Behavior evaluations are designed to:

evaluate the dog or cat's behavior

recommend behavior modification on the dog or cat if necessary

Behavior evaluations are NOT designed to unveil the underlying "temperament" of a dog or cat. Scientific data has shown that dogs experience high levels of stress during the first three days of being in a shelter therefore, whenever possible, behavior evaluations should be conducted after the dog has been in the shelter for at least 3 days.

Although no scientific data is available on the length of time it takes cats to acclimate to the shelter environment, personal experience has shown that it is best to wait at least one week before conducting a behavior evaluation on a cat (some cats take less than a week to acclimate to the shelter environment, some cats take more than a week).