Which Dogs Should You Assess and When?

The SAFER® Assessment is intended to be used with dogs ages six months and older. The assessment is not predictive of future aggression if used with younger dogs.

Research has found that dogs' cortisol (stress hormone) levels significantly decrease at approximately 72 hours after intake to a shelter. Waiting 72 hours may therefore change the behavior of the dog and may allow for a more predictive assessment. We recommend that you:

• Provide enrichment for all dogs as soon as possible after they arrive at your facility.
• If possible based on your resources, wait 72 hours after intake before assessing.
• If waiting 72 hours is not possible, strive to assess all dogs six months and older within 24-72 hours of arrival in your facility.
• If waiting is not possible at all, assess dogs at intake—ideally with the relinquisher present. This allows safe dogs to quickly move to adoption with minimal delay, and gives you a great opportunity to learn more about a dog's potential behavior issues directly from the relinquisher.

We recommend that you provide enrichment opportunities for dogs as soon as they are placed in their kennel because enrichment helps reduce stress. Enrichment opportunities should also be available to the dogs during their entire shelter stay.

If You Cannot Assess All Dogs

Your shelter may not yet be able to assess every dog over six months of age due to resources, staff levels, volume of animals, etc. If so, you may want to use SAFER to assess subsets of your dog population (for example: Chihuahuas or pit bulls or black dogs) to help ensure that those placed for adoption will be great ambassadors for their breeds and your agency.

Learn More

The following brief video provides more information about which dogs to assess and when to assess them.