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Increasing Dog Adoptions

Find the Right Spot for Each Dog

Sue Sternberg

Find the right spot for each dog

Walk around your kennels and figure out which kennels receive the most people-traffic passing in front. Which kennels are the most visually stimulating for the dogs inside them?

Place the most friendly, congenial, LEAST fearful, and calmest dogs in these kennels. Resist the temptation to place the dogs you believe 'need socialization' in these busy kennels. Chances are, fearful dogs will feel more defensive with lots of strangers/visitors passing, and getting more fearful, or even begin barking and lunging.

The busiest kennels should have the most friendly and unflappable dogs in them, and the shyer dogs and the more reactive dogs should have more privacy. Even though means they won't get viewed as often, it will not make their inherent temperament/behavior problems WORSE.

Bring out the shyer and more reactive dogs to meet people outside their kennels, where the dogs might feel more comfortable with an escape route and less crowding.

Courtesy of

Rondout Valley Kennels, Inc.
suesternberg.com