McGuire Betty, Guy Bailey, Garland Miles, Jackson Alexandra
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Mar 17;15(6):856. doi: 10.3390/ani15060856.
Length of stay is an important metric for animal shelters, and studies have identified physical characteristics of dogs, and some behaviors, that predict length of stay. Although many shelters include leash walks when introducing dogs to potential adopters, it is unknown whether behaviors during harnessing and walking influence length of stay. During 707 walks of 120 dogs at a New York shelter, we recorded excitable behaviors, such as jumping on handlers, grabbing the leash, and pulling on the leash, whose measures of prevalence were largely unknown for shelter dogs. We also examined whether dog demographic characteristics predicted behaviors and whether behaviors predicted length of stay. During harnessing, jumping on handlers had the highest prevalence (45%), while during walking, pulling on the leash was most prevalent (86%). Dog age was the most common demographic predictor of behaviors, with jumping on handlers and total pulls/walk decreasing with age. Grabbing the leash predicted length of stay, with longer stays for dogs that displayed this behavior. These two findings suggest that it would be beneficial for shelter staff and volunteers to focus training efforts on younger dogs and those that grab the leash.
住院时长是动物收容所的一项重要指标，并且研究已经确定了狗的身体特征以及一些行为能够预测住院时长。尽管许多收容所在向潜在领养者介绍狗的时候会安排牵绳散步活动，但尚不清楚套上挽具和散步期间的行为是否会影响住院时长。在纽约一家收容所对120只狗进行的707次散步过程中，我们记录了兴奋行为，比如扑向训导员、抓咬牵绳以及拉扯牵绳，而这些行为在收容所狗只中的普遍程度此前基本无人知晓。我们还研究了狗的人口统计学特征是否能预测行为，以及行为是否能预测住院时长。在套上挽具期间，扑向训导员的情况最为普遍（45%），而在散步期间，拉扯牵绳最为常见（86%）。狗的年龄是行为最常见的人口统计学预测指标，扑向训导员以及每次散步的总拉扯次数会随着年龄增长而减少。抓咬牵绳能预测住院时长，表现出这种行为的狗住院时间更长。这两项发现表明，收容所工作人员和志愿者将训练重点放在幼犬以及那些抓咬牵绳的狗身上会大有裨益。
