A Better Way to Get Shelter Dogs Adopted

Amanda Landis-Hanna, DVM, senior manager of veterinary outreach for PetSmart Charities, explains a better tactic for getting shelter dogs adopted.

"One of the great things that I learned was in relation to how we engage with pets in a shelter. One of the clinical studies that was done actually showed that rather than teaching patients to come forward to the front of the kennel in order to be more rapidly adopted, playing with the toy that they actually preferred was a better way to engage the human, and therefore, a better way to get those pets adopted. So, what they did in this study was actually have the pet select their favorite toy through a number of different tests including squeaky toys, and tennis balls, and bones. And then when humans came to play with those pets and see who they might want to take home and be part of their forever family, they give them the favorite toy. And then, those pets would play with the toy and the clients would feel like they were being engaged with. So, it was a real win-win and a lot of dogs were able to find their forever families."