Three Things to Know
Researchers surveyed over 73 dog shelters and rehoming organizations in the UK and the US to understand their priorities in conducting behavior assessments and to evaluate the scientific evidence supporting these practices.
While researchers identified nine main themes assessed in pre-adoption assessments, shelters overwhelmingly prioritized aggression-related attributes in determining a dog’s adoptability. This likely reflects the importance of ensuring public safety.
Limited scientific research exists on the predictive validity of aggression-related attributes tested in assessments for human risk. However, it’s clear that these attributes are associated with increased relinquishment risk. As such, researchers recommend shifting more resources onto post-adoption support.
The Full Picture
Dog shelters and rehoming organizations employ both surveys targeting adopters as well as dog behaviour assessments to find the right match for adoption. Dog behavioural evaluations, in particular, serve multiple critical purposes, ranging from ensuring a successful rehoming to reducing the liability placed on the organizations. While research on these assessment tools often centers on reliability and validity, recent reviews have questioned their predictive value. However, there’s a notable gap in understanding what specific information organizations prioritize during these assessments and how it influences rehoming decisions.
This study, What Will Happen to This Dog? A Qualitative Analysis of Rehoming Organisations’ Pre-adoption Dog Behaviour Screening Policies and Procedures”, aims to analyze pre-adoption screening practices. By critically evaluating the evidence supporting the behavioral factors most valued by shelters, it is possible to optimize assessment practices and allocate resources to data that directly impacts adoption success.
Key Questions
The researchers’ study was guided by four key questions:
- Most Valued Characteristics: What specific dog characteristics are “most valued” or given more weight in pre-adoption assessments?
- Criteria for Unadoptability: What specific dog behaviors or traits are considered grounds for deeming a dog unadoptable? Are there established pass/fail criteria or specific red flags that trigger such a decision?
- Scientific Evidence for Screening Characteristics: Is there scientific evidence supporting the inclusion of specific characteristics in behavioral assessments? Specifically, researchers reviewed existing academic studies looking for:
- Statistical links between dog and owner traits and the risk of relinquishment.
- Associations between dog characteristics and quality of life or welfare.
- Potential human safety risks linked to specific dog behaviors and management histories.
- Practical Application of Assessments: What reasons do organizations provide for not assessing all dogs, and why do organizations collect information on characteristics that are not considered highly valued in rehoming decisions?
Study Methods
This study was part of a larger survey of rehoming organizations. Between 2016 and 2017, 249 UK organizations affiliated with the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) and 247 US organizations identified through Petfinder were contacted electronically. The survey aimed to identify the types of information organizations prioritize in pre-adoption assessments.
Study Results
A total of 73 responses were received from rehoming organizations, with 45 from the UK and 28 from the US. An overwhelming majority of respondents, 97%, utilize some form of pre-adoption assessment. Furthermore, 44% of respondents employ a standardized assessment form in their evaluation process.
1. What specific dog characteristics are “most valued” or given more weight?
The analysis identified nine key themes that rehoming organizations prioritize in pre-adoption assessments: aggression, behavior around other dogs, behavior around other animals, behavior around people, reactions to specific situations, tolerance of handling, suitability for specific home environments, knowledge of basic commands, and overall temperament.
Seventy-one sub-themes were identified under the nine key themes, with rehoming organizations considering 41 sub-themes as “most valued.” Aggression emerged as the most critical factor, with all 22 sub-themes related to aggression being rated as “most valued.” However, the importance of specific characteristics can vary depending on the organization’s focus and the breed of dog. For example, greyhound rehoming organizations may prioritize compatibility with cats and other small animals.
2. Criteria for Unadoptability
The study found that “unadoptable” did not necessarily mean euthanasia, but rather alternative placements like long-term foster care or permanent housing within the organization itself. While 69% of respondents used a pass/fail system for adoptability, 20% did not.
