What's the Secret to Finding Your Perfect Pet?

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• A new study shows that shelter dogs with roommates are less stressed than dogs kept alone in their kennels, which leads to quicker adoptions
• According to the researchers, social isolation can work against dogs' behavioral health and adoptability, and housing compatible dogs in the same kennel can be a beneficial intervention
• Potential adopters with other dogs at home, for example, are drawn to shelter dogs who are successfully interacting with other dogs
• The shorter a dog’s stay in the shelter, and addressing existing or potential behavior problems, are also crucial not only for successful adoptions, but to reduce the number of ‘boomerang’ dogs returned to shelters

According to the latest American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) statistics, over 3 million dogs enter U.S. shelters each year.¹ Thankfully, new research offers a ray of hope for homeless pets and overwhelmed animal shelter staff dealing with limited space and long waits for dogs needing adoption.

Dogs Are Naturally Social

A recently published study shows that shelter dogs awaiting new forever homes do better when they have canine roommates. The study was a collaborative effort by veterinary researchers and professional dog trainers who also work for/volunteer at humane societies.

The secret, according to the study’s authors, is that when two dogs who get along are housed together, they show fewer signs of stress, resulting in quicker adoptions than dogs without roomies.

According to lead study author Erica Feuerbacher, associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech:

"Despite being a social species, dogs are often housed alone in shelters to reduce disease transmission and possible injury from inter-dog conflict. But this social isolation can work against dogs' behavioral health and adoptability. We wanted to examine whether pair housing could be a useful intervention for improving shelter dogs' welfare."²

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE,³ is the first to assess how U.S.-based shelter dogs fare in co-housing vs. solitary housing. Previous similar studies looked at Beagles living in laboratories and veterinary school dogs housed for over six months in kennels.

Shelter dogs are different in that they spend an average of 35 days waiting to find new homes, and most were interacting with other dogs (and pets and people) before they entered the shelter.

Less Stress and Shorter Shelter Stays

The study involved 61 dogs over a 7-day period at the Humane Society of Western Montana. Shelter staff placed half the dogs in kennels with a canine roommate after a brief introduction and a compatibility assessment using the Match Up II dog-dog subtest. The dogs were also closely monitored, especially during the first few days as roomies. The remaining 30 dogs were housed alone in their kennels.⁴

Researchers observed the dogs throughout the week for signs of common stress behaviors, such as lip-licking, whining, and pulling back their ears. They also took daily samples of the dogs' urinary cortisol and creatinine to evaluate biological indicators of stress.

"Dogs housed in shelters can face chronic levels of stress due to noise, confined kennel spaces, and limited access to social interaction," Feuerbacher said. "This can reduce their overall well-being, which might impact their adoptability."

The result: Dogs with roommates showed fewer stress behaviors — and incredibly, were adopted on average four days sooner — than single-housed dogs. In addition, the researchers observed no negative effects on dog-to-dog skills, and rates of aggressive behaviors were very low. Only two pairs of dogs needed to be separated during the experiment.⁵

Here are two of the dogs, Mighty (in front) and Bo, who grew very fond of each other and chose to cuddle in the same bed even though each had a bed.⁶

The study authors hope the results of their experiment will encourage animal shelters to consider housing compatible dogs in pairs as a way to alleviate their stress and increase their appeal to potential adopters. As Feuerbacher brilliantly observes:

"Many potential adopters might already have a dog or would like to engage in social activities with their dog. Clearly exhibiting that a dog can successfully interact with other dogs might highlight those dogs as good matches — leading to more successful adoptions."

Reducing the Population of ‘Boomerang’ Shelter Dogs

Needless to say, shelters are extremely distressing for pets, especially new arrivals. Because they have few options, most shelter employees must evaluate dogs’ behavior in a stressful environment rather than the comfort and familiarity of a home setting. In addition, even dogs who seem to adjust well upon entering a shelter tend to deteriorate the longer they stay, and also with subsequent returns.

Dogs who develop behavior problems are more difficult to adopt out, which means they remain in the shelter longer or are returned after being adopted — a vicious cycle. That’s why it’s so important to work with the dog, if possible, or at a minimum offer resources for adoptive pet parents to help them deal with existing or potential behavior problems. Statistics show that every time a “problem” dog is returned to a shelter, his or her chances for adoption diminish.

Three Organizations Making a Difference for Homeless Dogs

1. Gigi’s Transitional Shelter — Located in Columbus, Ohio, Gigi's goal is to help dramatically reduce the time dogs spend without a home. The premise is simple: take dogs from shelters that are overwhelmed with animals and move them to those with empty kennels and greater resources — typically shelters near high-population areas with a large pool of adopters looking for a furry friend to add to their family.
   
   Along the way, the dogs make a stop at Gigi’s state-of-the-art transitional facility where they receive medical care and behavioral evaluations to ensure they’re ready for adoption. Since stress reduction must be part of the equation, Gigi’s incorporates essential oil diffusers, calming music, natural light, canine massage and soothing colors to help lessen the dogs’ anxiety.
   
   The facility is situated on three acres, which gives the dogs plenty of space to exercise, and there’s also a building where they take part in programs that help them acclimate and adjust to a new lifestyle. The average dog spends about a week at Gigi’s before moving to a destination shelter.
2. Austin Pets Alive! No Kill Shelter — From its meager but ambitious beginnings in 2008, Austin Pets Alive! in Austin, Texas has become the gold standard of no-kill animal shelters. Some of the goals the shelter has set and achieved in the last 10 years include:
   
   • Finding a foster home for every pet on the daily euthanasia list at the city shelter
   • Securing a facility and setting up a shelter
   • Creating programs to treat sick animals so they, too, can be adopted
   • Setting up a bottle-baby nursery to stop large-scale euthanasia of orphaned kittens
   • Caring for feral cat populations
   Another of the organization’s early goals was to create programs to rehabilitate pets with behavior issues. Toward that end, Austin Pets Alive! assembled a behavior team to rehabilitate dogs with behavior issues. It's one of the shelter's biggest programs, and it was created to address large dogs with behavior problems — one of the populations of at-risk animals least likely to come out of a shelter alive.
3. Muttville Senior Dog Rescue — In 2007, Sherri Franklin opened Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco. Since then, the organization has saved over 6,000 senior dogs and found them homes.
   
   Some of the dogs at Muttville come from loving homes and have never known anything else, while others have lived their entire lives in the backyard. All need lots of love, and fortunately, according to Franklin, there are adopters looking for well-loved dogs, and others looking for the saddest, worst-case scenario, so there’s plenty of love to go around no matter a dog’s background.
   
   The Muttville shelter is a home-like environment. There are no kennels. Most new dogs take from 24 to 48 hours to warm up to their surroundings. Some come in ready to hide or run from anything that moves, but 48 hours later, they’re crawling into someone’s lap.
   
   Muttville’s minimum age for dogs is 7. Franklin picked that age because in her experience volunteering at shelters, dogs 7 and older are the ones who are passed by. Every dog who comes to Muttville gets veterinary care to give them the best quality of life possible.
   
   For terminally ill dogs there’s Muttville's “Fospice,” a hospice and foster care program that pairs the dogs with foster homes and covers the cost of palliative care. Franklin was initially worried that she wouldn’t have many foster families signing up to care for dogs who are dying, but as it turns out, the caregivers in her Fospice program feel it’s a rewarding experience to offer an animal a happy final chapter.

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