Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T14:13:26.292Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Influence of Length of Time in a Rescue Shelter on the Behaviour of Kennelled Dogs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

D L Wells ,
L Graham  and
P G Hepper
D L Wells*
Affiliation:
Canine Behaviour Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland, UK
L Graham
Affiliation:
Canine Behaviour Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland, UK
P G Hepper
Affiliation:
Canine Behaviour Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Animal rescue shelters provide temporary housing for thousands of stray and abandoned dogs every year. Many of these animals fail to find new homes and are forced to spend long periods of time in kennels. This study examined the influence of the length of time spent in a rescue shelter (<1 month, 2-12 months, 1-5 years, >5 years) on the behaviour of 97 dogs. The dogs ‘ position in their kennels (front, back), their activity (moving, standing, sitting, resting, sleeping), and their vocalisation (barking, quiet, other) were recorded over a 4 h period at 10 min intervals. The dogs’ behaviour was significantly related to the length of time the animals had spent in the rescue shelter. Dogs housed in the shelter for over five years spent more of their time at the back of their kennels, more time resting, and less time barking than dogs housed in the shelter for shorter periods of time. The age of the dog could not account for the significant results found, suggesting that environmental factors were responsible for the change in the dogs’ behaviour. The findings suggest that lengthy periods of time spent in a captive environment may encourage dogs to behave in a manner that is generally considered unattractive by potential buyers. This may decrease the chances of such dogs being adopted, resulting in longer periods of time spent in the kennel environment and the possible development of further undesirable behaviours.

Keywords

animal welfarebehaviourcaninescaptivitydogsrescue shelters
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , August 2002 , pp. 317 - 325
Copyright
© 2002 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Beaver, B V 1989 Environmental enrichment for laboratory animals. ILAR News 31: 5–11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloomstrand, M, Riddle, K, Alford, P and Maple, T L 1986 Objective evaluation of a behavioral enrichment device for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Zoo Biology 5: 293–300CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broom, D M and Johnson, K G 1993 Stress and Animal Welfare. Chapman & Hall: London, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dittus, W P J 1979 The evolution of behaviours regulating density and age-specific sex ratios in a primate population. Behaviour 69: 265–302CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, M W 1965 Environmental factors influencing stereotyped and allelomimetic behaviour in animals. Laboratory Animal Care 15: 363–370Google ScholarPubMed
Fox, M W 1968 Abnormal Behavior in Animals. W B Saunders: Philadelphia, USAGoogle Scholar
Hediger, H 1950 Wild Animals in Captivity. Butterworth: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Hediger, H 1955 Studies of the Psychology and Behaviour of Captive Animals in Zoos and Circuses. Butterworth: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Hetts, S, Clark, J D, Calpin, J P, Arnold, C E and Mateo, J M 1992 Influence of housing conditions on beagle behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 34: 137–155CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howell, D C 1992 Statistical Methods for Psychology. Duxbury Press: California, USAGoogle Scholar
Hubrecht, R C 1993 A comparison of social and laboratory environmental enrichment methods for laboratory housed dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 37: 345–361CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubrecht, R C 1995 Enrichment in puppyhood and its effects on later behaviour of dogs. Laboratory Animal Science 45: 70–75Google ScholarPubMed
Lorenz, R and Mason, W A 1971 Establishment of a colony of titi monkeys. International Zoo Yearbook 11: 168–175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luescher, U A, McKeown, D B and Halip, J 1991 Stereotypic or obsessive-compulsive disorders in dogs and cats. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice 21: 401–413CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markowitz, H 1982 Behavioral Enrichment in the Zoo. Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Martin, P and Bateson, P 1986 Measuring Behaviour. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UKGoogle Scholar
Meyer-Holzapfel, M 1968 Abnormal behaviour in zoo animals. In: Fox, M W (ed) Abnormal Behavior in Animals pp 476–503. W B Saunders: Phildelphia, USAGoogle Scholar
Morris, D 1964 The responses of animals to a restricted environment. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London 13: 99–118Google Scholar
Newton, W M 1972 An evaluation of the effects of various degrees of long-term confinement on adult Beagle dogs. Laboratory Animal Science 22: 860–864Google ScholarPubMed
Poole, T B 1988 Normal and abnormal behaviour in captive primates. Primate Reports 22: 3–12Google Scholar
Poole, T B 1992 The nature and evolution of behavioural needs in mammals. Animal Welfare 1: 203–220Google Scholar
Redshaw, M E and Mallinson, J C C 1991 Stimulation of natural patterns of behaviour: studies with golden lion tamarins and gorillas. In: Box, H O (ed) Primate Responses to Environmental Change pp 217–238. Chapman & Hall: London, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seligman, M E P 1975 Helplessness: On Depression, Development and Health. W H Freeman: San Francisco, USAGoogle Scholar
Solarz, A K 1970 Behaviour. In: Anderson, A C (ed) The Beagle as an Experimental Animal pp 453–468. Iowa State University Press: Ames, USAGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, M F 1983 The captive environment: its effects on exploratory and related behavioural responses in wild animals. In: Archer, J and Birke, L (eds) Exploration in Animals and Humans pp 176–197. Van Nostrand Reinhold: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Thompson, W R, Melzack, R and Scott, T H 1956 “Whirling behaviour” in dogs as related to early experience. Science 123: 393CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, D L 1996 The welfare of dogs in an animal rescue shelter. PhD Thesis. School of Psychology, The Queen's University of Belfast, UKGoogle Scholar
Wells, D L and Hepper, P G 1992 The behaviour of dogs in a rescue shelter. Animal Welfare 1: 171–186Google Scholar
Wells, D L and Hepper, P G 2000a The influence of environmental change on the behaviour of sheltered dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 68: 151 -162CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, D L and Hepper, P G 2000b Prevalence of behaviour problems in dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 69: 55–65CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, D L and Hepper, P G 2001 The behaviour of visitors towards dogs housed in an animal rescue shelter. Anthrozoös 14: 12–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wemelsfelder, F 1984 Animal boredom: is a scientific study of the subjective experiences of animals possible? Advances in Animal Welfare Science 1984/1985. Humane Society of the US: Washington DC, USAGoogle Scholar