It is important to have accurate assessments of dogs and their needs. I work with a wide variety of dogs and have rehabbed sick, injured, neglected, and abused dogs. I'm not worried about bad behaviors or a dog being just too cute. I do want to know the dogs behaviors, and anything it is afraid of or responds strongly to. For example our dog Ginger is afraid of men, but responds well to being held and petted by them. She also barks at thunder and needs comfort during storms. She will run away at first before allowing herself to be collected if she knows she was misbehaving. She barks at other dogs until corrected if she thinks they are in the wrong place. Information like this might not make Ginger sound perfect, but it is very helpful for my interns to know.

I will walk with, run with, play fetch with, sit with, brush, and do some training with dogs that I watch. I will adjust to each dog based on input from the dog parent and based on my observations with the dog.