Animal Behavior Pathway Resources

It is important to ensure that all the words and phrases used to describe an animal’s behavior mean the same thing to everyone. When we all understand and use language in the same way, we communicate clearly and accurately about animal behavior.

The ASPCA has developed the following resources to encourage clear and accurate communication about animal behavior:

• Behavior Glossary of Terms
• Canine and Feline Arousal Scales
• Canine and Feline Fear Scales
• Feline Aggression Scale

You can download and use these resources in your organization. If you have any questions about these resources or have made any changes to the resources as you use them, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org. We would love to hear from you!

Glossary of Behavior Terms

The ASPCA’s Glossary of Behavior Terms provides easy-to-understand definitions for animal behavior terms. Clear definitions ensure all shelter staff and volunteers use behavior terms correctly.

Objective language describes an observation without interpretation and provides useful information for shelter staff and volunteers responsible for communicating about animal behavior. 

Subjective language is based on opinion. Avoid using words and phrases that can have different meanings for different people. There are examples of subjective words and phrases to avoid in the ASPCA’s Glossary of Behavior Terms.

If you add any words or phrases to your organization’s Glossary of Behavior Terms, we encourage you to use common-language definitions of those terms, rather than scientific definitions that can be hard to understand. We do caution that the longer the glossary, the less likely it will be incorporated into your organization’s language. Please let us know if you have added to this glossary for use in your organization by emailing shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Canine Arousal Scale and Feline Arousal Scale

The Canine and Feline Arousal Scales define three levels of arousal for dogs and cats: mild, moderate, and severe. Observable body language and behavior for both species are described using objective language for all three levels of arousal. Other behavior pathway resources below reference these scales, making them necessary for the interpretation of the Adoptability Guidelines and Treatment Eligibility Chart.

Organizations are encouraged to download and use these scales without adaptation. If you have questions or comments about the Canine and Feline Arousal Scales or implementation in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Canine Fear Scale and Feline Fear Scale

The Canine and Feline Fear Scales define three levels of fear for dogs and cats: mild, moderate, and severe. Observable body language and behavior for both species are described using objective language for all three levels of fear. Other behavior pathway resources below reference these scales, making them necessary for the interpretation of the Adoptability Guidelines and Treatment Eligibility Chart.

Organizations are encouraged to download and use these scales without adaptation. If you have questions or comments about the Canine and Feline Fear Scales or implementation in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Feline Aggression Scale

The Feline Aggression Scale* defines three levels of aggression for cats: mild, moderate, and severe. Observable body language and behavior for both cats are described using objective language for all three levels of aggression. Other behavior pathway resources below reference this scale, making it necessary for the interpretation of the Adoptability Guidelines and Treatment Eligibility Chart.

Organizations are encouraged to download and use these scales without adaptation. If you have questions or comments about the Feline Aggression Scale or implementation in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

*There is no corresponding Canine Aggression Scale. Instead, canine aggression is addressed in the Canine Risk Assessment behavior pathway resource.

There are a wide variety of communities served by shelters. While there are shared characteristics and behaviors that define an “adoptable animal” for all shelters, each shelter must collaborate with their communities to identify unique criteria for adoptability. For example, urban spaces may require dogs to be in close contact with a diverse population of people and other dogs (e.g., apartment living, elevators, crowded busy streets). Rural spaces may require animals to be able to interact safely with farm animals (e.g., cattle, chickens, horses). 

Each organization should develop its adoptability guidelines using shelter data (e.g., relinquishment information, length of stay for animals with behavior concerns) and community engagement (e.g., social media, surveys), to decide what is reasonable, acceptable, and safe behavior for pet dogs and cats. Animals who do not match the adoptability guidelines for your community may or may not match adoptability guidelines in a different community.

Canine and Feline Adoptability Guidelines

Adoptability Guidelines describe what an animal needs to be able to do with a typical adopter in specific contexts to function as an ambassador for shelter animals in your community. 

Once you have developed your organization’s adoptability guidelines, the first pathway planning question is, “Does this animal’s typical behavior match with our adoptability guidelines? If yes, that animal can be fast-tracked for adoption. If no, Adoptability Guidelines will help set goals and benchmarks to track an animal’s progress should you choose to provide behavioral treatment aimed at helping an animal successfully match adoptability guidelines.

