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Reducing Dog's Stress in Animal Shelters

Nico J. Wenzel

Glenelg High School

Intern/Mentor Program

Ms. Leila Chawkat

Beth Joy, Dog Trainer

Unleashed Joy

March 9, 2023
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Dogs in animal shelters are placed under a lot of stress during their time there which is

detrimental to their wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the most effective

methods of reducing this stress. A key element to consider when making decisions about how to

destress dogs was the level of personalized treatment they are receiving to maximize efforts to

improve their quality of life. It was also important to be creative with the environment the dogs

are in, adding enrichment while they are in their kennels or finding ways to remove them from

the shelter environment to lower their stress levels. Animal shelter guidelines should be

evaluated to determine how much of the dogs welfare they are taking into account and be revised

if they do not provide adequate guidance on interventions to lower the stress of their animals.
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Table of Contents

I. Introduction: 4

II. Literature Review: 4-15

A. Stress Monitoring: 4-6

B. In-Kennel Stimuli: 6-8

C. Human Interaction: 9-10

D. Other Shelter Methods: 11-13

E. Individuality: 13-16

III. Data Collection: 16-22

A. Rationale: 16

B. Table: 16-18

C. Results and Analysis: 19-22

D. Discussion: 22-23

IV. Conclusion: 23

V. References: 24-26

VI. Appendix: 27
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Introduction

Millions of dogs are admitted to animal shelters every year, most commonly from the

streets as a stray or from an owner surrendering their pet. Animal shelters are a novel

environment, full of new looks and sounds that a dog would not be familiar with if they have not

had experience in one in their past. This change of environment puts stress on dogs as can be

seen by analyzing the hormone cortisol, one the body releases when it is under stress. When a

dog is admitted to an animal shelter, their cortisol level increases to "... nearly three times as high

as those of pet dogs sampled in their home and [remain] so for 3 days before gradually waning",

and it does not return to similar levels to pet dogs until about ten days later (Hennessy et al.,

2020). This is a problem because the stress placed on dogs from being in an animal shelter can

worsen their behavior (Patronek et al., 2022) and make them less likely to be adopted, leaving

them in a stressful situation for an extended period of time. In order to prevent this from

happening and a dog's stay from being lengthened, it is necessary to intervene with methods to

reduce this stress. After helping them get habituated to a shelter environment, changing the

environment dogs are housed in to give them more human interaction and paying attention to the

individual dogs' needs are the most effective ways to reduce their stress in animal shelters.

Literature Review

Stress Monitoring

Stress in dogs can be hard to evaluate because they are unable to verbally speak to

humans about what is bothering them and how much stress they are under. Because of this, it is

necessary to find other methods of figuring out when a dog is stressed and to what extent in order

to interfere and reduce it. A common method of testing the amount of stress a dog is under is by
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using the hormone cortisol. This works because the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is part of

the body's stress-response system which releases cortisol in response to stressors. Cortisol can be

found for analysis in many places such as saliva and urine, but those are greatly impacted by

short term stressors (Van der laan et al., 2022). By using cortisol, it is possible to test how much

stress a dog is under and start work towards reducing this stress; however, it is important to

consider the source of the cortisol for analysis since the levels can change depending on where it

is taken from. Analyzing hair cortisol can help identify dogs who have the most problems with

stress in a shelter since it is less impacted by short term stressors (Grigg et al., 2017). Hair

cortisol gives a better idea of the average level of stress a dog is under which is beneficial

because it limits the effects of a short term stress such as a loud noise. By figuring this out and

taking action as soon as possible, the dog is under less stress during their stay which is better for

its well being.

