Restless nights? Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of shelter housed dogs

Laan, Janneke Elisabeth van der; Vinke, Claudia M.; Borg, J.A.M. van der; Arndt, Saskia S.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105377

Cited by 10 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…In an earlier study, urinary cortisol responses in dogs in the shelter were higher than after adoption 30 . Likewise, for this study in-shelter HCC levels were also expected to be higher than post-shelter HCC levels, and higher than HCC of pet dogs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Fifty-two shelter dogs admitted to the largest animal shelter in the Netherlands (Animal Shelter DOA) between October 2018 and August 2019 were included (for demographics, see Supplementary Table 1 ). Exclusion criteria for the dogs to participate in the study are described earlier in more detail 30 , and comprised being affected by a physical health condition, high levels of anxiety- or aggression-related behaviour, being younger than 1 or older than 13 years of age, and being housed in pairs. The final shelter dog group had a mean age of 3.8 years (range 1–13 years), with 18 females (6 neutered, 9 entire, 3 unknown) and 34 males (12 neutered, 22 entire).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Breed labelling of shelter dogs is highly unreliable 32 , 33 , but we labelled the dogs in order to match a control group. Dogs were housed as described earlier 30 : individually, in kennels with a glass-fronted indoor and bar-fronted outdoor enclosure, and kennels were only accessible to staff, volunteers, and the researchers of this study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A control group of twenty pet dogs, balanced for characteristics of the shelter dog group on breed group 31 , size (body weight class), age class 30 , and sex (Supplementary Table 1 ), housed in their regular home environment, was recruited via social media and dog professionals. The pet dog group had a mean age of 3.6 years (range 1–11 years), with 8 females (7 neutered, 1 entire) and 12 males (10 neutered, 2 entire).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Samples were stored and analysed by the University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Utrecht University, the Netherlands, as described earlier 30 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of hair cortisol as an indicator of long-term stress responses in dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

Laan

Vinke

Arndt

2022

Sci Rep

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Shelter dogs are exposed to a variety of stressors. Among non-invasive techniques, hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is suggested an easy to collect biomarker for giving insight into long-term stress responses. We evaluated HCC as an indicator of long-term cortisol responses in dogs in an animal shelter over different chronological time points during sheltering and after adoption. Hair samples were collected from the neck region following a shave/re-shave protocol of shelter dogs (total n = 52) at four different time periods: T1 intake at shelter (pre-shelter period, n = 51); T2 after 6 weeks in the shelter (n = 23); T3 6 weeks after adoption (n = 24); T4 6 months after adoption (n = 22). HCC at T2 was significantly higher than HCC at T1, T3 and T4 (effect of sample collection moment: F3,41 = 12.78, p < 0.0001). The dog’s weight class, age class, sex, reason for admission, kennel history and melanin type also explained HCC variability. No significant difference in HCC was found between shelter dogs T1 and control pet dogs in their own homes (n = 20, one sample, t = − 1.24, p = 0.219). A significant but moderate positive correlation between HCC and urinary cortisol:creatinine ratios was found (т = 0.3, p < 0.001). As HCC increased in the shelter, the use of this non-invasive parameter appears a useful additional tool in dog welfare research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Evaluation of hair cortisol as an indicator of long-term stress responses in dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

Laan

Vinke

Arndt

2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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References

2024

Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists

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Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

van der Laan,

Vinke,

Arndt

2023

Sci Rep

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Dogs in shelters are faced with the challenge of adapting to a kennel after relinquishment and to a novel home after adoption. To measure adaptability of dogs, more feasible behavioural and physiological parameters need to be validated in different contexts. To evaluate nocturnal activity as an indicator of adaptability, we compared nocturnal activity, urinary cortisol:creatinine ratio (UCCR), and body weight changes of sheltered dogs the first period after intake in the shelter and after adoption. Nocturnal activity and UCCRs were significantly lower the first days after adoption than in the shelter. After adoption, nocturnal activity was significantly lower on night 2 than night 1, but not on night 3 and 4, suggesting a form of ‘rebound of resting’ during night 2 in the new home. UCCRs significantly decreased 7 days after adoption. Body weight decreased in the shelter but increased again after adoption. These findings suggest that overall, dogs rest better in a novel home than in a novel shelter but, in both contexts, some form of adaptation takes place. Nocturnal activity measured by an accelerometer differentiated well between shelter and home environments, and corresponded to UCCR responses, which supports usefulness of the method to monitor canine adaptability to novel environments.

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Restless nights? Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of shelter housed dogs

Cited by 10 publications

References 66 publications

Evaluation of hair cortisol as an indicator of long-term stress responses in dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

Evaluation of hair cortisol as an indicator of long-term stress responses in dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

References

Nocturnal activity as a useful indicator of adaptability of dogs in an animal shelter and after subsequent adoption

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