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Page last updated on June 21, 2024 at 3:27 pm

Bloomington Animal Care & Control offers support and guidance to our fosters for a range of behavioral concerns, including, but not limited to: litter box problems with cats, house training, crate training for dogs, introducing a new companion animal into your home, basic obedience techniques, and separation anxiety in dogs. If you have any concerns, questions, or need any kind of help regarding your foster companion's behavior please reach out to the Foster Program Coordinator or the Foster Mentor Group.

Foster Program Coordinator: Robyn Peffinger Email: peffingr@bloomington.in.gov

Foster Mentor Group Email: animal@bloomington.in.gov

It is important to remember that we have very limited information on the animals that enter the shelter. Many animals come in as strays with no background information at all, while other's may only have the really good stuff, or the really bad stuff on record. The shelter is also a highly stressful environment, so even if we know an animal here, it is hard to tell how they will behave in other environments. Always practice caution and exercise good judgment when getting to know your foster. Most importantly, we are here to help, so never hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns regarding your foster!

Below we have included links to helpful information and training techniques that you can use to help your foster reach their full potential. Training your foster companion is not required, but if you do wish to work with your foster please keep in mind that we ONLY utilize positive reinforcement at BACC. This method of training involves immediately rewarding positive behaviors, with the hope that the positive behavior will happen again. 

Resources for common cat behavior issues:

Destructive Scratching 

Aggression Between Family Cats

Undersocialized Cats

Overstimulated Cats

Cat Toys and How to Use Them

Managing Young Cat Rough Play

History of Litter Box Issues

Resolving Litter Box Issues

Urine Marking

Resources for common dog behavior issues:

Undersocialized dogs

Canine Rivalry 

Children and Dogs

Crate Training 

Destructive Chewing 

Fearful and Excitement Urination  

Digging Problems

Introducing Your New Dog to Your Resident Dog

Marking Behavior 

Separation Anxiety 

Excessive Barking

Leash Reactivity (Free Online course)