Another option to determine if a dog is stressed is by using behavioral analysis. Not all

animal shelters have the resources to do cortisol tests on their dogs, and cortisol measurement

may not be the most practical option for monitoring everyday stress. Behavioral analysis can be

done on a constant basis and does not require specialized knowledge and equipment. Compared

to an unstressed dog, seeing repetitive behaviors, chewing, vocalizing, shaking, and unnaturally

high or low levels of activity can be indicators of stress (Grigg et al., 2017). In addition, by

watching a dog for behaviors such as "...scanning the room for danger (hypervigilance),

yawning, panting, lip licking, refusing treats, salivating (in the absence of food), looking/acting

sleepy (when not tired) or distracted, [and] sniffing..." (Lloyd, 2017), it is possible to see when

they are more stressed and afraid than a normal dog would be. Body language reveals a lot about
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a dog's mental state and wellbeing, and it is important to pay close attention to it and any changes

to get a good understanding of what the dog is feeling.

In-Kennel Stimuli

In order to reduce stress dogs are under in the shelter, various tactics have been used to

get them to relax and be more comfortable in the novel environment. Different enrichment

sources can be used to reduce stress in shelters and have been implemented in them, one of

which being aromatherapy. Dogs have a much better sense of smell than humans, and adding

scents to their environment can stimulate them and allow them to express natural behaviors

which is important since restriction of them can cause additional stress. A scent created to help

reduce stress in dogs is called dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) which mimics the pheromones a

mother sends to her pups to get them calm and relaxed. To test the usefulness of DAP, a study

was done where owners left their dog alone in a room for half an hour while it was released. It

was found that the dogs did not have a measurable reduction of stress when they were in the

presence of this pheromone (Taylor et al., 2020). Some shelters have used this in the past, and

the beneficial nature of it is questionable, so it should be replaced by more effective scents. Most

animal shelters do not have scents throughout the kennels other than that of other dogs, people,

and cleaning supplies. While this provides some enrichment and can stimulate the dogs, many of

the scents are foreign and can cause them to get excited or worried, putting more stress on them.

By using other scents, more beneficial results can be found. For instance, "lavender and

chamomile encouraged more time resting and a sense of relaxation and behaviors that are likely

to be desired by potential adopters" (Miller & Zawistowski, 2017). These scents increase the

welfare of dogs since it encourages them to destress while giving them enrichment in their
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kennels. However it is important to be careful when considering what scents to add to the

environment since some can be toxic to animals or encourage more barking and activity, things

that can cause more stress in the environment. When done carefully, introducing certain scents

like lavender and chamomile can create a lower stress environment and thereby decrease the

stress of the dogs housed in it.

Music is another enrichment tool that can be used while dogs are in their kennels to help

decrease stress in them. It can help them relax, and it can lower their likelihood of vocalizing.

Vocalization can be stressful for everyone in the shelter because it is very loud, especially when

many dogs are doing it at the same time as they often do. Therefore, it is important to reduce

barking as much as possible within the shelter. In a study done taking dogs away from their

owners for an hour, classical music made dogs faster to settle and less likely to bark than a quiet

environment. It provided a somewhat calming effect for dogs separated from their owners;

however, this effect was not large and may have limited uses to decrease stress in shelter dogs

(Kinnaird & Wells, 2022). Other research has indicated the genre of music is not as important as

the contents of the music itself to calm dogs and lower their stress. While most classical music

has the beneficial elements, "...some kinds of music or other sounds seem to have a positive

effect on kennelled dogs, especially sounds with long, extended notes, pure tones and relatively

slow tempos" (Lloyd, 2017). Not all classical music meets these requirements, and while most of

it does, it is important to consider the contents of the music before playing it and expecting good

results. These sounds can also cover up the sounds of shelter staff activities which could cause

more stress in the animals. It is important to be careful about repeating the music too often since

the dogs can become habituated to the noise and the beneficial impacts diminished. Playing this
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sort of music is a relatively low cost investment for shelters to make and can decrease the stress

of dogs listening to it, so it should be implemented to improve the welfare of dogs staying there.

