Where do our dogs come from?
Dogs find themselves in rescue for a variety of reasons, data form the 2022 Dogs Trust annual review showed that Dogs trust, the Uk’s largest dog welfare charity received over 51,000 relinquishment requests. The most common reasons for calls were 24% reported unwillingness or unable to cope with owning a dog and 23% said the dog was showing unwanted behaviour. Data in the peer reviewed literature is surprisingly lacking, with the most recent data set being from 2012. The general estimate for relinquishment in the U.K is 90,000 to 130,000 (Clark et al,2012 and Stavisky et al., 2012) but the authors indicated that this could be 2 or maybe even 3-fold.
Behavioural issues have commonly been cited as a risk for relinquishment but there is debate over if these are problem behaviours or natural behaviour that is deemed unacceptable by the owners (Stavisky et al., 2017). A study by New et al. (2000) found that up to 50% of relinquished dogs had behaviour as a contributing factor, with 25% having behaviour reported as a primary factor. A further study by Salman et al., (2000) looked at reason for relinquishment for 1,984 dogs from 12 shelters. 22% of the dogs were relinquished due to Bites and 17% for aggression.
House soiling was also a large issue where behaviour was listed as only part of the reason for relinquishment (18.5%) (Salman et al., 2000)
Another area of research that has been investigated recently is dogs coming in from abroad. The number of dogs being rescue from abroad and rehomed in the UK is increasing which is an area anyone working in rescue needs to be aware of. Whilst most international rescue organisations do provide back up and support there are often cases where U.K rescues step in. Reasons for wanting to adopt internationally are varied but are mainly based around seeing a particular dog online, the perception that dogs from abroad have suffered more than uk dogs and fears of what will happen to those dogs if not adopted (Norman et al., 2020) Experiences in adopting dogs from abroad are varied with some examples in the table attached. Positive experiences included feeling part of a family like community through the chosen rescue, being able to foster prior to adoption and providing dogs a second chance. On the negative side reports include experiences of misinformation such as age and medical conditions, and problem behaviours.
Contradictory to information often discussed on social media over 80% of the dogs in this study did not display aggressive behaviours towards humans and 65% did not show aggressive behaviours towards other animals. The largest proportion of problem behaviours reported were fear of strange noises, recall issues, pulling on the lead and fear of strangers (Figure 3). The conclusion of this study suggested, ‘participants adopt rescue dogs from abroad primarily due to a desire for a dog, usually found online. The dogs are commonly stray dogs taken from the streets in European countries, which seem to adapt surprisingly well to life in the UK. Potential adopters should be encouraged to gain an understanding of health and behaviour implications before adoption and given sufficient support post-adoption. Vets also require guidance as to what to consider when presented with an overseas dog’. Which highlights important information for U.K. rescue to be aware of, from both a promotion of U.K. dogs’ perspective as well as when helping with unsuccessful rehomes. The data from this study may also be useful for behaviour professionals outside of rescue, who may wish to work with owners of dogs from abroad.
Understanding the background of our dogs and where they come from is a key part of successful rehoming. It allows us to think about what information we need to gain from the previous owners, plan for individual housing needs whilst at the centre e.g. paired or single, helps us target assessments to specific behaviours/contexts and gives us ideas about any behaviours that may need work during their stay. This information in turn allows us to best inform the new owners to promote successful adoptions.