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Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the ASPCA SAFER™ Assessment. Click a link below to jump to the FAQs for that topic.
Which Dogs to Assess, and When
Setting up the Assessment Room
Assessing Food Aggression
Assessment Techniques
Using the SAFER Assessment Results
SAFER Research
SAFER Certification
Which Dogs to Assess, and When
Q: Why do you recommend waiting 72 hours before assessing dogs admitted to our shelter?
The shelter environment is likely more stressful for dogs than a home environment. We recommend that you provide enrichment opportunities for dogs as soon as they are placed in their kennel. Enrichment opportunities should also be available to the dogs during their entire shelter stay.
Research has found that cortisol (stress hormone) levels significantly decrease at approximately 72 hours after intake, which may change the behavior of the dog and may allow for a more predictive assessment.
If possible based on your resources, wait 72 hours after intake before assessing. Otherwise, strive to assess all dogs of assessment age within 24-72 hours after in your facility, or at intake (if resources do not permit waiting at all).
Q: What is the minimum age for assessing dogs using SAFER?
Dogs thought or known to be six (6) months of age and older can be assessed using SAFER.
Q: If an assessor is interrupted (someone walks in the room) during assessment, should he or she start again?
The structure and sequence of the SAFER assessment is key to the predictability of the results. Because of this, if interrupted during assessment, you should return the dog to the kennel and then assess the dog from the beginning the next day.
Q: How do we handle female dogs in heat, pregnant, lactating, or with a litter?
Behavior can be less predictive with bitches that are in heat, lactating, with a litter or are very pregnant. Ideally, we recommend that these dogs be fostered until they are no longer in heat (or pregnant, etc.). You can conduct an initial SAFER assessment on these dogs to assess safety for a foster home.
However, if the dog behaves with some aggression potential, we recommend that no euthanasia decision be made for a dog that is in heat, lactating or with a litter. The only exception to this is if the dog has a history of aggression outside the context of being in heat, pregnant, lactating, or with a litter that the previous owner has made you aware of and the issues are beyond what your shelter has the resources to modify.
Q: We are a limited-admission facility, and some of our dogs remain with us for long periods. Should we re-assess these dogs during their stay to see if their behavior has changed?
The SAFER Assessment should be only one of the tools you use to assess behavior. As a limited-admission facility, you are likely working closely with your dogs every day during walks, play time, and enrichment activity. We suggest that you use observations during those times as indicators of behavior change.
If you keep a daily interaction log for each dog, you can readily see if behavior is improving or degrading and be able to quickly develop an intervention when needed.
Q: Is SAFER intended for use only with “bully” breeds?
No. SAFER Assessors can use the assessment with any breed or mixed-breed dog 6 months and older.
Setting up the Assessment Room
Q: What kind of flooring should we use in the assessment room to prevent dogs from slipping during assessment?
Several flooring options are effective:
- Many shelters use vinyl, tile, or wood flooring in their assessment rooms, and have not experienced many problems with slipping.
- Another option is to install rubber-like flooring, which can be quickly and easily cleaned.
Q: Can the assessment room have windows?
Ideally, the room should not have windows because they can be a source of distraction to the dogs. If this is not possible, cover the windows with shades that prevent a dog from seeing outside the room.
Q: What other characteristics of the assessment environment affect the assessment?
Your assessment room must be free from ringing phones, barking dogs, foot and car traffic and visual distractions from windows or doors. Do not house animals in your assessment room.
Distractions can change behavior and put the shelter and the dogs at risk by not predicting behaviors accurately. Distractions may lead to false positives and set dogs up for failure. A quiet, distraction-free room increases the likelihood that the assessment is predictive.
Assessing Food Aggression
Q: How does satiation affect the food assessment?
Satiation may affect the dog’s interest in eating during the food assessment. We recommend that dogs not have access to food for two hours before assessment.
Do not withhold food for a prolonged period, however. You can conduct the food item (followed by the toy item) of the assessment again at a later time if the dog is not interested in food during the initial assessment.