Touch is beneficial for dogs to calm them and get them to relax. This is because "the

effect of touch in stimulating the skin has a massive, indirect effect on the rest of the body,

including the release of oxytocin..." (Lloyd & Roe, 2013). Oxytocin is a happy hormone, and it

boosts the mood and lowers stress of an organism when in high levels. It is important to increase

the amount of it in dogs in shelters because it can help combat stress and improve their welfare

during their stay. While human touch is the most beneficial, it is not always possible due to not

having the staff resources to devote to each dog or an aspect of the dog such as an extremely

fearful nature preventing this touch. To replace this, other tools may be introduced to help get

some benefits from the addition of pressure even without the human element. The use of a

ThunderShirt, a pressure wrap for dogs, helps lower their heart rate and lessens instances of

stress-indicating behaviors. It can be useful as a tool for managing separation anxiety and general

anxiety in dogs; however, additional interventions such as training should still be used (King et

al., 2014). This tool can be expensive in large quantities and some shelters may not have these

funds available, so using other similar compression equipment can still be used and give similar

beneficial results while saving money. Other interventions to reduce stress need to be used along

with it since it is not enough to give a dog a compression vest and leave them alone, they need to

be worked with in other ways too which additional human interaction can aid with. Providing

dogs with enrichment in their kennels can help them relax and reduce their stress levels in the

animal shelter, so it is important to utilize these tools in order to make their stay as comfortable

as possible.
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Human Interaction

The animal shelter environment is very loud which can make it distressing for the

animals living there with no escape from the constant noise. Even with adding music to enrich

their environment, if it cannot be heard over the noises in the shelter, it has no beneficial impact

on the dogs. One major source of noise is barking. Dogs bark in animal shelters for many

reasons, especially having their environment disturbed by people coming through, an

unavoidable trigger. To combat this, classical counterconditioning has been employed as a way

to make dogs excited by a person coming and less likely to bark at them. By having people throw

a treat into the kennel as they pass by, it can make the dogs associate a person with a reward and

make them less likely to bark, creating a calmer environment to reduce stress (Zurlinden et al.,

2022). One dog barking can often trigger the rest of the dogs to bark even if they would not have

originally done so; therefore, it is beneficial to practice counterconditioning with all of the dogs

to decrease the likelihood of a dog starting to bark and setting off a chain reaction. This form of

response-independent treat delivery, or giving dogs a treat as they are passed by no matter their

behavior, can also help decrease undesirable behaviors. These undesirable behaviors can make

people less likely to adopt a dog, leading to a longer stay in the shelter than necessary, so

reducing these behaviors is important (Protopopova & Wynne, 2015). The most beneficial thing

for a stressed dog in an animal shelter is to be removed from that environment, and the use of

conditioning can assist with improving the odds of them being adopted. No dog has access to the

full amount of human contact they need to thrive while in an animal shelter, and by using this

form of treat delivery a small amount of contact that does not take incredible amounts of

resources to conduct, some benefits can be gained that reduce stress.

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Even though response-independent treat delivery can benefit dogs, it is no substitute for

prolonged hands on attention. This kind of human interaction is very valuable for dogs and

reduces their stress more than giving them a treat as someone walks by. While it does take time

and resources to give each dog individual attention, it improves a dog's wellbeing more than

other forms of nonhuman centric interaction. In one study, "the provision of 30 minutes or more

of interaction with staff and volunteers, exercise and training per day, as well as the provision of

less common types of exercise predicted an increase in [quality of life] scores..." (Kiddie &

Collins, 2015), emphasizing the importance of giving dogs human contact. The new forms of

exercise and training also stimulates their brain, improving their welfare by enriching their

minds. Dogs are social animals, so it is essential to care for their social needs as well as their

physical ones to reduce the most stress. It is not acceptable to neglect this aspect of their needs.

Receiving attention from humans for an extended period of time is key to lowering their stress.