Among the 41 most valued characteristics, a significant portion (66.7%) could lead to a dog being deemed unadoptable. Notably, aggression and its related sub-themes were the most common reasons, accounting for 22 of the 28 unadoptable characteristics. The remaining five characteristics were related to behavior around dogs, people, and other factors.
Some groups indicated heightened scrutiny for “strong breeds” with potential dog-dog aggression. Further, respondents weighed bite risk, acknowledging distinctions based on size, breed, and the context of biting behaviors. For example, a smaller dog displaying food guarding might be deemed adoptable compared to a larger dog biting when petted. Ultimately, many organizations attempt to rehome dogs safely, but public safety concerns lead to excluding dogs considered too high-risk.
3. Scientific Evidence for Screening Characteristics:
The researchers found scientific literature supporting 10 specific characteristics in dog behavior assessments. Only three characteristics, “fearfulness”, “resource guarding” and “knowledge of basic commands,” are related to human safety risk. In addition, characteristics associated only with relinquishment include “destructiveness”, “housetrained status”, “activity level or exercise needs”, “aggression towards people”, “aggression towards cats or other animals”, “aggression towards dogs,” “biting or snapping”.
Of these, five of the 10 supported characteristics—“aggression towards people”, cats, or dogs,” “biting or snapping,” and “resource guarding”—are common criteria for deeming dogs unadoptable.
While aggression-related behaviors were extensively valued by shelters in behaviour assessments, their predictive accuracy relating to human safety risk remains unvalidated and often unreliable in academic literature. In addition, there is a lack of scientific research on certain valued-traits, such as “high prey drive”. This discrepancy suggests a need for further research to examine whether these additional characteristics contribute significantly to relinquishment or safety risks.
Organizations often prioritize safety, leading to the exclusion of dogs exhibiting aggressive behaviors, especially those posing a risk to humans, other animals, or themselves. On the other hand, despite the fact that the risk of relinquishment also increases notably with destructiveness, housetraining issues, and fearfulness, these were not always emphasized as “most valued” factors by shelters or rehoming organizations. This is possibly due to differing organizational priorities centered on public safety over relinquishment concerns.
4. Practical Application of Assessments
The vast majority of respondents (82%) reported conducting pre-adoption assessments for all dogs, highlighting the widespread recognition of their importance. Those who did not assess every dog cited factors like familiarity with foster dogs, resource constraints, and informal evaluations by trusted staff.
Respondents generally favored a comprehensive “whole picture” approach to assessments, aiming to understand each dog’s needs and find the best possible match for them. As such, even attributes that are not highly valued are collected in these assessments. While some organizations prioritized specific characteristics like human aggression, others emphasized a holistic approach to gather a broad range of information. This comprehensive approach can be resource-intensive, and the lack of validated quality metrics for these assessments raises questions about their effectiveness and efficiency.
Further research is needed to identify the most critical behavioral factors for successful rehoming and to develop standardized assessment tools that are both reliable and practical for organizations to implement. By optimizing assessment practices, organizations can improve their ability to match dogs with suitable adopters and reduce the risk of relinquishment.
Conclusion
While pre-adoption assessments are widely used, the study reveals a lack of scientific validation for many evaluated traits and potential limitations in the predictive reliability of behavior tests. This raises concerns about the efficient allocation of resources, particularly when considering the limited evidence for certain traits like aggression in predicting future risk.
An alternative approach may involve shifting resources towards adopter education and post-adoption support. By providing comprehensive education on dog ownership responsibilities and ongoing support, organizations can better align expectations and intervene early to prevent relinquishment due to unmet needs. This approach is supported by evidence suggesting that unmet expectations can significantly contribute to relinquishment.
Miscellaneous
Data From Study:
Increasing Rehoming Success > Behaviour Assessments > Overview of Shelter Practices
Year of Publication:
2022
External Link:
Griffin KE, John E, Pike T and Mills DS (2022) What Will Happen to This Dog? A Qualitative Analysis of Rehoming Organisations’ Pre-adoption Dog Behaviour Screening Policies and Procedures. Front. Vet. Sci. 8:796596. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.796596.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.796596