RETRACTED: Demographic characteristics of shelter dogs predict performance on tests of a behavioral evaluation and overall performance predicts adoption success

Abstract

Dog behavior has been studied using diverse methods, including owner-completed questionnaires, records from veterinary clinics that evaluate behavioral problems, and test batteries such as those used by some animal shelters. Measures of prevalence for multiple behavioral issues and analyses of whether dog demographic characteristics predict problematic behaviors are commonly reported in studies using questionnaires and clinical records; however, these measures are infrequently reported for all tests and subtests in studies using data from shelter behavioral evaluations. In this study, we determined prevalence of both concerning and dangerous behaviors on 14 tests and subtests of a canine behavioral evaluation by analyzing data collected by the behavioral staff at a NY shelter. Canine evaluations were conducted a few days after intake ( n = 1104 dogs tested between 2014-2019). Our study sample represents all dogs admitted to the shelter except those quickly reclaimed by owners and those euthanized at the request of their owners; rarer exceptions included very undersocialized dogs and dogs assessed at intake as unsafe to make available for adoption. We also examined whether dog demographic characteristics (age, sex, reproductive status, and body size) predicted behaviors on tests and subtests and whether total number of tests/subtests with concerning or dangerous behaviors predicted likelihood of being returned to the shelter postadoption. Of all dogs tested, prevalence measures of dangerous behaviors were always less than 5%. Prevalence of concerning behaviors during the evaluations were usually higher, with the highest being 36% for one of the Sociability subtests, indicating that about one third of dogs tested ignored rather than interacted with the evaluator. Our measures of prevalence for food guarding (15.5%), stranger-directed aggression (6.5%), and dog-directed aggression (16.7%) were generally similar to those reported for dogs in other shelters and in homes. Of the demographic characteristics examined, age class most consistently predicted assessment of concerning or dangerous behaviors on several tests and subtests, with these behaviors typically being most common in seniors, followed by adults, and then juveniles. Finally, we found that for each additional test or subtest on which a dog showed concerning or dangerous behaviors, the odds of being returned to the shelter increased by a factor of 1.22. Our findings may aid shelters in identifying dogs, such as older individuals and those assessed as showing problematic behaviors on several tests and subtests of an evaluation, that would benefit from behavioral plans and special adoption efforts to help them enter and remain in adoptive homes.