Using International Companion Animal Management Coalition (ICAM)’s guidance and other resources to build a dog population management initiative.
You’ve noticed a problem with the free-roaming dogs in your community, and it’s causing you concern. Perhaps you’ve seen too many puppies dying on the streets. Your instinct might be to immediately build a new shelter or start advertising those street puppies for adoption. However, before taking action, it’s crucial to work through a systematic process. This ten-step approach will help you address the underlying issues, build a sustainable solution, and measure impact that you can be proud of.
1. Pinpointing the Problem
Begin by clearly describing the issue you’ve observed. Common problems experienced by dogs include poor living environments, malnutrition, health issues, social problems such as animal abuse, behavioral problems like fights, and high euthanasia rates. Dogs can also cause problems, such as risks to public health, public nuisance, negative impacts on wildlife or livestock, and overpopulation. If you haven’t already, we recommend reviewing our analysis of the free-roaming dog problem, which describes the origins of free-roaming dogs and the welfare challenges they face.
Conduct a root cause analysis
To truly understand the issue, conduct an analysis to determine the root cause. One effective way to visualize this analysis is by creating a problem tree. The main issue forms the trunk, root causes branch out below, and effects or consequences spread out above like leaves. This visual representation helps identify the underlying factors contributing to the problem.
Above: A simple problem tree addressing the street dog welfare challenge of high puppy mortality.
For instance, the high puppy mortality rate might stem from people abandoning unwanted litters on the streets. This abandonment could be driven by uncontrolled breeding, which in turn was caused by owners not spaying and neutering their dogs, perhaps due to a lack of accessible veterinary services.
Related: A Comprehensive Guide to Root Cause Analysis for Free-Roaming Dog Welfare Issues
Understand the human behaviors
With the root cause analysis, aim to understand the motivation behind human behaviors. Beyond the lack of access to free sterilization services, are there beliefs holding owners back from spaying and neutering their dogs? Often, religious beliefs (perceiving sterilization as a sin) or cultural myths (concerns about effects on human fertility) could deter owners from seeking out sterilization services.
If you’re a member of the community, you may already have insight into the human behaviors driving these issues. If not, engage with locals through focus group discussions to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural context and motivations behind these problems.
2. Assessing Population Dynamics
Examine the overall dog population dynamics by looking at the different sub-populations of dogs in your community and observing how they interact in the “process of birth, death, and reproduction, as well as how individual dogs move from one sub-population to another over their lifetime”.
Generally, the dog population can be categorized into:
- Owned confined dogs
- Roaming dogs (including owned roaming dogs, lost dogs, community dogs, and unowned dogs)
- Shelter dogs
Dogs may move between these categories throughout their lives. For example, a puppy born as an owned confined dog might later be abandoned and become an unowned street dog, only to be rescued and become a shelter dog.
Understanding the full system allows you to identify all sources of dogs experiencing or linked to the problems you’ve observed. This comprehensive view encourages interventions that address root causes rather than just treating symptoms.
Capture and analyze data
Overlay your collected data on the dog population dynamics diagram. To gather this information, combine qualitative data from focus groups with quantitative data. Use:
- A household questionnaire to explore the dynamics around the owned dog population;
- A street survey to explore the density and welfare of the roaming dogs;
- Holding facility records to understand what’s happening at those sites.
This mix of data will provide a more complete picture of the situation and can be valuable when applying for funding support.
For instance, in the case of dying street puppies, consider the breakdown of street puppies into owned, abandoned, or feral categories. You might also want to know what percentage of owned puppies become abandoned, and what happened to the mother dogs.
With this additional information, revisit and enhance your problem tree. Is the problem on the trunk still the right one, or do you need to rephrase or enhance it? Are you capturing all relevant consequences and root causes within the system?
3. Understanding the Dog Population Management (DPM) System
Dog Population Management (DPM) is a holistic approach aimed at improving the welfare of dogs, reducing problems they may present, and creating harmonious co-existence with people and their environment. DPM follows several key principles:
- Humane and ethical practices
- Adaptation to local dog population dynamics
- Sustained and adaptive interventions
- Evidence-based design, monitoring and evaluation
- Focus on root causes
- Centered on human behavior change
A DPM system encompasses all interconnected foundations, services, outcomes, and impacts necessary for effective and humane dog population management. Let’s break down these components:
To address the issues you’ve identified, most initiatives require foundational support from various stakeholders. International Companion Animal Management Coalition (ICAM)‘s DPM system categorizes these foundational forces into four areas:
- Legislation and enforcement: Central legislation framework and local by-laws
- Task force leadership: Multi-stakeholder member/consultation
- Advocacy: Political commitment to sustained resources
- Community engagement: Community members actively participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating humane DPM
These foundations provide the necessary backing and structure for your initiative to succeed.
