Behaviour of shelter dogs - advice?

[lizbud]

You have gotten some good advice here & I hope it helps. I wouldn't
just ignore the pup who chews rocks, but try to re-direct her attention
elsewhere. If they don't have a lot of toys they might not get the "play"
idea at first but I'd keep trying to re-direct her some other way.

They do sound like they are releasing a lot of energy after being caged
for so long.

[Giselle]

Indeed, it is difficult to get them in and out of the kennels (I had one dog escape on me - thank GOD another volunteer had just walked into the hallway). But I'm not saying you have to break their spirit. Of course, we want them to be happy and excited, but they need self-control. They can wag their tails and bodies all they want, but they need all four paws on the ground. AS SOON AS they hop on two feet, you close the kennel door and wait for four paws to hit the ground. Open the door again, if dog is too excited, close the door and wait. Repeat until you can open the door wide open and the dog isn't even thinking about escaping. Honestly, it takes all of about 5-10 minutes. You just have to do a lot of quick repetitions. You get two birds with one stone: you teach the dog to wait and you teach him self control - all by opening and closing a door

When you're in the field and there are no doors or walls to help you, do this same thing by staying stone still when the dog is hyper and nipping you. Fold your arms, stand tall, and look away until dog is on four paws. Give attention when dog is calm. If dog is hyper, become a statue. Repeat repeat repeat. You can also quicken the process with a clicker and treats or some type of behavior marker like, "Yes!" or "Good!".