Qualitative Behavioural Assessment on Shelter Dogs: Do Enriched Hides or Human Interaction Affect Dog Behaviour?

Thomas Gregory

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) play an increasing role in today’s society. The tendency to refrain from the use of the term ‘pet’ in favour of ‘companion animal’ is a testament to the added importance of dogs not only to the individual but to people in general. However, thousands of companion animals can be found in animal shelters in most major cities worldwide. In Australia, over 67,000 dogs entered RSPCA shelters over the 2010-‐2011 period. Confining dogs in shelters for long periods raises two major concerns: the provision of adequate welfare and the development of unfavourable behaviours that may limit the dogs’ ability to be rehomed. Ideally, these dogs would only be held temporarily, although the chance of rehoming ultimately lies in the hands of the general public and the dog’s responses to people when they are approached in the shelter. This study assessed whether enhanced human interaction (walking, playing and giving basic commands) or the provision of a hide (providing seclusion from visual disturbance) within the kennel area altered the behaviour of dogs. Enhanced human interaction was provided daily to the dog within the kennel for a period of 20 minutes. The hides were built upon the existing framework of the cage bed area by the addition of a roof and an extended wall to create a more private den-‐like structure. Hides were provided for a period of 7 days. Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) was utilized to quantify the behavioural expression of individual dogs before and after each treatment period, comparing video footage of over 40 dogs, on day 0-‐2 and day 7-‐9 after they were admitted into the kennel. High levels of inter observer consensus were found for the hide (56.8%), human interaction (57.7%) in the kennel, and human interaction in the yard context (50.9%) treatments. In addition, an ethogram was developed to compare behaviours between treatment groups. There was a significant difference of treatment over time for on GPA dimension 1 for the hide (p=<0.005) and human interaction (p<0.05) in the kennel treatment groups. A significant change was observed on GPA dimension 2 for the human interaction treatment group within a yard context (p=<0.05). Dogs subjected to a hide treatment were scored as relatively more happy, playful, and excited and dogs of the human interaction treatment were scored as relatively more excited, energetic and happy. This study suggests that interventions such as human interaction or the provision of a hide may be ways that shelter management can improve the quality of life for shelter dogs, as well as limiting the development of unwanted behaviour. Since successful rehoming of dogs relies equally on a dog’s behavioural responses to people and the interpretation of dogs’ behaviour by humans, understanding how the shelter environment affects dog behaviour may ultimately influence the fate of many shelter dogs.

Qualitative Behavioural Assessment on Shelter Dogs: Do Enriched Hides or Human Interaction Affect Dog Behaviour?

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