The behavior pathway resources focused on defining adoptability apply to all dogs and cats under the care of a shelter or rescue.

These downloads are examples of the ASPCA’s current adoptability guidelines for dogs and cats. If you have questions or comments about the Adoptability Guidelines or about developing and implementing these resources in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Animals may experience changing welfare during their shelter stay. The goal is to provide an environment and opportunities for sheltered animals to experience a good quality of life. Regular assessment of individual animal welfare can identify animals who have a declining quality of life in the shelter early so that appropriate interventions can be provided. It is our responsibility to ensure the best welfare possible for shelter animals for the entire duration of their shelter stay.

Holistic Quality of Life Assessment (hQoL)

The Holistic Quality of Life (hQoL) Assessment combines both medical and behavioral factors contributing to an overall view of an individual animal’s welfare. This behavior pathway resource provides a standardized approach to help shelter staff track, maintain, and improve quality of life for the animals in their care. Monitoring hQoL can inform decisions about care, enrichment, treatment, pathway planning, and outcomes. This behavior pathway resource is most useful for shelters whose animals have a long length of stay (e.g., 2 weeks or more).

Using the hQoL Assessment with a specific shelter population first is strongly recommended, as it is often too overwhelming to complete the assessment for all animals routinely. It may be best to focus on animals at risk for declining or poor welfare. Suggested categories of animals at risk of declining or poor welfare are:

• Animals displaying moderate to severe fear
• Animals displaying moderate to severe frustration and/or arousal
• Animals displaying moderate to severe depression
• Animals expected to have a long length of stay (e.g., 2 weeks or more, holds for legal, medical, or behavioral reasons, harder to adopt animals)

As shelter staff become familiar with the tool, you can build up to assessing all animals in a facility on a regular schedule. At a minimum, high-risk groups should be assessed regularly throughout their stay. The hQoL Assessment downloads include additional information about who should complete the assessment, how often, and instructions. 

The hQoL Assessment was developed in collaboration with shelter animal behaviorists and shelter medicine veterinarians for use with dogs and cats. Therefore, organizations are encouraged to download and use the hQoL Assessment without changes. If you have questions or comments about the hQoL Assessment or implementation in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Assessing risk, while considering safety, is a critical part of a shelter’s responsibility, and it is important to consider all factors that influence risk. While no crystal ball can predict aggression in all potential circumstances, a risk assessment can facilitate a comprehensive discussion of risk, including when you need to gather more information. Assessing an animal's aggressive behavior using a risk assessment will inform pathway planning and outcome decisions for animals with a history of, or the potential for, aggressive behavior.

This risk assessment examines three questions:

• How bad will the result be if the animal behaves aggressively?
• How likely is aggressive behavior to occur?
• Are there additional mitigating factors that impact the overall risk?

In other words:   

Overall Impact = (Severity of Consequence + Likelihood of Occurrence) – Mitigating Factors
 

Canine Risk Assessment

The Canine Risk Assessment guides the user through a series of questions to identify potential hazards and possible mitigating factors when considering aggression cases. In combination with other behavior pathway resources, the Canine Risk Assessment can contribute valuable information for pathway planning and outcome discussions within a collaborative, integrated care framework.

The Canine Risk Assessment should be used to facilitate a comprehensive discussion of risk for dogs whose behavior reveals concerns that pose a risk or threat to other animals or humans. It prompts staff to consider all risk factors when considering the likelihood that the animal will behave aggressively and the consequences if that were to happen.

Organizations are encouraged to download and use the Canine Risk Assessment without changes. However, if you do amend this document for use in your organization, we would love to hear from you about other important risks you have assessed for your communities. If you have questions or comments about the Canine Risk Assessment or implementation in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Feline Risk Assessment (Coming Soon)

The Feline Risk Assessment guides the user through a series of questions to identify potential hazards and possible mitigating factors when considering feline aggression cases. In combination with other behavior pathway resources, the Feline Risk Assessment can contribute valuable information for pathway planning and outcome discussions within a collaborative, integrated care framework.