Humans can also induce a social buffering effect, something that happens when a companion

reduces the physiological stress response in an animal. Although having a quiet or soothing

nature and environment allows for the most beneficial effect, any form of "...social buffering in

the form of human interaction can readily mitigate the physiological stress response imposed by

inherent features of shelter housing" (Hennessy et al., 2020). Through introducing more human

contact with dogs in shelters, either by providing more mental stimulation or calm interactions,

stress can be reduced in them. Because of this, it is beneficial to provide both options for staff

and volunteers to take so they can interact with the dog based on what they prefer and benefit the

most from. Continuous hands on socialization is crucial to provide as it can greatly reduce the

stress dogs feel in shelters.

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Other Shelter Methods

Animal shelters are incredibly stressful environments with a lot of new stimuli to

overwhelm a dog going into one. The first few days in the shelter are the worst for stress as the

dog needs to adapt to the novel surroundings; however, habituating a dog to a shelter

environment can help lower their stress upon entry. Dogs who have not been in a shelter before

or have an unknown history of being in one or not have a higher cortisol level than those who

have been in a kennel before (Van der laan et al., 2022). This prior life experience influenced the

dogs, and it made them more afraid or more comfortable with their kennel environment

depending on if they had experienced it before. Thus, it is important to help dogs adjust to their

surroundings to decrease their stress level upon entry and through their first few stressful days.

One study divided a set of puppies into two groups, one that went to homes to live in them with

people the full time and one which stayed outside in a kennel through the night and was crate

trained inside the house. After a year, both sets of dogs were taken to a military training site

where they were kept in kennels and their cortisol levels were measured across the original

homes and while they were in the kennels. They concluded "...one major source of stress is the

novelty of the kennel environment, because those dogs which had been previously habituated to

a kennel experienced a less dramatic increase in C/C ratio" (Rooney et al., 2007). While the dogs

with habituation did have an increase in cortisol, they had a lesser jump than those who were not,

and the habituated dogs had their levels decrease faster and returned more closely to the baseline

while non habituated dogs had a slower return to further above baseline. Having prior experience

with a frightening environment is important in order to lower the stress on a dog going into it.

The first entry to an animal shelter needs to be filled with increased human contact and with a
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habituation period to desensitize dogs to their environment and lower their stress level across

their stay.

Dogs can benefit from having another dog in a kennel with them by using pair housing

due to their social nature if they are able to coexist peacefully. In an experiment run in the West

Indies, they put dogs who had been in the shelter for an extended period of time together for two

months during the day aside from feeding time and recorded their behavior and cortisol levels to

compare with dogs who were housed alone. Experimenters found that there was less active

vigilance among the dogs in pairs and a slight trend to showing less repetitive behaviors, both

indicating stress reduction (Grigg et al., 2017). Paired housing creates this change because "[it]

can provide opportunities for behavioral enrichment that alleviate loneliness and boredom,

provide for normal behaviors and social interactions such as sniffing and grooming, and create a

more interesting environment..." (Miller & Zawistowski, 2017). This additional stimulation due

to having partners in their enclosure as well as increased time socializing is beneficial for dogs

and can reduce the stress they are under at a shelter. Combining dogs needs to be done carefully

with a lot of monitoring since it is crucial there is no aggression between them which could cause

them harm. Changing the environment to accommodate more socialization and natural

enrichment is important to lower the stress of dogs housed in shelters. With the proper

precautions taken such as separation during feeding to ensure their compatibility, dogs can

benefit from having a companion in their enclosure. When considering what animals to pair

together, it is important to pay attention to their personality, aggressive tendencies, and the

amount of time they are likely to be paired together. As dogs move in and out of a shelter when

pair housing is used, they could form bonds with the dog they are living with. This may

discourage shelters from using it since many people only want to adopt one dog, not two.
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Separating dogs who have been paired together for a long time could have negative impacts on

their stress level; however, for dogs who have not been together for a significant amount of time,

this impact is lessened and less serious of an issue (Walker et al., 2014). A lot of paired dogs

would not have come into the shelter together or had an extensive history with one another, so in

many cases their bond would not be strong enough to have a lot of negative consequences if only

one dog is adopted out of the pairing. Since there are many benefits to housing dogs together

without major consequences as long as they are not aggressive, pair housing should be

implemented more to reduce stress in shelters.

