Welcome to Shelter Behavior Integrations
I’m Laurie Lawless.
I started Shelter Behavior Integrations after 15 years of seeing same problem at every shelter I’ve been to - overburdened staff doing their best in an outdated system. A system that was built to control nuisance animals, rather than to safely house, rehabilitate, and re-home.
My mission is to bring realistic and ground-level achievable solutions to shelters through my integrated shelter frameworks with the objective of reducing length of stay, minimizing behavioral euthanasia, and increasing staff fulfillment in their roles.
Sheltering is what I live and breathe. I LOVE this work. I have had my boots on the ground since 2009, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. From tiny shelters with all volunteer teams to overseeing the rehabilitation of 250+ dogs at a time with a professional behavior team, I’ve seen it all, and best of all, I’ve seen it work!
Let’s chat today, and see how I can help your team thrive!
Improve Your Behavior Programs with Free & Low Cost Resources
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$5 Monthly Webinar Series
Each month Laurie bring on shelter and behavior experts to discuss various topics to help you and your staff on her “Lawless Off Leash” series.
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Free Facebook Support
Join “More Adoptions. Less Burnout.” - a FREE Facebook Group. On Thursday, connect with Laurie on various shelter challenges.
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The SBI Blog
An ever growing pool of curated content and articles for animal shelters from Laurie and her team.
Featured Webinar: Shelter Dog Introductions - $25
Laurie Lawless & Trish McMillan
Why do we consider it best practices for shelters to offer off-leash play to those dogs who enjoy it? Well, if you're not doing off-leash dog/dog testing at your shelter, believe me, your adopters will be doing it in the real world - perhaps the moment they get that dog home, or later that day at the dog park. It is our responsibility to ensure the dogs we send home from shelters will be safe around other people's pets. Play is also one of the best ways to exercise, enrich, and maintain social skills in our shelter dog populations, so Laurie and I are big fans of letting dogs interact with suitable play companions daily, if at all possible.
In this online course, we will show you how to successfully assess and introduce dogs in a shelter environment.
“Laurie helped me to revolutionize my shelter's intake process, as well as our dog behavior program in totality. With her dynamic, team-based approach, Laurie has a way of inspiring folks who deal with the challenges we see daily with our animals in the shelter population… I would absolutely recommend her services to any animal shelter that is focused on positive change and impactful improvements to their animal's quality of life.”
Christen Trayah
Shelter Director, Humane Society of Chittenden County
The Official SBI BLOG
Testimonials from Clients & Colleagues
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"Laurie and team did a fantastic job developing and delivering a custom-made program to help us learn how to run play groups and assess dog-to-dog interactions. Looking to ramp up the quality of the care you offer your dogs? I recommend Shelter Behavior Integrations" 110%!
Eudora Watson
Animal Care Manager, Potsdam Humane Society
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"Having Laurie come to Wayside Waifs was absolutely worth the investment for the growth of our Playgroup Program and our team! Laurie observed our team in action, made recommendations for how we could best formalize playgroups utilizing the physical and human resources available to us, and provided hands-on learning for the staff and volunteers...Being able to run almost daily playgroups has resulted in a decrease in noise in the kennel areas and generally more relaxed dogs."
Alison Reader, CAWA
Vice President of Animal Welfare
& Operations, Wayside Waifs 2024 -
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“Laurie brings realistic solutions that shelter staff can apply to their day to day work and improve the behavior of the dogs in their care. Laurie is passionate about helping shelter dogs and wants to help you succeed. She was so amazing to work with, we had her come back a second time!”
Lacie Davis
Executive Director of SPCA of Brevard County 2021
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"Laurie is a gifted canine behavior consultant, whose talents have consistently helped us rehabilitate challenging rescued dogs. Each individualized intervention plan is thorough, easily implemented, and yields positive outcomes. Laurie’s expertise and commitment to her client’s success is unparalleled. Her support is essential to our goal of being a best practices rescue."
Michelle Steen Sharp
Texas Coordinator, The Joshua Fund Rescue, Inc.
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"I loved working with Laurie Lawless on the ASPCA’s Behavioral Sciences Team – her deep understanding of canine behavior and her keen observational abilities, along with her incredible training and handling skills, made her a superb Behavior Lead. Also, she’s as good with humans as she is with dogs: a patient teacher, able to gracefully maneuver the emotional vicissitudes of working in high-stress situations. And to top it off, she’s really smart and fun to be with."
Becky Stowe
Owner, Second Act Dog Training
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"Laurie spent a full day at the Hudson Valley Dog Farm, educating our staff on dog-dog introductions, managing dog playgroups, and dog body language. We spent about half the day in the classroom and about half the day hands on with dogs, putting into action our classroom learning, with feedback from Laurie. The information Laurie presented to our staff was invaluable and gave all of us a better sense of understanding and confidence. Laurie strikes a perfect balance between being the expert and having an approachable, nonjudgmental style. I would have her back to the Dog Farm over and over again to keep our skills fresh, and continue to learn from her vast understanding of dogs."
Kara Gilmore
Hudson Valley Dog Farmre
