Perceived Adoptability Of “Challenging” Dogs
Each year, millions of dogs enter U.S. shelters in need of a permanent home. Adopters typically go into a shelter with preferences for a certain appearance or personality type, meaning shelters often have a hard time finding homes for dogs who don’t fit the mold. In particular, research shows that medical issues, behavioral issues, or histories of abuse prevent many dogs from being adopted.
The authors of this study wanted to find out exactly what kind of influence these issues have on would-be adopters. In a survey, they asked 752 U.S. respondents whether they would adopt a dog. Those who said yes were shown photos of six purebred dogs with one of six different descriptions — a major or minor medical issue, a major or minor behavioral issue, a history of abuse, or friendliness. For example, descriptions included “This dog has diabetes” (classified as a major medical issue) and “This dog pulls on the leash and jumps up on people” (classified as a minor behavioral issue).
After viewing the photos, respondents were asked how likely they would be to adopt each dog, as well as how much benefit each dog would receive from their care, and concerns about the costs and effort of caring for the dog.
Dogs described as friendly were perceived as more adoptable and less demanding than dogs described as having medical or behavioral issues. However, when comparing medical and behavioral issues, the authors noticed a significant divide based on gender. Women were more likely to adopt a dog with medical issues over a dog with behavioral issues, while men showed a preference for dogs with behavioral issues over dogs with medical issues.
Furthermore, dogs described as having a history of abuse were viewed as more adoptable and less demanding than dogs with medical or behavioral issues. The authors speculate that abused dogs may appear more adoptable because people feel more compassion for dogs with a sad backstory, and are drawn to the idea of rescuing a dog from a bad situation.
Participants who had a dog or grew up with a dog viewed dogs as more adoptable across the board. Younger people and married people also viewed dogs as more adoptable in general. Finally, larger dogs were viewed as significantly more adoptable than smaller dogs. Among the dog photos, the Yellow Lab was seen as most adoptable, followed by a Border Collie, Jack Russell Terrier, Maltese, Husky, and Pug.
The survey asked about hypothetical adoption in an online setting, meaning that the findings may not reflect the choices people make in actual adoption settings. Furthermore, the study relied on photos of purebred dogs, and the authors only asked people about four very specific behavioral and medical issues. In other words, there are many different behavioral and medical issues a dog may have, and it’s unclear whether people’s responses would change if the dogs were described with a different behavioral or medical problem.
Nonetheless, the authors argue that companion animal advocates can use this information to increase the chances of adoption for “challenging” dogs. For example, The finding that dogs with histories of abuse are seen as just as adoptable as other dogs shows that shelters can still find homes for these dogs, perhaps by appealing to people’s compassion or the idea of rescuing a dog from a tragic background.
The authors conclude by emphasizing the importance of transparency and education in the adoption process. Shelters can mitigate concerns over medical or behavioral issues by being fully transparent with adopters and recommending solutions like medical resources, training classes, or written behavior plans.