists and residents to create painted street art in selected areas around Malta. The project didn’t cost Dogs Trust.
Created Puppy Plan sign posts to put in dog parks.
What can YOU do with The Puppy Plan?
1. Start implementing The Plan in your shelter. Even if puppies are in-house for only a short time, every bit helps. It can also be applied to dogs older than 16 weeks.
2. Document what the puppies have experienced.3. Get the backing. Find any clubs associated with breeders and any
means to get close to them, like at dog shows.4. Get the endorsement of your Government or Ministry.5. Make the package more attractive and cost effective. Find a
partner to add something of more value that people will find appealing. Make it available to people buying or adopting a puppy. In the case of shelters, as you are unlikely to finish The Plan in full, make the offer available to people adopting and committing to completing The Plan at home (subject to receiving the journal).
In Malta – 63.6% of people would not consider adopting a dog from a shelter and 41% of those who intend to breed, do so with the intention of
selling them. ¾ of people did not neuter their dogs because they intended to breed them.
6. Get all other shelters or rehoming centers to take on The Plan.7. Use the media. Use any means of PR and marketing available
including those of your partners or backers.8. Get sponsors. Many companies with corporate social responsibility
profiles like to get involved in projects like these where they are part of significant change.
9. Engage with the public. You are their source of information so be open and available.
10.Understand the public. Are behavior problems the main reason for abandonment – why? What are they expecting from their dogs?
Continued...
STICK TO IT
A HEARTFELT THANKS FROM MALTA!