TAMPA, Fla. — The Humane Society of Tampa Bay wants to ensure all dogs succeed in their new homes.
The shelter offers free online training courses to anyone who adopts a dog who has been there for more than 30 days.
Glen Hatchell is the Behavior & Enrichment Manager at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. He introduced us to a 2-year-old dog named Daniel. The dog has been at the shelter since April.
"We have almost 20 dogs that have been with us for over 30 days, and what we're offering right now is four weeks of training for each of these dogs on their adoptions, when they're adopted," said Glen Hatchell.
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay partnered with GoodPup,a provider of positive reinforcement training. The Humane Society is using donor dollars to pay for these classes.
Micah Adler, General Manager of GoodPup, said the virtual training lessons has its advantages, including convenience for pet owners.
"We're not taking them to a training center. We're not taking them to a group lesson with a lot of other dogs around that can be distracting, and we're not bringing a stranger into the house," said Adler.
Hatchell said; currently, the shelter is at 100% capacity. He said shelter officials are working to reduce return rates on dogs. He said that sometimes dogs are returned to the shelter for behavior issues.
"We're trying to target those dogs with the intent that once they are in their home, we're going to give them every possible chance to stay in their home because, again, the data says that if the dog has the training, the chances that they're going to return to the shelter are just slim," said Hatchell.
Alder said the company launched the GoodPup Advantage Program, which provides more economically-friendly bulk discount rates. The company is looking to work with shelters nationwide to offer virtual training, access to interactive education material, and access to an online chat.
The partnership is an effort to reduce the return rates on dogs and make them successful in their new home.
"They're really good dogs, they're social, they're friendly, most of them are really good with other dogs," said Hatchell.
"The intent really is to provide every opportunity to make sure when the dog gets into the home that they're going to stay; they're not going to come back."
