Of Dogs And Hens

[The Spotted Devil]

I was recently interviewed by The University of Melbourne's "Up Close" series to talk about my PhD research with dogs in animal shelters. The interview has just been published here and there will be a few more photos and links to follow - you can listen online or download it as a podcast. One of my colleagues also talks about her PhD research involving the welfare of commercial laying hens.

It's 30 minutes of your life that you'll never get back :D but I thought some may be interested.

[shel]

Thanks for sharing TSD! Listening now :D

[shel]

This is a really awesome concept for research; the impact of the attitudes and behaviours of shelter animal handlers, on the behaviour (and therefore outcomes) of shelter dogs.

They mentioned you were about half way through collecting your data - you must have learned a lot (and been having a blast) getting to work so closely with shelters in your state? And it's great that shelter staff are willing to sit down and discuss their feelings and concerns with you - what you learn could really have huge impacts for pets.

Great interview too!

:D

:)shel

Edited January 11, 2011 by shel

[The Spotted Devil]

This is a really awesome concept for research; the impact of the attitudes and behaviours of shelter animal handlers, on the behaviour (and therefore outcomes) of shelter dogs.

They mentioned you were about half way through collecting your data - you must have learned a lot (and been having a blast) getting to work so closely with shelters in your state? And it's great that shelter staff are willing to sit down and discuss their feelings and concerns with you - what you learn could really have huge impacts for pets.

Great interview too!

:)shel

Thanks for taking the time to listen shel

I am learning SO much but, as you can imagine, I've learnt a heck of a lot just from the reading, preparation and planning stages. The shelter staff have been truly fabulous and very generous with their already stretched time. Hopefully this particular study is just the beginning!

[corvus]

Very cool.

I guess maybe it's a little inevitable to end up in shelters if you're an animal welfare researcher interested in dogs. I originally wasn't going to do much with shelters, but they seem to want to do stuff with me, and who am I to say no? Of course I want to help them if I can. I've just started a pilot study with shelter dogs and it's been quite an eye opener for me. I guess knowing how many dogs get euthanised and actually seeing dogs disappearing from their kennels are two different things. I'm a practical person and I can accept that there just isn't anyone to help most dogs that need a little help, but man, it is still hard.

[The Spotted Devil]

Very cool.

I guess maybe it's a little inevitable to end up in shelters if you're an animal welfare researcher interested in dogs. I originally wasn't going to do much with shelters, but they seem to want to do stuff with me, and who am I to say no? Of course I want to help them if I can. I've just started a pilot study with shelter dogs and it's been quite an eye opener for me. I guess knowing how many dogs get euthanised and actually seeing dogs disappearing from their kennels are two different things. I'm a practical person and I can accept that there just isn't anyone to help most dogs that need a little help, but man, it is still hard.

Thanks corvus Hope your research is going well!

I've volunteered in animal shelters for some years (mainly with cats) and you do learn to let some of it wash over you. I'm probably quite fortunate at the moment in that the method of data collection means I'm recording a lot of data in a very short time so I don't often have the opportunity to be conscious of individual dogs.