Post Adoptive Training - P.A.T. Program™
Among the many groundbreaking programs that we have put into place at Animal Aid, we are extremely proud of our Post Adoptive Training (PAT) Program. This program is designed specifically for dogs adopted from, not just Animal Aid, but from any shelter or rescue service. It looks at and aims to modify the behaviour traits of rehomed dogs that often inhibit their successful integration into their new home. History dictates that there are always a proportion of the dogs in our adoption pens that have ‘emotional baggage’ from their previous homes. This can range from a simple lack of socialisation to unintentionally reinforced inappropriate behaviours.

Unfortunately there are a large percentage of dogs in the community that never leave their own backyard. They never get walked, and therefore never or rarely meet another dog or people outside the family. They are not allowed in the house and are put away when guests come over. As you can imagine, this would be a very isolating existence for such a gregarious animal. It is often the cause of some very common anti-social behaviour, which stem from a lack of necessary social skills due to a lack of exposure.

The more a dog is exposed to the world the more they are at ease with it.

As for reinforced behaviours, what might seem like innocent fun when a dog is only a puppy, such as jumping up and rough housing (these behaviors are often encouraged), doesn't seem so appealing when Junior becomes a 35 KG Labrador (or similar sized dog). Subsequently the children get ‘rugby- tackled’ every time they go into the backyard and after a while they won’t go out to play until Dad puts Junior away. So the cycle begins.

This ‘baggage’ is the reason that many dogs come to us in the first place, and may prove a challenge to their new adoptive family. Of course, there are always behaviours that, in the shelter environment, we have no way of anticipating. They only become apparent in the home environment. Various teething problems can usually, with the correct advice and commitment from the new owner, be easily solved by the excellent trouble-shooting skills of our experienced staff.

In the trials that led up to the implementation of this program, we have solid evidence that this lifestyle training proved to be the difference between the dog being successfully rehomed or returned to the shelter. We believe that this specialized training is a vital service for welfare shelters to provide.Animal Aid is committed to every dog that we rehome. We don’t just want them out of our kennels; we want them all to have a permanent and well adjusted home for the rest of their life. The P.A.T. Program™helps us to achieve this by intergrating new shelter dogs into their families and addressing such issues as toilet training, loose lead walking, basic manners, jumping up and children and dogs. The program involves 1 x group info session and 3 x 1 hour sessions working one-on-one with our professional dog trainer.

Please contact Meg at Animal Aid for more information by calling 0400 390 300 or email mryan@animalaid.org.au.