I used to volunteer at a no-kill shelter... until I got too busy with work.

It was a wonderful experience -- it truly was. A lot of the animals there are VERY affectionate and they get excited when they see someone new. A lot of them aren't trained, however... Like, when you walk a dog, they're a bit hard to control. They tend to run around everywhere on your leash, or some of them just want to give you kisses the whole time. lol. Trained dogs will walk with you and they generally won't run around... but these dogs typically aren't trained, so you have to be prepared for that. However, that's not to say they are violent.

Some of the more violent dogs (e.g., the ones who have actually bit people), are usually caged in a different area of the shelter.

Also, dogs are walked a couple times a day. (1) They need the exercise, and (2) it gives them the opportunity to s*** and pee so that they're not doing it in their cages.

My main advice is to return the affection that these animals give you. Animals do have feelings and they can sense human emotion very well. If you don't return the affection, they get upset. Not violent per se, but upset. Then they don't want anything to do with you. They may even bark for attention.

I actually enjoyed walking pit-bulls the most. I know they have a reputation for being violent, but they tend to be a lot smarter than the other dogs. That makes it easier and more enjoyable to walk with them.

The only thing is that some of the dogs like to mark their territory (i.e, piss on certain things), so when you walk the dogs, they either walk away from "someone's territory" or they piss on the area to claim it as theirs. You have to be careful about them doing that because the dogs WILL smell who marked whose territory. They're smart enough to know who did it. Then they get mad, they bark, and they try to attack the other dog.