Does anyone have this book and have read it?..Written by Sue Sternberg

David, I have read the book, and disagree with almost all of it. There's a movement to rid shelters of the Sternberg temp testing methods as we speak. Many rescues across the country are taking in the so-called "unadoptable" dogs by Sternberg standards and are rehoming them with no problems. The statistics of the supposed "no-kill" shelters are appalling, these "no-kill" shelters are euthanizing dogs in record numbers because the dogs cannot pass the Sternberg TT, therefore not even being counted in the final tally. If you'd like more info, PM me, and I'll direct you to the site that is trying to put a stop to this.

Laura - why don't you fill us in on what the Sternberg temp test is and why its bad. I never heard of it (but then I don;t work with shelters either)

Sue Stienburg came to our shelter. I did get a chance to sit through a couple meetings with her. I thought most of her teaching was good. It is very difficult for the shelter because animals have to placed with permanent homes. Otherwise the animal will be returned,sometimes for very poor reasons. Mouthy puppies,fur shedding,One even came back months later because animal controll was tired of picking him up. We had a year old cairn returned 3 times because he was too active. The tt does give us some idea how the animal reacts in a stessfull enviornment like a shelter. Most animals do not pass the tt because of food guarding.

It's a pretty heated topic in the rescue/shelter community.

In Sue's words on Assess-A-Pet
http://www.suesternberg.com/00shelter.html


couple other descriptions: http://www.waysidewaifs.org/includes/adoption_temptesting2.html

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/sheleval.html#Test

Many rescues do take the "unadoptable" dogs in, because that is what rescues do. Also, many rescue use versions of these very tests to decide what they do take in. In my opinion, the real issue is that people claim the tests are rigged by Sue so that the dogs will be put down, and that the dogs are being pushed to fail, and how the results are mis-interpreted deliberately.

The major problem many of us are having with the Sternberg TT is that these tests are very subjective by whomever is evaluating the dog. Most shelters rely on well intentioned volunteers who aren't armed with enough knowledge of specific breeds, let alone dogs in general. These tests are administered almost immediately when a dog is surrendered to a shelter, and many dogs will not respond to these tests well while under duress. Any dog who has been dumped at a shelter or picked up off the streets will be wary of the strangers around him and the noise of a crowded facility, it's a basic survival instinct. Sternberg has taken claim to being an animal behavioral expert, her training consists of no normal education of the sciences but merely
from her early experience working as an ACO and her early involvement as a volunteer dog walker with the ASPCA in New York.
The real kicker is the ASPCA continues to spend good money to endorse Sternberg and her TT, while taking no official stand on spay and neuter practices to stop the influx of animals in the first place!
I went to a Sternberg seminar many years ago, and when I heard the quote "If you are a shelter and you must kill 50 dogs tonight, here is
a way to decide which 50 must go.", I knew something was wrong. What I think this boils down to is a way to appease the liberal masses with no-kill shelters, while being able to euthanize the overflow of dogs, dogs that never even equate into the final count of a shelter because the animals don't pass the Sternberg TT.

While I am not agreeing with the whole test, it is intended to be a baseline. If you do not think they should be doing this test, what do you recommend?

My roomate runs an animal shelter. It is outside... unfortunately some dogs have to be put down. It is a fact of life when you have a shelter. We do not perform the test Sue suggests, but there are times when you have to choose between dogs and it is NEVER easy. We are both what I would consider "seasoned" dog people... most shelter volunteers are not.

My own dogs probably wouldn't pass this test, but I also wouldn't turn them loose (meaning send them to live) with people I didn't know at all either. There are TWO sides to the shelter adoption process. With MOST shelters, time is of the essence, and placing dogs amounts to a greeting/meeting and some paper work. Rescues have MUCH more available time to screen adopters... when they are full, they can refuse. Municipal shelters can't. So in essence this is a way to cover your butt by not adopting out dogs who will agress when pushed. Remember... some people do DUMB things with dogs. You can not KNOW someone from spending 30 mins to 2 hrs with them.

It is always easy to find fault with the 'other' side, but try walking on it a couple times. You will have a whole new appreciation.

Good points Deanna.

I use a similar version of the test. Also, being a rescue, I have the "luxury" of deciding which of the "deemed unadoptable" dogs I will take.

I do not see the problem, other than the claims people are making about her being euth happy and skewing the tests to make them fail. I have never met Sue and have no way of knowing if this is true. And I am not pro "no kill" shelter.

I did question people as they complained that small dogs were not given extra leeway, and I was told that is the norm in most shelters, which I was mildly surprised about, but not really, I guess most folks will love a tiny dog that bites and pees everywhere but hold big dogs to a much stiffer standard. Some said small dogs show the most fear and are the most terrified and messed up in a shelter based on their size, I myself have seen enough real big dogs be just as freaked out as the ankle biters. Just strikes me as odd. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Deanna, believe me, I know how hard it is to make the decision, I've worked on both sides of the fence and it's one of the hardest decisions anyone has to make. But the overall test needs serious improvement, as does the application of it. And I also don't believe in "no-kill" shelters, there are many dogs that can't be rehomed for good reason. There was just a case here in NJ, the Newark shelter had adopted out a Doberman that had been an owner surrender, the dog had a history of biting and the owner had paid for the dog to be euthanized. The shelter turned around and adopted the dog out, who consequently bit the new owner badly. And THAT kind of stupidity makes it all that much harder on the shelters who try to do the right thing. Do shelters need a testing policy? Yes. But people who work at shelters need to be better trained and educated about dog behavior, not just mindlessly performing a TT without ever questioning the outcome of a given test. And it's time for the funding to be spent on programs like training and spay/neuter to stop the cycle of unwanted dogs in the first place.

The tt at our shelter is done by a vet tech and a professional trainer.At this time our shelter is full. We have 36 dog runs. A decision must be made because we are now out of room. We can stop taking animals but its not easy because people bringing animals in do get angry when refused. We are also a private owned shelter and rely on public funding.