The Association Blog

News, ideas & inspiration from industry leaders

Tip of the Week

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Tip of the Week: Finding Time

Even though your schedule may be jam-packed, there are often ways to make time for what’s most important. In a past webinar for The Association, Dr. Michael Blackwell, Director of...
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Tip of the Week: Found Kitten Infographic

Got ten minutes and a Canva account? Customize this graphic to remind your community about what to do if they find a litter of kittens We’re deep into Kitten Season,...
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Tip of the Week: Take Summer Vacation

Got PTO? Here are five science-based reasons to use it now . It’s no secret that the animal welfare profession has had a work-life balance problem. While we now understand...
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Tip of the Week: Managing Your Screen Time

June 29, 2026, The Association
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Take a two-minute break to watch a video tip that could help improve your focus, memory and overall happiness.. Digital technology has shortened sustained attention spans, say some experts, to...
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Tip of the Week: Chew On This

These DIY food-dispensing toys can be a lifesaving tool for high-arousal, hyper-oral dogs Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, dogs gotta chew…. As Dr. Emily Weiss has shared, behavioral enrichment...
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Tip of the Week: Microchip Scanning Station Guide

Open Door Veterinary Collective’s snazzy resource can help you to reunite more lost pets with their families—without the animals ever having to enter your shelter The numbers say it all:...
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Tip of the Week: Shelter Care Specialist Certification Program

Are you a shelter team member on the frontlines, or do you manage staff who are? This program can take them, and you, to the next level Applications are being...
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Tip of the Week: Pet Loss Resources

Bookmark and share OVC’s website with families navigating pet loss and the veterinary professionals supporting them Ontario Veterinary College has compiled a wealth of pet loss resources that you can...
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Tip of the Week: 2 Genius Ways to Train Your Adopters

Modifying the behavior of visitors to your shelter can result in—yup, you guessed it—more adoptions We talk a lot about modifying behavior of dogs and cats to increase their chances...
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Tip of the Week: Community Cat Survey Results

Community Cats Central reports measurable year-over-year progress on colony caretakers’ TNR efforts Back in January, we shared the call for participation in Community Cats Central’s twice-annual Colony Sentiment Survey. Colony...
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Tip of the Week: Go the Extra Smile

HumanePro’s snazzy poster reminds staff and volunteers of three things that’ll maximize the impact of the good work they do We love HumanePro’s Shareworthy posters, designed to be printed and...
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Tip of the Week: Make a Stink

A stinky dog toy, that is….   Looking for a great volunteer project and some effective (and cheap) behavior enrichment? These cardboard scent tubes, originally shared with the field by...
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