Q: Do we need to use a rubber hand to assess food aggression?
Using the rubber hand is the safest way to assess for food aggression. In the SAFER Assessment, the assessor uses the Assess-A-Hand in only three or four approaches. We do not advocate continuous interaction or repeated use. After more than three or four approaches, dogs learn to behave in a manner that they wouldn’t have before.
When a dog shows the potential for food aggression, behavior modification can be very successful in modifying this behavior to ensure the safety of the adoptive family.
Assessment Techniques
Q: Does SAFER take into account nervous behavior?
Many of the scores on the SAFER worksheet describe “nervous” or fearful behavior. When a dog exhibits those behaviors, score him or her accordingly. If a dog is so stressed or fearful that he or she is challenging to assess, we recommend that you allow the dog a few more days to settle in before you conduct the assessment again.
Q: How should we assess for scenarios when dogs choose to bite for reasons that aren’t assessed in SAFER?
While SAFER does predict a wide variety of behaviors, it is limited in focus. We do not assess aggression toward cats or small animals, and we are unable to predict some triggers. We continue to research other assessment items. However, we recognize that SAFER, like all assessments, does not fully predict future behavior.
Q: How do we assess a dog who has no idea what a leash is?
Before assessment, help the dog make positive associations with the leash. An easy way to do this is to clip the leash on the dog’s collar and place the dog in the kennel. The dog can drag the leash around while doing something positive, such as searching for treats or eating his or her meal.
Q: What is the reason for using two toys during the toy behavior item? Wouldn’t a dog who is going to guard one guard both?
If you observe a guarding response with one toy, you have the information you need. However, the first toy offered may not elicit the guarding response. If you get a reaction from the first toy, you do not need to go on to the second.
Q: How should we get the rawhide away from a dog who won’t let go?
If the assessment is over, you can let the dog take the rawhide back to the kennel. You can also see if the dog will “trade up” for canned food, or for a bunch of treats tossed on the floor.
Q: During the SAFER assessment, do you recommend assessing a dog with different size dogs?
We recommend that your helper dog weigh within 20 pounds of the dog being assessed and be of the same sex.
If you are selecting play groups or doing a dog introduction for a home placement you may find it helpful to use more than one dog. However, for SAFER assessment, use a helper dog who fits the recommendations as closely as possible.
Q: How long do we keep trying to get in the three tags during the Tag item if we have a dog that is very excited and we can’t get the tags in?
With some dogs, Tag can be a real workout! You will need to continue to position yourself to conduct three tags while observing other behaviors such as body tension, tail posture, and whether the dog’s mouth is open or closed.
For many dogs, Tag is fun. In these cases you will note a soft body, and open mouth. Continue for the third tag.
If you note that a dog continues to turn his body and you are not comfortable reaching for the third tag, it might be wise to review the video to look for the significant behaviors for this item, such as spinning, stiffening, and head flips. If those behaviors are not observed in the video, fully reassess the dog either later that day or the next morning.
Q: If we have someone who is newly trained on SAFER, should this person be the observer or the assessor?
One responsibility of the observer is to keep the assessor safe. New partners might best begin by observing a seasoned observer-assessor team and then move into the role of observer. Reviewing tapes will help new assessors gain confidence in what they are seeing and scoring.
Q: Is it appropriate to have established assessor-observer teams who always work together?
Yes, because they are likely to develop a good rhythm and can support each other. However, it is also important to make sure teams do not get complacent. A neutral party should observe and evaluate your teams from time to time.
Using the SAFER Assessment Results
Q: How should we use the information gathered during the SAFER assessment?
Shelter staff who feel they have the time and resources to support behaviorally at-risk dogs can implement behavior modification and management programs for many of the identified aggressive behaviors. For other shelters, the assessment results aid in helping decide which dogs in the facility are adoption candidates.
