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Saturday 11 a.m.
Plenary Session – Myths and Black Holes
What do we know about dogs? What do we think we know about dogs? And is there a difference? Jean will present common myths about dogs and their behavior and give some practical advice to dog professionals on how – and even whether – to bust them. She’ll also talk about where the black holes in our knowledge are – the areas most in need of research.
Saturday 2:30 p.m.
Plenary Session – Western Veterinary Medicine meets Eastern Wisdom
Join veterinarian, author, and television personality Dr. Stacy (Animal Planet's Housecat Housecall) for an unusual session on the unique healing that happens when western medicine is joined with traditional eastern techniques.
Sunday 9:15 a.m.
Assessing and Evaluating Dog-Dog Skills in a Rescue Environment
Kim will walk you through how to assess and evaluate dog-dog skills in a shelter setting, both on leash and off leash. Find out whether you should intake a reactive dog, and what strategies you can use in the shelter if the dog is reactive. She will also cover how you can safely assess dog skills off leash and what types of dogs play well with others.
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
Reading Pet Food Ingredient Panels
How do you really know what’s in a bag of dog or cat food? Is there a difference between chicken meal and chicken by-product meal? What information can you glean from the guaranteed analysis? What is ash, and why is everybody making such a big deal out of it? These questions and more will be answered in this session that aims to help you in making the best choices when selecting a commercial pet food for your dog or cat.
Sunday 12:30 p.m.
Troubled Tabbies: Behavior Modification for Cats
Shelter cats often display fearful and aggressive behavior. This may be related to temperament or a lack of earlier socialization, but in many cases these behaviors are exacerbated by stress and confinement. Feline aggression and fear often result in injury to staff and euthanasia of the cat. Yet many of these cats can be rehabilitated, even with the limited resources available to most shelters. In this workshop, we will discuss the most common behavior problems in shelter cats and learn some techniques to work with them. We will cover play aggression, cat reactivity, overstimulation, and excessive fear. Successful matchmaking and adoption for these "troubled tabbies" will also be addressed.
Sunday 9:15 a.m.
Wagging Tails: Keeping the Pooches Pawsitive
A stressful environment is not only a welfare concern; it also results in an increased susceptibility to diseases and an increased likelihood of behavior problems. Behavioral health refers to the interplay between animal welfare and animal behavior, and it is becoming increasingly clear that shelters and rescue groups need to focus on maintenance of behavioral health and prevention of problems. What used to be thought of as luxury and extras, namely enrichment and stress reduction, is becoming part of basic care and necessities. In this lecture we will discuss dog stress, how to prevent it and why, as well as touch on basic requirements to keep our animals healthy and disease at bay.
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
Feline Friends: Keeping them Happy & Healthy in Impurrfect Environments
In this lecture we will turn our attention to the cat. Although we have made great strides in improving the life of our shelter dogs, we still have a long way to go when it comes to our cats. We know that long-term stress is directly related to low adoptability and that chronic stress is of major importance from an animal welfare and disease standpoint. Relieving acute stress is also extremely important as we know that stress alters a pet’s natural behavior patterns and ability to fight off disease. We will discuss how to rethink “the cat in a box” and why it’s so important.
Sunday 12:30 p.m.
Bow-WOW Them with Internet Media
Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation was a 2009 Maddie's Fund Marketing Competition winner due, in part, to a vibrant internet presence. ARF makes it easy for website visitors to follow the organization, offering social media links directly on the home page. Visitors can get the inside scoop on adoptions as they happen at twitter.com/ARFadoptions, receive up-to-the-minute observations on twitter.com/ARFtweets, or watch the critters’ endearing antics on www.youtube.com/tlrarf. ARF also has a growing number of fans on www.arf.net/facebook, where pet experiences are shared. Elena will discuss the how-to of accessing this media to benefit shelters and rescues.
Sunday 9:15 a.m.
Engaging the Community Through Community Service and Service Learning
Volunteering and school service requirements are on the rise. Tap into these forces for doing good in the business of saving lives. Participants in this interactive workshop will learn the benefits of service for both those engaging in service and those served, and will leave with ideas and resources to effectively engage members of their community to benefit their organization and its work.
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
Volunteering: Not Just for Amateurs Anymore
Sure it’s hard to find the ones you really need. That’s right: they’re not “free” at all. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, volunteers can be the most valuable asset you’ve got. So why are many nonprofits leaving volunteer help on the table? With so much that’s hard about today’s economic environment, find out why right now is an easy time to attract the talent and support you need.
Sunday 12:30 p.m.
The Trials and Tribulations of Organizational Capacity Building
Learn best practices in business problem solving from an experienced management consultant and organizational capacity builder. Bring real-life situations to the table for a facilitated brain-storming and problem solving experience.
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