The Effect Of Removal On The Behaviour And Physiology Of Shelter Dog Partners

Dogs are routinely housed in pairs in animal shelters to reduce stress because they are a social species. This study examined whether separation of these pairs due to euthanasia or adoption produced stress. Dogs were separated after spending 7-8 weeks together. Their hormone and antibody levels were measured and their behavior was observed. Changes were found in immune response and some behaviors after separation, suggesting that it may be stressful.

[Abstract excerpted from original source.] Canis familiaris) are a highly social species and within a shelter environment pair-housing is recommended to prevent the stress associated with social isolation. Separation of individuals which may have formed bonds in this environment is a usual occurrence, as a result of rehoming or euthanasia. To investigate the impact of separation, the behaviour, cognitive bias, faecal S-IgA and cortisol levels were examined in 12 adult pair-housed dogs, maintained in a private animal shelter. Prior to separation, dogs engaged in more affiliative than agonistic behaviour with conspecifics (means of 3 and 0.1% of time respectively). Following separation, increased activity was observed in the form of more running and grooming (P = 0.02), circling (P = 0.006), figure of 8 movement (P = 0.01), posture changes (P = 0.003) and stretching (P = 0.005), and less play behaviour was observed (P = 0.01). Secretory IgA increased (P = 0.02) after separation (mean = 443.7 ± 182.5 ng/mL; before separation mean = 370.1 ± 108.2 ng/mL). Cortisol concentrations were not affected by separation (P = 0.26, mean before separation = 792 ng/g; mean after separation = 874 ng/g). There was no indication from cognitive bias testing that the dogs’ emotional valency was affected, as latencies to reach ambiguous cues before and after separation did not differ significantly (P = 0.33). These results demonstrate that separation of a dog from a conspecific negatively affected behaviour and stimulated the immune system, changes which could be indicative of stress.”