Individuality

Every dog is unique and has different things that help them destress, a fact that does not

change just because they are in an animal shelter. Some need more help than others to get their

stress level decreased. Upon entry to most shelters, staff members issue a behavioral assessment

to get a better understanding of the dog's personality and temperament. The issue is, most tests

are controversial with regard to their accuracy. Yet there is still a benefit from them since they

can reveal trends of the dog's behavior over the first five days of being in the shelter to show

handlers which dogs to pay extra attention to for behavioral modification (Clay et al., 2019). This

allows shelters to focus on the dogs who need the most attention and give them more

individualized care to decrease their stress level. Although, that does not mean it is okay to

neglect the other dogs who seem to be more well adjusted. It is more time and resource

consuming to spend a lot of time with each dog, but "it is... important at all times to evaluate

each dog as an individual, so the care and husbandry can be adapted in a way that meets their

needs [and] provides the best possible quality of life while in the shelter..." (Miller &
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Zawistowski, 2017). Customizing their treatment and enrichment to their preferences is key to

maintaining a low stress level since it allows them to have the most effective stress reducer.

Giving dogs enrichment that does not help lower their stress level, while it is better than nothing,

is not adequate to provide them with a good quality of life. This accommodation does not have to

be extremely costly either, it could be the difference between changing a form of interaction that

already has a dedicated time set aside for it. In one study, dogs were given a period of exercise or

a period of calm reading time, and their behavior was examined before and after to see how these

interventions changed how a dog behaved when a person came up to their kennel. While both

interventions helped make dogs calmer when a person came to their kennel, an exercise period

left the dog hyper while a calming session made the dog less likely to want further human

interaction. Tailoring which dogs get which form of interaction could help change their behavior

to something more desirable by adopters (Protopopova et al., 2018). Even something as small as

altering a period of scheduled enrichment to fit what the dog needs can have a beneficial impact

on the dog. Making their behavior more wanted by adopters can help them get adopted out of the

shelter faster and reduce the stress they are under by completely removing them from the

stressful environment. Removing dogs from a traditional shelter for even a short period of time

can be beneficial for their quality of life since it takes them out of the stressful environment. But

for those in shelters, paying attention to the specific dog's needs and adjusting their care to fit

them is incredibly important to reducing their stress.

For dogs who are extremely stressed or afraid, a shelter environment is not conducive to

helping lower their stress and finding them a new home. No action a shelter takes would be

effective to reduce stress to a manageable level and restore a high quality of life to the dog. In

these cases, personalized care outside of a shelter environment is incredibly important to help
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reduce their stress and help improve welfare. Some shelters use a foster care system to give these

dogs the help they need, taking them out of the stressful environment into a quieter one with

more one-on-one attention. It was found that when dogs were allowed out of the kennel for a

night or two, their "...urinary cortisol concentrations systematically decrease and bouts of

uninterrupted rest increase when the dogs are placed into temporary foster homes, as compared

to in-shelter values obtained prior to and after the sleepover". Although the levels return to

elevated when the dogs return to the shelter, the dogs benefit from having a period of lower

stress (Gunter et al., 2019). A very short period of time in a foster home was enough to lower the

stress of dogs sent to them and having even more time in foster care can have longer lasting

effects. This environmental change brings them closer to humans and allows them to have the

full benefit of this social interaction to reduce their stress. However, there are times that the dogs

are too fearful to be sent to a normal foster caregiver, especially after being abused or neglected.

This is a problem because they are also under even more stress than normal dogs upon entry to

an animal shelter, and they are unable to improve in a traditional shelter environment. In order to

rehabilitate these animals and give them a chance of being adopted into a home environment, the

ASPCA behavioral rehabilitation center created a program to desensitize and counter condition

dogs to typical stimuli they would find in a home. Over a period of about 93 to 108 days, an

average of 86% of the 441 dogs going through the program graduated and went on to have

successful adoptions. In the program, they worked on leash, socialization, and handling skills as

well as desensitization to household sounds as they got treats in the day. (Collins et al., 2022).

