Rescue dogs show few differences in behavior, cognitive abilities, and personality compared with non-rescue dogs

O’Riordan, John; Roth, Lina S.V.

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2023.09.003

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Hence, if affected during the rehoming procedure, the rehomed dogs seem to recover. That result differs from our recent study (O'Riordan and Roth, 2023), where rehomed dogs gazed significantly shorter toward their owner than non-rehomed dogs. However, in O'Riordan and Roth (2023), the owners performed, and video recorded the tests in the dog's home environment, which might have affected the results.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…In the short-term memory test, all groups succeeded to a similarly high degree, which also differs from the findings in O'Riordan and Roth (2023), where rehomed dogs performed better than non-rehomed dogs. However, in this study, the owners/handlers were asked to leave the room for 1 minute, potentially influencing the results, as no dog could maintain eye contact with the baited cup during that time.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 97%

“…In our recent study (O'Riordan and Roth, 2023), citizen science was used to assess behavior and cognitive abilities in rehomed dogs and dogs bought directly from the breeder. In this study, a more controlled assessment was conducted, and importantly, dogs that lived in one of the largest dog shelters in Sweden were also included.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior, long-term stress and relationship to owner in relinquished dogs

Sulonen,

Löf,

Jensen

et al. 2024

Front. Anim. Sci.

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Dog ownership gained popularity during the pandemic. However, there was also a corresponding increase in the number of dogs being relinquished and rehomed. The rehoming procedure is known to be stressful to the dog, but the short- and long-term effects still need to be better understood. This study aimed to enhance our understanding of the short- and long-term challenges dogs encounter during the rehoming process by combining behavioral and physiological measures. The study included 20 relinquished dogs from a Swedish shelter and 30 rehomed dogs, comparing them to 33 control dogs that have been with their owner since leaving the breeder as puppies. All participants performed an unsolvable problem task, eye-contact test, and memory test and hair samples were obtained to analyze cortisol concentrations. Furthermore, dog owners (of rehomed and control dogs) completed a questionnaire assessing their perceived human-dog relationship. These owner-dog dyads also participated in a behavioral synchronization test. The result indicated that shelter dogs had the shortest eye-contact duration in both an eye-contact test and an unsolvable problem task, but there was no difference between the three groups in the short-term memory test or in stress-related behaviors. Analysis of hair cortisol concentrations in the dogs revealed that the shelter dogs had higher long-term stress levels than rehomed dogs, but they did not differ significantly from control dogs. Both rehomed and control dogs synchronized their behavior with their owner, but, interestingly, the owners of rehomed dogs reported a higher emotional closeness to their dogs than owners of control dogs. Consequently, despite the observed short-term effects during the rehoming procedure, this study suggests that rehomed dogs can adapt to their new life and develop a strong relationship with their owner.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 97%