The Feline Risk Assessment should be used to facilitate a comprehensive discussion of risk for cats whose behavior reveals concerns that pose a risk or threat to other animals or humans. 

Organizations are encouraged to download and use the Feline Risk Assessment without changes. However, if you do amend this document for use in your organization, we would love to hear from you about the other risks you have identified as important to assess for your communities. If you have questions or comments about the Feline Risk Assessment or implementation in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Assessing behavioral capacity for care ensures that your organization is operating within your ability to provide the necessary behavioral support for all animals in your care. One question gets at the core of the issue: “With the resources we have today, can we meet the physical and behavioral needs of every animal in our care?” 

The ASPCA has developed the following resources to provide guidelines for decisions about what can and cannot be done in your organization:

• Canine & Feline Treatment Eligibility Charts
• Behavioral Capacity for Care Calculator

These behavior pathway resources apply to all dogs and cats under the care of a shelter or rescue.

Canine Treatment Eligibility Chart

The Canine Treatment Eligibility Chart supports judicious, expedient decisions for dogs who display problem behaviors. Shelters must make decisions about dedicating their limited resources (e.g., staff time and expertise, space, medical care) and behavioral treatment to dogs who are safe to treat in the shelter or in an available foster home and who are likely to live safely and successfully as a companion in a pet home with a typical adopter.

In combination with other behavior pathway resources, the Canine Treatment Eligibility Chart can help ensure consistency in the selection of which problem behaviors can be safely treated, managed, and supported given your organization's available resources, including balancing behavioral support for the entire population with each animal’s needs and likelihood of the success of treatment. Flexibility is necessary with this tool as animals eligible for treatment today might not be in the future due to the shelter’s changing resource availability. 

Your Canine Treatment Eligibility Chart should be based on your organization-wide behavioral capacity for care resources and the willingness to accept or avoid risk. Knowing which problem behaviors are easily resolved in a typical adopter’s home and which are unlikely to be successfully treated in a shelter environment also informs whether to treat an animal. 

The download provides an example of problem behaviors to be considered for treatment eligibility. You will need to fill it in based on your shelter’s current capacity for care and proactively make changes as your shelter’s behavior resources change. If you have questions or comments about the Canine Treatment Eligibility Chart or about developing and implementing this resource in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Feline Treatment Eligibility Chart (Coming Soon)

The Feline Treatment Eligibility Chart supports judicious, expedient decisions for cats who display problem behaviors. Shelters must make decisions about dedicating their limited resources (e.g., staff time and expertise, space, medical care) and behavioral treatment to dogs who are safe to treat in the shelter or in an available foster home and who are likely to live safely and successfully as a companion in a pet home with a typical adopter.

In combination with other behavior pathway resources, the Treatment Eligibility Chart can help ensure consistency in selection of which problem behaviors can be supported given your organization’s available resources, including balancing behavioral support for the entire population with the needs and prognosis of individual animals.

Your Feline Treatment Eligibility Chart should be based on your organization-wide behavioral capacity for care resources, the knowledge regarding what is likely to resolve easily in an adoptive home, what has a poor prognosis for treatment in a shelter environment, and the willingness to accept or avoid risk. If you have questions or comments about the Feline Treatment Eligibility Chart or about developing and implementing this resource in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.

Behavioral Capacity for Care Calculator

An organization’s capacity for humane care cannot be defined by a static number of animals or a line item in a budget. Behavioral capacity for care is constantly changing and is influenced by many factors, such as:

• Behavior program priorities (e.g., behavior assessment, enrichment, playgroups, behavior treatment sessions)
• Staffing (e.g., number of staff and knowledge, training, and skill level of behavior staff)
• Administrative responsibilities (e.g., writing behavior notes, preparing adoption profiles)
• Communicating behavior 
• Training staff, volunteers, foster caregivers, adopters, etc.

This download is an example of a capacity for care calculator. There are formulas built into the spreadsheet, so please check those if you make any changes to this behavior pathway resource. If you do make any changes, we would love to hear from you about other factors you use to determine your behavioral capacity for care. If you have questions or comments about the Behavioral Capacity for Care Calculator or about developing and implementing this resource in your organization, please email shelterbehavior@aspca.org.