Welcome to
Lawless Off Leash
A webinar series featuring the shelter world’s best behavior experts
With Special Guest: Daniel Shaw
How do environmental factors impact dog behavior assessments?
Every shelter relies on behavior assessments to make critical decisions, but how much can a single snapshot test really tell us about a dog?
Join us for an eye-opening Lawless Off Leash webinar, "Behavior Assessment Through a Neurobiological Lens," featuring Daniel Shaw the educator behind Brain and Behaviour Academy and hosted by Laurie Lawless of Shelter Behavior Integrations.
📅 Monday, September 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM EST via Zoom
In this conversation, Daniel and Laurie will dig into what behavior assessments can and can't tell us about a dog, and why environmental factors play such a critical role in what we're actually seeing. Drawing on his background in neuroscience and his work assessing dogs for legal cases in the UK, Daniel brings an outside-shelter perspective that challenges how we think about snapshot testing and what's really happening in a dog's brain and body during an assessment.
Topics include:
🐾 What behavior assessments can realistically tell us and their limits
🐾 How environmental factors shape a dog's behavior during assessment
🐾 Why a single snapshot test may not capture the full picture
🐾 The neurobiology behind stress, fear, and arousal in assessment settings
🐾 How an outside, cross-disciplinary perspective can sharpen shelter practices
🐾 What shelters can take from forensic-level behavior assessment standards
Whether you run assessments daily or are rethinking how your shelter approaches them, this conversation will give you a deeper, more science-informed lens on what's really being measured.
If you can't make it or just want to listen to your favorite insight again - replays will be available for purchase just a few days later 🐶
About Daniel Shaw
Daniel Shaw, BSc (Hons), MSc, CDBC, is an animal behaviourist specializing in canine and feline behavior, working with dogs and their owners on challenges including aggression, fear, and trauma-related issues through practical, evidence-based solutions. He holds an MSc in Neuroscience from King's College London and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, and is a Certified Dog Behaviour Consultant (CDBC) and Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society.
Alongside his clinical work at Dog Behaviour Specialist, Daniel serves as an expert witness in legal cases involving dog behavior, with his reports accepted in both criminal and civil proceedings across the UK. He is also a leading educator in the field, regularly presenting at national and international conferences and webinars that bridge the gap between neuroscience and practical training. Daniel has presented to the UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare on issues relating to dog behavior and public safety.
With Special Guest: Katya Lidsky
What strategies can volunteers use to mitigate against compassion fatigue and burnout?
If you volunteer with shelter dogs, you've probably felt it: the exhaustion that creeps in after weeks of showing up for dogs who are scared, shut down, or struggling. Then there’s the guilt that seeps in with feeling depleted when you love this work. That's compassion fatigue, and it's one of the most common experiences shelter volunteers face, yet almost no one talks about it openly.
Join us for the next Lawless Off Leash webinar, "Supporting the Supporters: The Human Side of Shelter Volunteering," featuring Katya Lidsky and hosted by Laurie Lawless of Shelter Behavior Integrations.
📅 Monday, September 28, 2026 at 6:00 PM EST via Zoom
This conversation is built for you, the volunteer. Katya and Laurie will talk openly about what it really feels like to walk, handle, and show up week after week for shelter dogs who are struggling: the fearful ones, the reactive ones, and the ones who've been overlooked. They'll dig into understanding your role and its limits, recognizing the early signs of burnout in yourself, and what to do when you fall hard for the one dog who's having the hardest time.
Drawing from her own experience as a long-time shelter volunteer, animal welfare professional, trauma-informed facilitator, and founder of The Thriving Volunteer, Katya will share practical, human strategies for protecting your own wellbeing while staying connected to the dogs you love working with.
Topics include:
🐾 Understanding your role as a volunteer and where your limits are
🐾 What it means to feel empowered (not just useful) around shelter dogs
🐾 Recognizing compassion fatigue and burnout before it takes hold
🐾 What to do when you fall in love with the dog who's struggling most
🐾 Practical tools for protecting your own emotional wellbeing
🐾 Staying connected to why you started volunteering with dogs in the first place
This session is designed as a safe space for dog volunteers to share experiences and ask real questions. Shelter leaders are welcome to attend, but this one’s for you, volunteers.
If you can't make it or just want to listen to your favorite insight again - replays will be available for purchase just a few days later 🐶
About Katya Lidsky
Katya Lidsky is the Founder of The Thriving Volunteer, a guided online membership community designed to provide animal shelter and rescue volunteers with support, connection, and resources so they can stay in this work for the long haul. She also offers workshops specifically designed to support shelter staff.
Katya is a certified, trauma-informed Breathwork Facilitator and Creative Grief Coach who has worked in the animal welfare nonprofit space for more than a decade. She is also a long-time shelter volunteer, foster, and advocate.
In addition to her work supporting animal welfare professionals and volunteers, Katya is a writer. Her book, Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Benefits of Mutual Bonding and Relationship Building, was published by McFarland in 2025 as part of their Dogs In Our World series.