Trainers work with difficult shelter dogs, giving them a better chance to find homes.

By Kelli Ohrtman, Best Friends Network

The HSUS advises that “animals who are showing signs of aggression, have attacked another animal or person, or have a history of aggression… are generally appropriate [for euthanasia] for humane, safety, ethical, and liability reasons.” While we understand common shelter constraints, we knew there must be another option.

Take General Dito, a spunky terrier mix who frequently bit the people he loves. No warning, just one minute he’s your buddy and the next, you better get away from him—fast. These weren’t love bites; Dito wanted to hurt you. He didn’t know how else to behave, and was creating quite a problem at the shelter where he lived. What can a responsible shelter do with dogs like him? What about already overcrowded shelters with low budgets and overworked staff? The fact is, if you are a dog like Dito in a shelter and you bite in fear, to protect yourself, to guard food or for any other reason, you may have just sealed your fate to euthanasia.

Handling aggressive dogs is a big problem in the animal rescue world. Liability, legitimate fear, and lack of time and expert help to retrain dogs all add up to the most common solution; euthanasia. Even the sweetest dog can go “cage crazy” after months at a crowded shelter, and starving stray dogs can learn how to guard food fiercely. They’re not bad dogs, they’re just in a bad situation, and too often there is no one to help them. Earlier this year, Best Friends faced the issue head-on when it was inadvertently brought to the top of the list in importance.

After a massive Hurricane Katrina rescue effort, this spring the Best Friends’ rescue camp in Tylertown, Mississippi was left housing the most aggressive 25 dogs out of thousands to enter the gates. All the friendly dogs had been adopted or fostered, but there were no takers for these dogs. These were the dogs who had bitten people or attacked other dogs, sometimes on more than one occasion. Only through extremely careful handling were staffers able to feed and clean up after their charges. We needed a real solution, and euthanasia was not an option.

Instead of figuring out how to get rid of these “problem” dogs, we looked at what they needed to break through tough exteriors and figure out what made them likely to bite. What we came up with is that dogs like these need one-on-one training from an expert. These dogs need trainers.

To date, over 75 once-troubled dogs have been placed through the program Best Friends came up with.

The Training Partners program uses a simple formula: match up troubled dogs to trainers familiar with common problems like fear, dog and human aggression, guarding, and whatever else makes them difficult to adopt out. Approved trainers get a $1000 stipend to cover their costs, as well as published updates on the Best Friends Network Training Partners website. It’s a sweet deal for trainers, and the only deal left for most of the dogs.

With trainers taking on one to sometimes as many as four or five dogs, we’ve placed 33 sanctuary dogs and over 45 Katrina dogs.

Training Partners was the last option for General Dito. Trainer Kevin Culver already had great success with a few dogs he took from the sanctuary, so we called him to see whether he thought he could help the biting terrier.

Dara Paoletti, one of several trainers at Best Friends said Kevin is already making progress with Dito. She reported, “Kevin told us that he was working on letting Dito know that biting wouldn't get him anywhere. In the past if Dito bit someone, it would make them go away, but he started learning that this behavior didn't work with Kevin. Once Dito got better with Kevin, his wife started working with Dito in the same way so that he would learn that the biting wouldn't work with other people either.” Kevin already has a potential home lined up for Dito when he’s ready to go. He is another example that some dogs need only time and the right person. Now Dito has a chance.

But there are still hundreds of dogs in Best Friends program that need help—both at the sanctuary and fostered out in facilities around the country. The response from trainers has lost its initial momentum, and we are actively seeking more trainers to step up and work with dogs who have no other options.

Dara said that not all the dogs are like General Dito; many are wonderful with people, but not so good with other dogs. Some are too shy to be touched and need careful confidence-building. Most were simply never socialized, and are fearful around new people and situations. It’s that fear that can make them more likely to bite. This is exactly why Best Friends has made commitments to these dogs; even though they have problems they’re still good dogs, they just got a rough start. We’ve seen time and again, that even the most threatening or terrified dogs can become truly good dogs with the right handling and training.

Pictured: Infamous General Dito, learning how to play nice

For more information, or to apply to be a Training Partner, go to: http://network.bestfriends.org/Campaigns/TrainerTab.aspx?g=e0fff6b53f5f41bdac7d0d13572bd724