Shelter Behavior Consulting
Helping shelters solve problems and eliminate stress by providing dog behavior consulting, education, and program development
Get the help your shelter needs!
Shelters face significant challenges in managing dog behavior, largely due to high-stress environments and limited resources. Your organization deserves customized behavior support to enhance the great work you are already doing. Below are some common issues that impact the welfare of shelter dogs and cause staff and volunteer burnout.
Lack of clearly defined procedures, creating confusion and overwhelm
Lack of robust support programs resulting in behavioral deterioration
Fractured relationships between departments and/or leadership
Lack of professional behavior support with leadership experience
Inconsistent training for staff and volunteers resulting in poor handling of animals
FocusAreas
Work closely with Marissa to get customized behavior consulting to support the people and animals in your care.
Dog Behavior Support
Developing structured programs to address the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of animals
Behavior Pathway Planning
Getting access to Marissa's customizable tools to support decision-making and pathway planning of animals
Program and Process Development
Collaborating with all departments to assess, develop, and improve programs and procedures to increase everyone's welfare
Staff and Volunteer Training
Empowering shelter teams with the tools and knowledge to successfully support the animals in care. Get access to Marissa's trainings and customize them to meet your needs.
Culture Solutions
Creating and implementing behavior change strategies for staff and volunteers while also teaching them interpersonal skills to resolve conflict and build relationships
Strategic Planning
Partnering with operations and/or the behavior department to create actionable strategies that align with your shelter’s mission
Behavior Leadership Program
This program is for organizations without professional behavior support on staff or organizations that need structure, leadership, and/or mentorship for their behavior department.
START HERE
Discovery Call
Schedule a call to discuss your sheltering needs and learn about Marissa's process and offerings.
Marissa works with a limited number of shelters per year so reserve your spot now!
STEP #1
Initial Consultations
After committing to this process, Marissa will schedule a series of initial consultations to define your goals and create a roadmap for your collaboration.
STEP #2
On-site Assessment
Part of the collaboration plan always includes an initial on-site visit and assessment so Marissa can experience your operations and meet the necessary staff members involved in the outlined goals. This is also a time for Marissa to develop an in-person rapport with key players in the execution of the plan.
This on-site visit has the potential to include staff training on specific topics to provide your staff and volunteers with behavior education while also introducing them to Marissa and the outlined goals.
STEP #3
Virtual Support
Marissa works with organizations virtually on a monthly basis to execute the outlined goals. This time includes weekly meetings, program, policy, and SOP development, and any other agreed-upon projects.
On-site Trainings
Based on the program and process improvements, Marissa will co-launch these procedures with the staff through training and education to create sustainable change.
Staff & Volunteer Education Program
This program is for organizations seeking customized behavior education for staff and volunteers.
STEP #1
Discovery Call
Schedule a call to discuss your sheltering needs and learn about Marissa's process and trainings.
STEP #2
Training Prep
To achieve lasting behavior change, an integration plan is essential. Marissa collaborates with leadership to identify the behavioral goals for staff and volunteers. Once these goals are established, she tailors her existing training materials to fit your specific needs and creates a post-training support plan to ensure staff and volunteers have a structured approach to practicing the new behavior expectations. During this planning, we also design the agenda for the on-site visit.
STEP #3
On-site Visit and Post-training support
Marissa will visit your organization to deliver the scheduled agenda items. Following her visit, she offers virtual support to ensure the post-training plan is implemented effectively and remains available to address any challenges or issues that may arise.
Meet Marissa
A certified dog behavior consultant, trained coach, author, and podcast host.
Since 2007, I have had the pleasure of working for three different animal shelters directing their behavior departments in Colorado & California.
In my last role at Dumb Friends League, I got the opportunity to offer animal shelters throughout Colorado the education and resources needed to expand their animal welfare impact. Since then, I have been working intimately with individual shelters along the West Coast.
My mission is to deliver education and solutions that empower your staff and volunteers as they dedicate themselves to this rewarding yet challenging work.
What shelters have to say
"Our organization has had the privilege of working with Marissa over the past two years. During this time, she has become an integral part of our team, which is not typical in our experience in working with consultants. Not only is she a subject matter expert in animal sheltering, animal behavior, and adult learning methodologies, she also has the innate ability to balance short and long term goals and support the execution of these within her scope. She is a joy to work with and we would highly recommend her to any organization seeking to build or enhance their behavior programs, processes and protocols."
- Natalie Spencer
Director of Operations
"Over the last 18 months, Marissa has become part of our team collaborating with staff across various departments to embed behavior-focused procedures into our operations. Her tools, resources, and expertise have been invaluable in creating tailored protocols and training programs for both staff and volunteers. The highlight of our collaboration has been the implementation of her pathway-planning tools in various departments, which have improved our ability to develop effective pathway plans for the dogs in our care. We are forever grateful to Marissa for her time, patience and expertise while assisting our organization to be the best it can be for the animals, our staff and for our community”.
- Jerleen Bryant
Chief Executive Officer
"I highly recommend Marissa for their exceptional work in transforming the culture within our shelter’s behavior team. When they came on board, we were facing challenges with communication, collaboration, and overall team morale. Marissa quickly identified key areas for improvement and implemented targeted strategies that not only enhanced our interpersonal dynamics but also improved the effectiveness of our behavior program."
- Nicole Cacy
Senior Manager, Capacity and Animal Flow
“I've seen a lot of dog trainers in my short time at Nevada SPCA, and Marissa is head and shoulders above the rest. Not only was her content thought-provoking, she presented in a way that was easy to understand and on everyone's level. She also gave us excellent tools to assist our decision-making process on those heart-wrenching behavioral euthanasia cases.”
- Lori Heeren
Executive Director
"We were hesitant for Marissa to come into our shelter due to previous consulting experiences where consultants have observed our operations, judged our way of doing things, and pushed a lot of change. We were pleasantly surprised when Marissa was open, asked questions, and gave recommendations all without judging or making us feel like we were doing things wrong. She gave us a lot of great information and I am just over the moon about the tools she provided us."
- Nicole Fox
Shelter Manager
- Megan Cavassa
Behavior Manager
Get started today
Invest in your staff, volunteers, and the animals in your care