Live or Die Tests at animal shelters

[Catherine]

I am hoping that shelters are starting to see their mistakes and find other ways to assess a dog.
Moving away from a "kill shelter" mentality will help. When you are committed to keeping a dog alive you will look for signs of  hope and not try to force aggression.

I think the tests are done to deliberately provoke a dog. A normal response of a growl when food is threatened seems right to me.
I would worry more about a dog that seems too passive. Maybe the seemingly peaceful dog is building up resentment and some day he will blow up.

The tests would be popular because untrained staff could follow the book and assess animals even though they are in no way qualified to make such an important decision. I bet it is the less experienced, less trained people who will try to cling to the tests.

I hope they stop killing dogs based on a test. No dog should die because it protects its food. No dog should die because they find shelter life stressful. We need to be more reasonable.