TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Post-adoption problem behaviours in adolescent and adult dogs rehomed through a New Zealand animal shelter
JO  - Animals (Basel)
A1  - Gates, M. Carolyn
A1  - Zito, Sarah
A1  - Thomas, Julia
A1  - Dale, Arnja
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - 8
IS  - 6
N2  - Problem behaviours in dogs rehomed through animal shelters can jeopardise the long-term success of adoptions. In this study, data from 61 adolescent and adult dog adoptions that occurred through an animal shelter in Auckland, New Zealand, from 1 November 2015 to 31 July 2016 were analysed to describe the frequency of problem behaviours and level of adopter concern at different time points post-adoption. Amongst the 57 dogs with behavioural information available, 40 (70%) had at least one reported problem behaviour, and the most frequently reported problem behaviours were poor manners (46%), destruction of household items (30%), and excessively high energy (28%). Very few dogs showed territorial aggression when objects or food items were removed (2% and 4%, respectively). However, aggression toward people or other dogs was frequently reported (19% and 19%, respectively). Of the 54 adopters that provided a response about their level of concern over their dog’s problem behaviours, 24 (44%) were not concerned at all, 23 (43%) were a little concerned, 4 (7%) were moderately concerned, and 3 (6%) were very concerned. Based on our interpretation of these findings, post-adoption support programmes targeted toward teaching adopters how to correctly train their dogs may be beneficial to increasing adoption satisfaction.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2076-2615
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani8060093
ID  - ref1
ER  -