In our endeavour to ensure that we achieve the best possible adoption matches that we can, Animal Aid tries to learn as much about our canine charges before they are made available for adoption. In order to do this all of the dogs seeking new homes are put through the SAFER™ Assessment (Safety Assessment for Evaluating Rehoming). It is a data-driven assessment tool used to decipher levels of sociability and predicting the likelihood of aggression. 

Any canine behaviour assessment system worth conducting needs to provide shelter professionals with the ability to identify issues relating to biting and triggers for dominance and fear based aggression. It should also be indicative of a dog's likelihood of being sociable, with both children and other dogs, and whether or not any undesirable behaviour has the potential for modification. The ability to accurately identify temperament is greatly hindered by the fact that animals- from rats to humans - are dynamic beings that are constantly changing.

Because behaviour is so modifiable, there will never be a temperament test that is 100 percent correct. However the SAFER™ Test has been verified by research and proven as a very good predictor of future behaviour. The test should, and is, only be conducted on dogs that are six months and older, and focuses on learned behaviours, sensitivities and problem solving. It is designed for the skilled animal handler such as our staff here at Animal Aid.

The skilled animal handler must have a solid understanding of canine communication and be able to quickly recognise whether a dog is acting defensively or offensively. Dogs say so much more with their bodies than they do with their voice, if you know what to look for. If you see a group of dogs interacting with each other, you will notice a whole range of ear and tail positions, loose or stiff body postures, all will be subtle and often with out a sound passing their lips. In most cases they will all interact well with each other because they all understand the language being spoken.

Equally, the animal handler must understand what their own body language is saying to the dog. Once we understand what we are saying to them and what they are telling us, it is much easier to decipher their true intentions. The SAFER™ Assessment consists of six main steps.
1. The Stare Test - designed to give clues regarding dominance and submission.
2. The Sensitivity Test - is good for assessing social skills, sensitivity levels and level of fear.
3. The Tag Test - this helps to determine dominance and fear aggression.
4. The Pinch Test - is good for determining sensitivity, dominance and the lack of bite inhibition.
5. The Food Aggression Test - designed by Sue Sternberg, as the name of the test says.
6. The Dog to Dog Aggression Test - again as the name of the test suggests.

This test was designed to help identify dogs that are not appropriate for rehoming. It focuses on aggression because that is the behaviour that puts adopters, shelter staff and other dogs at risk. When used correctly, SAFER™ Test helps us identify dogs that will make great family pets, those that will need some behaviour modification and dogs that are not suitable for rehoming.

Since 1999, the MYM SAFER™ Assessment has helped animal welfare professionals all over the world identify potential aggression and opportunities for behaviour modification. MYM SAFER™ is a program of the ASPCA, and was developed by Dr. Emily Weiss, C.A.A.B.

The SAFER™ Assessment works hand in hand with the Meet Your Match™. What this means to you, as a member of the public, is that you know for a fact that if you’re adopting a dog from Animal Aid, you have the best chance of finding the right dog for you. You can rest assured that the dog you take home has been specifically selected to be a good match and is very unlikely to pose a threat to your family.

All Animal Aid Kennel Staff are trained to perform all aspects of the SAFER™ and Meet Your Match™ Assessment evaluations and are only too happy to help you to find your perfect match.