“I prefer to ask people, have you had dogs before? What did you love about them? If you could pull those qualities from that dog, the things you love most about him, what were they? And if you’d had a magic wand what would I like to just tweak a little bit.”
– Suzanne Clothier
Episode 8 of series 8: The World of Animal Welfare and Sheltering Transcript ( Part2)
Have you ever wondered what goes into assessing shelter animals and adopting the perfect pet? We sat down with Suzanne Clothier, an expert in the field, to unravel the complexities and nuances of animal assessments. Our discussion delves into her unique animal assessment tools – CARAT, RAT, and FAT, and how they contribute to understanding behavior. We also take an in-depth look at how our emotions and biases can affect our decisions when it comes to selecting our next four legged-family member.
Guest: Suzanne Clothier has worked with animals professionally since 1977, with a background includes obedience, agility, puppy testing, breeding, Search and Rescue, conformation, instructing, kennel management and AAT.
Her Relationship Centered Training™ approach blends science and heart to create humane, effective and practical solutions for dogs and the people who work with them, whether professional working dogs or couch warming companions. Her suite of assessment tools provide a powerful framework for trainers and organizations:
RAT™ (Relationship Assessment Tool) – handler/dog dynamics, rapid assessment plus ability to track and compare
CARAT™ (Clothier Animal Response Assessment Tool) – temperament assessment on 6 categories, 21 dimensions
FAT™ (Functional Assessment Tool, release in 2022) – global of functionality/welfare assessment across physiological, social and cognitive dimensions
Book Recommendations:
Kinship with All Life by J. Allen Boone and Behaving As If the God in All Life Mattered by Machaelle Small Wright
Other Links:
Meet Your Match
Home to Home Program
Guest Profiles and Book Recommendations
What to start your own podcast in he Animal Advocacy or Animal Welfare Space? Check out my Podcast Mentoring Services!
Sign up for the Newsletter
Humans interact with animals every day of our lives. Even those without pets interact with animals in various ways: diet, wildlife, the clothes they wear. Even most medicines use animals in testing or in the medicine itself. This is a podcast about Anthrozoology: the study of interaction between humans and non-human animals.
SUBSCRIBE: Spotify | RSS | Google Podcasts
FOLLOW: Facebook
“So I’m asking very different questions in how I set up the test, because I want to know what is your native response here? Not a trained response, not a prompted response. I’m not begging you or just simply orienting …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 6 November 2023
Send us a textEpisode 7, Series 14: Dog’s Days of Summer/Autumn… TranscriptFrom genetics to environment, we unpack the science behind your dog’s actions and what it means to live compassionately with them. Plus, a follow-up conversation with Kim and …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 3 November 2025
Send us a textEpisode 5 of Series 14- Dog’s Days of Summer…Fall?…*shrug*, I’m in the middle of an international move. Guest Bio: Kayla is currently a PhD student and NSF-GRFP Fellow at Oregon State University in Taal Levi’s lab. Her research …continue
Proudly brought to you by: 20 October 2025