It is important to remember that you should not use the SAFER Assessment as your only criterion in determining which dogs can be adopted into the community. Nor should it be the sole criterion in making a decision in regards to euthanasia of a particular dog. Use additional information, such as the relinquishment profile and behavior reported from shelter staff, in the decision-making process. Because no assessment is 100% reliable, it is vital to use all available information when determining which dogs can be adopted.
Q: Should we provide a dog’s assessment information to adopters?
Many agencies do not use SAFER worksheets as adopter documents because some of the technical aspects of the worksheet may not be relevant to the adopter’s needs. That said, there are no secrets in SAFER, and some adopters may find the information interesting and useful.
Meet Your Match Canine-ality, by contrast, is designed to be used with adopters to address issues such as sociability, manners, motivation, and play style. It is certainly important and appropriate to share behavior modification protocols you used with a dog as a result of assessment so that adopters can best support the desired behaviors when the dog is in his or her new home.
SAFER Research
Q: What kind of assessment is SAFER?
The SAFER Assessment is designed to assess the probability of future aggression in dogs age six months and older. The assessment does not measure the dog’s temperament or internal character. The assessment uses researched items that elicit responses that are predictive of future behavior. It is intended to be one tool used to help identify the risk of future aggression and the individual behavioral support needed before adoption for each dog in a shelter.
Q: What was the population of the dogs assessed during the initial research?
The sample size for the original research consisted of 141 dogs: 66 were in the assessed group and 75 were in the control group.
Riverside County Animal Services replicated the research and had similar results. Their sample included 100 dogs: 50 in the assessed group and 50 in the control group. Breeds and breed mixes were a representation of those in the shelter at the time.
Q: Is the ASPCA doing any new research for SAFER?
Yes. We are gearing up to further investigate the stability over time of the responses obtained during the SAFER assessment.
Q: Are there more extensive assessments available, such as those involving children, cats, brushing, and behavior on a leash?
We are conducting research to determine whether aggression toward children can be predicted using a Toddler doll. There is not yet data that supports the ability to predict aggression towards cats. The sensitivity item in the current SAFER assessment can be predictive of sensitivity to touch, which may include brushing.
The Meet Your Match Canine-ality assessment can predict leash manners. In addition, looking at relinquishment reports and other reports about the dog’s behavior may help you get an overall picture of the dog’s behavior.
SAFER Certification
Q: After attending a SAFER workshop, can I use shelter dogs to practice my assessment technique before my submission for certification?
We strongly recommend that you practice using known, safe dogs; that is, dogs who have no known history of aggression or biting.
Dogs with reliable, stable behavior who belong to friends, family or colleagues are great candidates for practicing assessment technique. Shelters dogs might not be the best choice for practice.
If possible, practice with many different dogs. Practicing the assessment multiple times on one or two dogs can teach them the assessment. This may cause the dogs to use inappropriate behavior if they find something unpleasant during the assessment and learn to anticipate it.
Q: When we submit video of staff assessments for SAFER certification, can we include assessments for more than one staffer on the same tape or DVD?
Yes. You can submit one tape or DVD showing the assessments for multiple staffers and dogs. However, please be sure to clearly identify the location of the assessments for each person and dog on the tape or DVD so that we can match them up with the certification paperwork. For example:
First Evaluator: Sandy Martin
Dogs Assessed by Sandy, in order: Scout (black Lab), Chauncey (Yorkie), Harper (brindle Pit Bull mix)
Second Evaluator: Alison Smith
Dogs Assessed by Alison, in order: Suki (yellow Lab mix), Henry (chocolate Doxie), Becky (St. Bernard)
Etc.
Q: If a dog becomes aggressive during an assessment we are recording for certification, should we send in that assessment, or does each person need to assess three dogs from start to finish?
Include the incomplete assessment with two full assessments of other dogs. It’s acceptable to have one dog with whom you have to stop the assessment. This demonstrates to the reviewers that you know when it’s appropriate to stop an assessment for your safety.
Q: Do assessors need to be perfect on the assessment for certification?
When you submit your video for certification, none of the assessments should contain any mistakes that you are aware of.
Photo Credit © Maggie Swanson
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