I ended up ordering Sarah Kalnaj's DVD, Am I Safe?, off of Amazon today. It was $5 cheaper than on her website, and free shipping, so I ended up saving $10. I have the first half of that seminar (Language of Dogs) and it's absolutely fantastic. The one I just ordered is day 2 of that same seminar and focuses on how to evaluate dogs in a shelter/rescue situation. I'm getting it in hopes that it will just further enhance my own knowledge.
I'm the go-to person at my job for dog-related (especially pit bull related!) questions. Today one of the guys asked for my help as his brother died yesterday of a drug overdose, leaving behind a pit bull. Apparently the dog is very well cared for, but very animal aggressive. He also said he wasn't sure how the dog is around other people when his owner isn't there. I desperately wish I could have offered to "evaluate" (I use that loosely as I know I don't have the skill) the dog to help place him, but I'm not confident in my own skills. So I just gave him the info to 2 local pit bull rescues and said that if the dog ends up being human aggressive the most humane thing to do would be to put him down rather than trying to place him himself (as I would bet money neither of the rescues will help him). This guy said his mom is actually more worried about the dog than she is about burying her son, who apparently was a drug user who estranged himself from everyone.
For those of you who do assess/evaluate dogs, how/where did you learn to do so? I used to help do it when I worked with the rescue, but I still don't feel my skills are up on a par with Michelle or Erin or others here who do that stuff.