Rescue dogs will be better-matched with their new owners thanks to UQ research.
Better behaviour assessment could be the key to more successful adoptions and reducing risk of euthanasia for shelter dogs, according to new University of Queensland research. School of Veterinary Science PhD candidate Liam Clay is collaborating with RSPCA Queensland to make behavioural assessments better at reflecting shelter dogs' true behaviours, and their adoption suitability. "Shelters need to find out why dogs have been surrendered; identify dogs with behaviour issues that can include high levels of arousal, fear, anxiety, or aggression before putting them up for adoption; and get reliable information to discover the dog's true behaviour," he said. "Behavioural assessments have been used in shelters in Australia and around the world to identify possible behavioural tendencies to help in the re-homing process, and also identify behavioural problems in dogs surrendered to shelters. "We look for subtle behavioural cues using short, structured tests at the RSPCA, longer-term monitoring, and adoption survey information. "We're comparing in-kennel behaviour with assessment information to recognise early behavioural problems in the shelter which may continue once a dog is re-homed." Shelter dogs get second leash of life from The University of Queensland on Vimeo. Mr Clay said dogs exhibited behavioural problems for a number of reasons (often related to anxiety, stress, boredom, or fear), and the role of assessments was to discover those behaviours and why the dog might be exhibiting them.
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