Training Staff With Dog Evaluations

Do you fully utilize the best dog body language classroom available?  Every center offering off-leash dog play has a great classroom for studying dog language and behavior: the dog evaluation session.  Do you take advantage of this opportunity and use it for staff training?  Keep reading to find out how you can use dog evaluation sessions to train, grow and retain your staff and learn how you can use The Dog Gurus Dog Application Form (which is part of The Dog Management Tools PDF) to identify the best training opportunities for your staff.

Dog evaluation sessions frequently use two people so use staff members as assistants and further their learning of dog behavior while getting the evaluation done.  We bet that some of the most interesting and unusual dog behaviors you’ve observed were during evaluation sessions.  In fact, every dog evaluation session offers an opportunity to learn something new about dog behavior and by receiving your dog application form in advance, you can identify the evaluations that will be good classroom studies and use them purposefully for staff training.

Ideas on using a dog evaluation session for staff training:

• Newer staff learn and gain understanding of the formal process used to accept the dogs that are in their playgroups
• All staff learn to focus on dog greetings, a high risk event, that should always be observed closely during dog arrivals in playgroups (even dogs that have met previously)
• Dog body language displays will range through yellow, green and at times red, so it’s a great classroom to point out postures staff may not see during playgroup
• Confirm staff understanding of body language by asking them to describe specifics of what they observe in posture, ears, face, tail along with color of the varying postures
• More experienced staff receive continuing education in dog behaviors that include stress or warning signals, play behaviors and dog reactions to being uncomfortable

In addition to learning more about dogs, staff that participate in evaluations experience career growth.  They may start as an observer, and progress to a regular assistant during the evaluation process.

Questions to ask your staff as they gain experience:

• Which tester dogs should be introduces to the applicant dog? (and reason why)
• Why did a dog respond as they did?
• Did the applicant dog pass or fail the evaluation?
• How will the applicant dog fit into your existing playgroups?
• How should the applicant dog be introduced to a large playgroup?
• What behaviors did they observe that the dog owner needs to know about?
• How would you communicate this? (staff may not deliver the message to the client, but it’s a training development tool)

Involving your playgroup staff actively during the dog evaluation process has many benefits.  

• Confirm staff body language and behavior knowledge levels
• Opportunity to clarify dog behavior misperceptions
• Better job satisfaction as staff receive ongoing training opportunities
• Employee retention increases as staff realize they have input to important job decisions

Evaluating dogs is one of the most important processes performed in off-leash play operations.  Take advantage of the responsibility of these roles to train, grow and retain your staff by involving them in the process.