For extremely fearful dogs, this means they can have a chance to live a normal life with a higher

quality of life. Even though they were under a ton of stress at the start of the program, their

individualized treatment helped decrease it significantly from where they were at the start. Thus,
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making care more individualized while giving more opportunities for human interaction and a

different environment than a traditional shelter helps lower the stress level of dogs.

Data Collection

Methods

The collected data focuses on the various guidelines for animal shelters around the world.

To conduct this research, a quantitative meta-analysis was used through comparing and

contrasting multiple variables within a series of regulatory papers. This method was chosen

because human-to-dog communication is not available at this time to interview or survey them

about their experiences in animal shelters. It was impossible to experiment on the dogs, and

non-staff at animal shelters were not allowed to closely observe their processes. Analyzing sets

of guidelines allows for an insight into what shelters use to base their decisions around and the

level of care that goes into them.

Table

Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4

Title The Association Animal Shelters Basic Code of Practice

of Shelter - Minimum Management for the
Veterinarians' Standards of Guidelines for Management of
Guidelines for Care Dog and Cat Dogs and Cats in
Standards of Shelters Shelters and
Care in Animal Pounds
Shelters

Author Association of Maryland Animals Asia & Animal Welfare

Shelter Department of the Humane Victoria
Veterinarians Agriculture Society
International
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Audience Global Shelters Maryland, the Global Shelters, Victoria,

United States primarily those Australia
in Asia

Date Published December 2022 2019 November 2007 June 2022

Solo Housing - larger - sufficient space - access to - natural light is

enclosures are indoor and recommended
better outdoor spaces
- use multi - natural light is
compartment recommended
housing to allow - reduce noise as
for choice much as possible
- minimize noise - let dogs see
(general and what's
barking) as happening
much as possible outside their
- natural light is kennels
recommended

Co-Housing - can be - acceptable with - acceptable with

beneficial close monitoring close monitoring
- carefully select
participants and
monitor them
afterwards
- beneficial for
long stays

Foster Care - good for - emphasized for - recommended

reducing time animals who - needs to
spent in kennels would not provide
- gives dogs survive in a enrichment,
extra attention general shelter socialization,
when needed or are under and possible
(medical or extreme stress training
behavioral - used for
reasons) behavioral
rehabilitation or
short term relief

Handling by - interpret the - use humane

People world like the handling and
dog does pay attention to
- offer food and the individual
toys to distract animal to
them determine a
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- can use course of action

medication when
necessary

First Entry - quarantine not - quarantine for - 8 day

recommended 7-10 days quarantine
for healthy - give each dog a period unless a
animals name vaccination
- do not use - diagnose certificate is
formal severity of shown
behavioral non-aggressive - assess physical,
assessments behaviors psychological,
- use history and and social
information wellbeing
gathered through
everyday tasks

Daily Husbandry - maintain a - maintain a - regularly

consistent consistent provide
routine routine enrichment
- give positive - positive human
experiences contact and
throughout the socialization
day to look
forward to

Enrichment - daily - exercise - clean and dry - set protocols

opportunities to outside toys for
be outside of the - give - exercise environmental
kennel enrichment outside at least enrichment
- tailor activities twice a day - regularly
enrichment to whenever - recommended provide it
the individual possible ideas are: walks, - recommended
dog in-kennel ideas are:
- give daily socialization, exercise, toys,
social contact basic behavior play, grooming,
(reduce social training, food and socialization
isolation) puzzles, and - additional
introducing a enrichment for
variety of scents long term stay
to the
environment

Play Groups - recommended - recommended - recommended

for enrichment for enrichment for enrichment
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Results and Analysis

Across the guidelines and regulations, there were two different purposes behind them.

