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Before You Flag — Shelter Stress AA Guide

For animal attendants and behaviour trainers at LDH North Melbourne and Cranbourne, working alongside the Shelter Stress Protocol (SOP v1.2). Not every dog needs medication — this page walks through what to check first, and gives you a note to hand to the vet team either way.

Patient

Step 1 Anything in the environment changed?

Environmental triggers are often the fastest thing to fix — faster than starting a medication and waiting 48–72 hours to see if it works.

    Step 2 Could pain be part of this?

    Pain makes fear, anxiety and stress worse, and shelter stress medication does not treat pain. Tick anything you've noticed, then flag it to the vet either way — this never delays a shelter stress flag, it just travels alongside it.

      Step 3 Has enrichment been offered today?

      Twice daily if possible — once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening round.

      Two-minute enrichment ideas

      • Scatter-feed a handful of kibble on a snuffle mat, on grass, or in the yard instead of a bowl
      • Freeze a small amount of wet food, broth or a few treats in a Kong or the water bowl
      • A cardboard box or folded towel with treats tucked inside to forage or shred
      • A long-lasting chew sized to the dog
      • Rotate in a toy the dog hasn't had this week
      • A quick sniff walk or a few minutes at the FOP with a person, away from the pen
      • Reduce visual stimulation — a towel over part of the front of the pen if the trigger is visual (other dogs, foot traffic)

      Keep it easy — a puzzle that's too hard causes frustration on top of stress, which defeats the point.

      Step 4 What are you actually seeing?

      Behavioural observation is the main welfare monitoring tool we have — tick every sign present, then describe how often, how strong, and how long it lasts. Frequency, intensity and duration matter as much as which signs are present.

      Arousal signs
        Fear or shut-down signs
          Escalating — welfare priority
            Frequency, intensity and duration

            Step 5 Does this happen mainly at feeding or cleaning time?

            Situational stress tied to a predictable routine event often has a work-order fix that's faster than medication.

            What to do

            Note for Teams (Attendants and Behaviour Department chat)
            This page is a triage aid for animal attendants and behaviour trainers — it does not replace a veterinary assessment. If you're ever unsure, flag it anyway; that's never the wrong call. Once flagged, the Shelter Vet uses the Shelter Stress Protocol tool to assess and, if needed, start medication.

            © 2026 Juliana Xue. All rights reserved.
            This work is the intellectual property of Juliana Xue and may not be copied, modified, distributed or used without her express written permission, except by her current employer for as long as she remains engaged there.