DPM Services
These are the many activities that “encourage and support positive human behaviors and provide a safety net for unmanaged dogs in a community.” They represent the concrete actions you can take to make an impact. Examples include:
- Spay/neuter programs
- Vaccination clinics
- Education initiatives
- Adoption services
Outcome and Impact
The ultimate outcome would be a “positive human-dog relationship” with impact delivered in eight different areas, such as improving dog welfare and reducing risks to public health. We will explore this further in step seven.
4. Designing the Solution
Return to your problem tree and examine the root causes you’ve identified. As a reminder, for the issue of puppies dying on the streets, you have determined that unwanted litters being abandoned is a primary cause. Unwanted litters are driven by uncontrolled breeding, because spaying of females is rare, due to a lack of vets who provide the service within walking distance.
To build the solution tree (also called an objective tree):
Above: A very simple solution tree addressing the street dog welfare challenge of high puppy mortality.
- Start at the bottom of the root and turn the negatives into positives. To reverse the root cause of a lack of vets who provide spay and neuter, we need to ensure that “affordable spay/neuter services are widely available”.
- This should lead to an increase in spaying of females, and therefore, a decrease in unwanted litters.
Related: A Comprehensive Guide to Designing the Solution for Free-Roaming Dog Welfare Issues
Consider how different components of the DPM system could help achieve these objectives. For example:
- Provide a mobile CNVR (Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release) clinic, which represents one of the DPM fundamental services.
- Train more veterinarians in the community, which falls under “strengthening professional capacity” in the DPM system.
To generate ideas, look at successful cases from other communities. What solutions have worked in similar contexts? Pay particular attention to groups of people who have influence over the root causes, specific human behaviors you want to change, or barriers to services that you can address through a DPM system.
Remember to take a multi-stakeholder approach, including representatives from the local community in your planning process. Their insights and buy-in will be crucial for the success of your dog population management initiative.
5. Understanding Existing Initiatives in the Community
As you delve deeper into the issue, you may find that the problem is larger and more complex than initially thought. However, it’s likely that others in your community have noticed similar issues and may already be working on solutions.
Conduct thorough research to identify existing initiatives. Start with a Google search, explore social media platforms like Facebook, and consult directories of animal welfare organizations. The Dog Welfare Project’s organization directory can also be a valuable resource.
With boots on the ground, you should also reach out to local veterinary clinics, animal shelters, or pet stores for information about ongoing programs. Also contact your local government’s animal control or public health department to learn about any municipal efforts related to dog population management.
Once you’ve identified existing efforts, consider whether you should work in the same area or focus on a different aspect of the problem. Think about the possibility of joining an existing initiative or forming a partnership. Collaboration can often lead to more significant and sustainable impact.
6. Deciding Your Focus Area
Choosing your focus area is a critical step that requires careful consideration of several factors:
- Problem urgency: Identify the most pressing issues that aren’t currently being addressed. In the case of street puppy deaths, this might involve focusing on areas with the highest mortality rates or targeting the most common causes of puppy abandonment.
- Quick wins: Look for opportunities that can yield visible results relatively quickly. This could be setting up a small-scale spay/neuter clinic in a neighborhood with a high concentration of street dogs, or launching a targeted education campaign about responsible pet ownership.
- Funding potential: Consider which areas are more likely to attract funding. For example, projects addressing both animal welfare and public health (like combining spay/neuter efforts with rabies vaccination) might be more appealing to a broader range of funders.
- Expertise and passion: Reflect on your own skills, knowledge, and interests. If you have a background in veterinary medicine, you might be best suited to focus on health-related interventions. If you excel at community outreach, you might choose to concentrate on education and behavior change programs.
- Available resources: Take stock of the resources you already have access to. This could include volunteers, equipment, or partnerships with local businesses or organizations.
- Scalability: Choose a focus area that has the potential to grow and expand as you gain more resources and support. Starting with a pilot project in one neighborhood that can later be replicated in others is often a good strategy.