The first and third guidelines were meant to describe the ideal care given by an animal shelter to

reduce the most stress. They take the most scientific information into consideration and describe

what should be done to reduce stress in the dogs in the most detail, outlining the highest

standards of care that should be provided. On the other hand, the second and fourth guidelines

show the minimum standard of care that shelters must adhere to. They outline what shelters must

include while not going into as much depth as the other sets of regulations. The different

perspectives when making these guidelines could influence how shelters run and the treatment

given to the dogs to reduce their stress. It is possible that shelters may take minimum standards

of care and commit to doing just that without additional interventions to reduce stress in dogs.

This has a negative impact on the wellbeing of the animals, and could put them under increased

amounts of stress that could be avoided. On the other hand, shelters using ideal standards may be

unable to accommodate as many animals because of the increased time and labor costs

associated with maintaining a high standard of care that is the most ideal but not completely

necessary for some stress reduction while not the maximum possible.

The two ideal guidelines both are for a wider audience than the minimum standards ones.

They are intended to reach more shelters, and do not have a specific location to hold to a

standard, likely giving them the ability to describe the best conditions for an animal shelter rather

than enforce rules. They both emphasize the importance of using a foster care system and

providing more resources for the public such as education, explaining how even with stress

reducing approaches, animal shelters are not the best place for dogs to be and they should try to

keep dogs out of them as much as possible. In addition, they both emphasize the importance of
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paying attention to the individual dog's needs and using them to make decisions rather than only

following their recommendations. Also, they both bring up the importance of keeping noise

levels to a minimum as loud noises stress dogs out, so having a quiet environment is more

beneficial to their welfare.

However, the ideal guidelines do not always agree or contain the same information. The

first set recommends not quarantining dogs upon their intake unless necessary for infectious

disease while the third directs quarantine to happen for seven to ten days. This difference may be

from the first being the most focused on stress relief while the third balances feasibility and is

more of a guide to setting up a shelter. In addition, the first example discusses the importance of

handling the animals in a safe and stress free way that the third does not acknowledge. It is

unknown what this discrepancy is due to. The third set of guidelines is the only one to mention

giving a dog a name when they arrive in the shelter as the first offers the alternative of a number.

Having a name helps individualize dogs and may make them more adoptable. Plus, the third uses

two trips outside a day for exercise while the first only makes one necessary. This difference has

an unknown origin; however, taking dogs outside means having more human contact which is a

beneficial thing for them. These two sets of guidelines are the most similar, but there are also

commonalities with the fourth set as well.

In the fourth set of guidelines, there are aspects of the two ideal sets that made their way

into the minimum standards of care. All three bring up the beneficial use of playgroups of

multiple dogs for enrichment and socialization in order to reduce stress. Having this kind of

social contact and ability to be with others of their own species is beneficial for dogs who are not

extremely reactive and distressed when with other dogs because they are social animals. Going

along with play groups, it recommends co-housing as a possibility to reduce stress and increase
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socialization with dogs who get along with one another under careful supervision. The three

guidelines also discuss the importance of foster care to give dogs a break from the stress of being

in a shelter and for dogs who need extra attention they would not receive in a shelter. Another

commonality is the emphasis on enrichment and providing it regularly. They all recommend

various activities for enrichment and write about its importance, unlike the second example.

Enrichment is a large factor for decreasing stress as it gives dogs something to do during the day

and makes them use their brain, tiring them out and making them more satisfied. Also, they all

discuss the necessity of having natural light for the animals or something similar that mimics it

which can reduce stress and be more calming than harsh lighting. Similarly to the first set, it lists

important things to consider when handling the animals, highlighting the importance of paying

attention to them and going at their pace. This reduces trauma of being handled and makes it as

low stress of an experience as possible. The third and fourth sets discuss the importance of

assessing the dogs for behavioral problems, something the first set of guidelines recommends

against. This could be due to the third and fourth being more shelter friendly and realistic for

what shelters need to do while the first is the ideal which may not be feasible for each shelter

even if it is the most research backed.

