Abstract
Dog adoption success is influenced by many factors. Current research specifically underlines the importance of good behaviour. In order to collect information on the behaviour of adopted dogs, a questionnaire was handed out to people adopting a dog from one of the Czech shelters. According to the respondents to our survey, 72% of dogs exhibited behavioural problems in the first week after adoption. The most frequent behavioural problems in adopted dogs were aggression (24%), fearfulness (21%), destructiveness (17%), excessive vocalisation (15%), and separation anxiety (13%). No effect (P > 0.05) of sex, age, size or health status was found. However, shelter dogs with a documented history of abuse exhibited problem behaviours after adoption more frequently (P < 0.05) than non-abused dogs. The follow-up survey revealed significant (P < 0.001) positive changes in the behaviour of dogs six months after leaving the shelter despite a prevailing lack of previous experience among adopters and a lack of professional help. The results suggest that mere patience and time spent in a family instead of the shelter environment can be a solution to at least some of the behavioural problems encountered. We can assume that if professional post-adoption behavioural counselling was provided it could increase the rate of problems solved and decrease the amount of time required for the solution. Professional help may be particularly necessary in the case of aggressive dogs in which no progress has been seen six months after leaving the shelter.
Highlights
Dog adoption success is influenced by many factors
Current research underlines the importance of good behaviour to dog adopters (O’Connor et al 2016)
The majority (68%) of respondents who had purchased a dog from a rescue shelter in Northern Ireland (Wells and Hepper 2000), as well as those who adopted a dog from the Michigan Humane Society in the USA (Lord et al 2008), reported that their dog exhibited a behavioural problem
Summary
Dog adoption success is influenced by many factors. Current research underlines the importance of good behaviour. According to the respondents to our survey, 72% of dogs exhibited behavioural problems in the first week after adoption. Several studies have examined the prevalence of behavioural problems during the first months after adoption (New et al 2000; Wells and Hepper 2000; Marston and Bennett 2003; Shore 2005; Lord et al 2008). According to Wells and Hepper (2000), the most common problem perceived by adopters of shelter dogs is fearfulness, followed by excessive activity, barking, destructiveness, inappropriate elimination and aggression towards owners, strangers and other animals. According to Wells and Hepper (2000), male shelter dogs demonstrated more unacceptable behaviours than females; they were more likely than females to exhibit aggression towards other dogs in the first month after adoption. The aim of this study was to assess the behaviour of dogs adopted from shelters as perceived by their adopters, to investigate the factors affecting the dog’s behavior, and to analyse changes in the dog’s behaviour within six months after adoption
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