By carefully weighing these factors, you can select a focus area that not only addresses a critical need but also aligns with your capabilities and has the potential for meaningful, sustainable impact.
7. Determining and Evaluating Expected Impact
Once you’ve decided on your focus area, it’s crucial to define the impact you expect to achieve upfront. This will help you know that the DPM is working to achieve its impacts, tests assumptions about dynamics and exposes where DPM can be improved.
ICAM suggests eight desired impacts for any dog population management system:
- Improve dog welfare
- Improve care provided to dogs
- Reduce dog density/stabilize turnover
- Reduce risks to public health
- Improve public perception
- Improve rehoming center performance
- Reduce negative impacts of dogs on wildlife
- Reduce negative impacts of dogs on livestock
For each of these impacts, you’ll need to identify specific, measurable indicators. For example, if your focus is on reducing street puppy deaths, you might track:
- Number of puppies sighted on the street (before and after program launch)
- Survival rates of street puppies
- Number of spay/neuter surgeries performed
- Number of pregnant females
- Litters per female
ICAM provides practical guidance on monitoring progress using measurable indicators, as well as a tool for deciding which data to collect. Both can be found on their website.
8. The Start of the Build
Now that you’ve laid the groundwork, understood the problem, identified the solution, and know where you will focus on, it’s almost time to start building your initiative. Here are some other general considerations before you started:
- Organizational structure: Do you already have a registered organization for doing the work? If not, check out our guide on how to build a solid organization.
- Develop a detailed action plan: Break down your overall strategy into specific, actionable steps. Assign responsibilities and set deadlines.
- Secure funding: Use your well-researched plan to approach potential donors. Consider crowdfunding for initial projects, as securing long-term funding commitments may take time, especially for a new organization.
- Start small and scale up: Begin with a pilot project in a defined area. This allows you to test your approach and make adjustments before expanding.
- Build partnerships: Reach out to local veterinarians, animal welfare organizations, schools, and government agencies. Partnerships can provide resources, expertise, and credibility. Donors also tend to favor organizations that collaborate with others to amplify the impact.
With all of these in place, implement your first interventions. Whether it’s setting up a spay/neuter clinic, launching an education program, or improving shelter conditions, start with the interventions you’ve identified as most crucial. Monitor and evaluate, communicate your progress, and continuously learn and adapt, and you will get to the goal you are trying to achieve.
9. Preparing for the Long Game
It’s important to understand that meaningful change in dog population management is a long-term endeavor. Even developed countries like the United States took over a century to get close to managing their dog population effectively, and the work is still ongoing.
Effective dog population management is a permanent commitment, with interventions evolving over time to integrate learnings from ongoing assessment, monitoring and evaluation. Success requires multiple factors to align, including changes in public attitudes, implementation of effective policies, and consistent application of interventions. Be prepared for a marathon, not a sprint.
To sustain your efforts over the long term:
- Secure stable funding sources: Look for a mix of short-term grants and long-term funding commitments.
- Build a dedicated team: Surround yourself with people who share your passion and commitment to the cause.
- Cultivate community support: Engage local stakeholders and build a network of volunteers and advocates.
- Stay adaptable: Be prepared to adjust your strategies based on new information and changing circumstances.
- Celebrate small wins: Recognize and publicize your achievements, no matter how small, to maintain motivation and demonstrate progress to supporters.
Remember, building a successful dog population management initiative is a complex but rewarding process. Stay focused on your goals, be patient, and remain committed to making a positive difference in the lives of dogs and your community.
10. Additional Resources
To help you on your journey, here are some valuable resources:
- ICAM’s Humane Dog Population Management Guidance: A comprehensive guide that includes principles and practical templates.
- WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code (Chapter on stray dog population control): Provides theoretical guidance on the dos and don’ts of dog population management.
- Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) resources: Especially useful if you’re tackling rabies as part of your initiative.
- Academic studies: Look for research on street dogs and the challenges surrounding them. The Dog Welfare Project website offers summaries of relevant studies.
- DPM templates: The Dog Welfare Project website also Includes selected templates to help you get started with running a DPM initiative.
By utilizing these resources and following the steps outlined in this guide, you’re well on your way to making a significant impact on the welfare of dogs in your community. Remember, every step you take, no matter how small, contributes to creating a better world for both dogs and humans.