The two describing minimum standards of care, the second and fourth sets, have one

major similarity with what they leave out. Neither of them mention the importance of keeping to

a daily routine while the first and third guidelines emphasize their importance. Daily routines are

extremely beneficial to reducing the stress of dogs in shelters as it gives them something

predictable to look forward to and lets them know when they are to be fed and can rest. Having a

daily routine lets them have more stability in a time when their world has completely changed,

and not including the need for one can have a negative impact on their welfare.
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One major difference between the two sets of minimum standards of care is the author. In

the second set, the guidelines were written by the Maryland Department of Agriculture who,

unlike the rest of the authors, was not a welfare group. This likely influenced the lack of

information present in it since welfare groups are more concerned with giving animals the best

possible experience in their situation and causing them the least distress than a government

agency. Time did not appear to be a factor in the lack of information within them as it was

written twelve years after the oldest document, the third, which had much more information on

reducing stress for the dogs. The fourth set of guidelines more closely mirrored the first and third

of ideal standards of care while the second set contained the bare minimum. It barely mentioned

enrichment and had no mention of foster care, playgroups, co-housing, or daily husbandry. These

guidelines are not designed with the stress level or mental well being of the animals in mind, and

dogs housed under them could greatly benefit from having more substantial information written

about how to best provide for them. There is little research going into these standards, leaving it

up to the individual shelters what they do to reduce stress for their animals. This can create a

disparity between conditions, some closer to the ideal while others are closer to these ones

because there is not a legal requirement for them to improve. Therefore, it would be beneficial

for these regulations to be revised and the minimum standard of care elevated with more

techniques for stress reduction based on research such as enforcing a daily routine,

acknowledging the importance of foster care, and promoting individual treatment.

Discussion

Guidelines for animal shelters can come from different origins and have different

purposes behind their instructions. Groups promoting welfare of the animals in question
 23

generally have higher standards they want shelters to adhere to while those setting minimum

regulations are less focused on making the stay as stress free as possible. Depending on which

place an animal shelter gets their guidelines and which they care about following more, shelters

can have very different standards of care for their dogs. Improving all guidelines to include more

information about stress reduction and how to do that for their dogs based on research done in

the subject could reach more shelters and bring the overall standard of care up and stress level

down.

Conclusion

In the past, animal shelters have introduced methods of relieving stress for the dogs

staying in them, but these should be reexamined under a scientific view to see how effective they

truly are. Guidelines shelters are run by should have input from animal welfare groups in order to

ensure the highest possible quality of life for shelter dogs. The use of classical music and

pressure wraps in kennels may help, but it is imperative to pay attention to the individual dogs

when adding stimuli and other enrichment to their lives for the maximum benefit. Through

introducing a habituation program and utilizing foster care when possible, the overall effects of

the shelter may be lessened, leading to a less stressed dog. Stress can worsen behavioral

problems which makes people less likely to adopt them, and in the long term it can lead to

negative health implications, so it needs to be reduced as much as possible to give dogs a chance

to be rehomed faster. Animal shelters are stressful environments, so it is key to take steps to ease

this stress and give dogs a more likely chance of having a better future.
 24

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Appendix

Animals Asia, & Humane Society International. (2007, November). Basic Management

Guidelines for Dog and Cat Shelters.

https://www.animalsasia.org/assets/pdf/1%20Basic%20Management%20Guidelines%20for%

20Dog%20and%20Cat%20Shelters.pdf

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https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals/animal-welfare-victoria/domestic-animal

s-act/codes-of-practice/code-of-practice-for-the-management-of-dogs-and-cats-in-shelters-an

d-pounds#h2-3

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https://mda.maryland.gov/vetboard/Documents/Shelter%20Regs%202019.pdf

The guidelines for standards of care in animal shelters. second edition. (2022). Journal of Shelter

Medicine and Community Animal Health. https://doi.org/10.56771/ASVguidelines.2022

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