It is important to socialize shelter dogs so that when they are adopted they are used to being around other dogs and know how to interact properly with them. This is especially true for the pit mixes that are the primary large dog at the shelter due to their bad reputation. In years past at the shelter this was done by pairing up dogs after walking them together and observing their interaction, then supervising their play sessions. After several sessions, it was normal to leave the two dogs in a yard unsupervised while attending to other dogs. At some point a volunteer put 3 dogs that didn't know each other well in a yard and a fight ensued. Because of this, the County ruled that no dogs could be left unsupervised in the yard. A lack of volunteers meant that pairings were rarely done and dogs rarely got to socialize at the County Shelter. 

The DPFL group has worked with a number of shelters in Santa Barbara and other Counties to teach the volunteers and staff to run play groups. The minimum number of people to run a playgroup is 3, a leader and assistant in the yard, and one person to shuttle dogs from their kennels to the yard. The number of dogs can vary, but 4-5 is common,  In 2016 they did several days of demonstrations at the SB County Shelter and at the SB Humane Society Shelter. 

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At the County shelter, the management guaranteed the volunteers that no dog would be euthanized due to a fight in a playgroup as people were being trained in this technique. As the demonstrations were being done, fights occurred in the playgroups at both shelters. At least one of the dogs at the Humane Society was killed by the shelter staff due to the fight. 

After the training, several volunteers were running a playgroup in April led by a professional dog trainer. A submissive nervous dog Adam was muzzled and  paired with a highly stressed long time shelter resident with a number of incidents on his record, Cheney.  Cheney attacked Adam and injured him severely, with numerous punctures and laceration requiring extensive stitches, staples, and bandages. The volunteers had a hard time getting Cheney to release from Adam. The worst injury was a deep laceration on his foot that meant this active dog could not be exercised properly for weeks.  

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After this incident, playgroups were controlled to run at limited times with more supervision by staff. 

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Another dogfight occurred in September, 2016. A number of dogs were in the yard with Storm, a malamute, when the other dogs attacked Storm. The fight was stopped quickly with no reported injuries, but after this incident, playgroups were suspended and have not resumed.