YARD FEEDING & WATERING – CATS CAGE – CLEANING BUILDING 11 – QUARANTINE
No running in the shelter. Even during an emergency, walk quickly.
Dogs get very triggered by people running nearby and this can cause fights within yards or between yards.
Never let a dog escape from a yard. If you are not sure about entering & exiting a yard safely, ask to be shown by experienced staff.
If a dog escapes from our yard, the area around the shelter is very dangerous for dogs roaming there.
Airpods/earphones in 1 ear ONLY. If you have music going in both ears and a colleague is in trouble and calling for help, you won’t be able to hear it and help.
Always have a walkie talkie radio with you and loud enough to hear your colleagues.
If we have enough radios, all workers at the shelter each day should have a radio and ask for help or help another worker when requested by radio – teamwork!
If you see a dog poo on the ground in our main walking/working areas inside Building 11 or outside Roaming, get poo picking tools from Little Street, please remove it and add to wheelbarrow in Little Street for later dumping.
If you notice obvious rubbish on the ground around our main working areas, please remove it to one of the bins around the site or main trash bin in car park.
Follow the instructions of your daily Team Leader. If you can’t find something or are unsure how to do something, ask your Team Leader first.
Do not swap assigned work tasks with other workers unless your daily Team Leader has been told and approves of the swap.
Workers are allocated to specific tasks for a specific reason usually.
Always carry a spare leash as it will very helpful in tricky situations e.g. dog escaped from a yard, dog reluctant to be leashed etc.
Team leaders should remind all workers on some of these each day so that we all keep them in mind.
1. When you arrive at the yard for feeding, check https://everydogmatters.org/feeding/
for instructions on this yard OR refer to your laminated feeding card for up to date information.
2. If a dog is jumping up on the gate before you go in (Eric!), stay outside the gate and pretend to lose interest in opening it until that dog calms down.
At first, it will take a week or 2 for excited dogs (like Tara!) to learn but we must persist with this. Once they have stopped jumping up on the gate and calmed down, then open the gate and go in.
3. Leash the dogs that are meant to be leashed in that yard (according to the Feeding Plan) and leash them where you see their names inside.
Routine is important to dogs so don’t vary their leashing location each day.
If a dog who is normally leashed can’t be caught but the other dog/s in that yard are leashed, then feed them unleashed BUT with their bowl at a safe distance away from the other feeding dog/s and stand guard between them until all dogs have finished eating.
ALSO, do NOT pull dogs by the collar to be leashed as this may trigger a bite and is unpleasant for the dog – use your spare leash to move them.
Dogs marked as requiring a Slow Feeding bowl should be given their food in a Slow Feeder.
Usually their name is also written on the Slow Feeding bowl.
IMPORTANT: While dogs are eating, look around the yard for anything that might cause trouble for the dogs e.g. wood from kennel on the ground with nails sticking up, roof off kennel, kennel knocked over, broken fence barrier etc.
If the issue isn’t immediately fixable while you’re there, report it to your Team Leader for afternoon fixing.
SPECIAL FEEDING CASES?
– Bear will eat more comfortably if a worker is NOT in his yard
– Dexie must ONLY be fed by a permanent staff member
– Fussy food eaters should be on a strict 5 minute timed eating, then food removed e.g. Carlos, Drago, Dexie, Terry
– Caesar should only be fed by permanent staff
– Mecho & Molivka should only be fed by permanent staff
– Ivanka can get snappy with her food bowl – BE CAREFUL with her
4. While the dogs are leashed, do a quick health check of their body (video coming soon on this).
5. VERY IMPORTANT: ALWAYS remove all food bowls from the yard BEFORE unleashing. Even empty food bowls can trigger dogs like Ivanka.
This is for your safety.
6. Then, empty the water bucket into the trees in that yard (trees with brown leaves need water the most) and the baby pool (if they have one).
Check if both bucket and pool need scrubbing to remove some rust or algae buildup, rinse and refill to top (bucket), 1/2 to 2/3 full for pools.
7. When adjacent yard has finished eating, then unleash the dogs in this yard.
While working in that street, check if other dogs in other yards being fed by other workers can now be unleashed.
Talking to your colleagues about who is doing what in which yard is VERY IMPORTANT during the feeding/watering work!
We will run a live training exercise in a yard in the afternoon when new volunteers first arrive to work in shelter, to demonstrate this workflow and make it a HABIT for all.
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VERY IMPORTANT: when there is a KNOWN active infection, such as puppies with giardia, you MUST work with them LAST.
Step 1. Arrive at the quarantine area wearing fresh protective clothing, gloves, and shoe covers that are only used in this section. Wash or sanitize hands before entering.
Step 2. Prepare all necessary cleaning supplies outside the quarantine area to avoid going in and out repeatedly. This should include disinfectant approved for veterinary use, buckets, mops, scrub brushes, disposable cloths, fresh bedding, and waste disposal bags.
Step 3. Enter the area calmly to reduce stress for the dogs. Check each dog for visible waste, spilled water, or other immediate messes that need urgent removal.
Step 4. Remove all bowls, bedding, and toys from each kennel. Place them in a designated dirty bin to be washed and disinfected separately.
Step 5. Collect all solid waste with a scoop or disposable tools. Place in sealed waste bags and remove from the area immediately.
Step 6. Hose or scrub down kennel floors, walls, and doors with plain water first to loosen dirt and organic matter. This makes the disinfectant more effective later.
Step 7. Apply disinfectant to all surfaces including walls up to dog height, doors, latches, and floors. Use the correct dilution and allow the required contact time stated by the product instructions. Do not rush this stage.
Step 8. Scrub stubborn spots with brushes and ensure all corners and edges are reached. Rinse surfaces after the disinfectant has completed its contact time if required by the product.
Step 9. Allow kennels to air dry as much as possible. Ventilation is critical to reduce moisture and odor. Fans can speed up drying if safe to use.
Step 10. While kennels are drying, wash bowls, bedding, and toys in a separate cleaning area with detergent and then disinfectant. Rinse thoroughly and let them dry before returning.
Step 11. Replace each kennel with fresh bedding, clean bowls filled with fresh water, and clean toys.
Step 12. Record the cleaning activity in the logbook, noting any unusual findings such as diarrhea, vomit, or damage to the kennel. Report health issues immediately to veterinary staff.
Step 13. Safely remove protective gear before leaving the quarantine area and dispose of or clean it according to shelter policy. Wash hands thoroughly.
Recommended cleaning cycle:
* Full cleaning and disinfection should be performed once daily following the steps above.
* Spot cleaning of waste, spilled food, or water should be done as needed throughout the day to keep the area sanitary.
* In cases of infectious disease outbreaks, a second full clean in the late afternoon is recommended.
* Food and water bowls should be washed and replaced twice daily, even if the kennel does not appear dirty.
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