Medical, Behavioral, and Abuse Status Characteristics: Predictors of Perceived Adoptability, Appeal, and Resource Demands of Shelter Dogs

ABSTRACT

Animal shelters commonly experience difficulties finding homes for dogs with pre-existing medical or behavioral issues. The purpose of this study was to investigate the various factors that contribute to people’s willingness to consider adopting dogs with different behavioral and medical needs and backgrounds. A web-based survey was created using the Qualtrics platform. The sample size for this study was (n = 752). Results from generalized linear mixed models and latent regression models showed that, overall stimulus, dogs described as having behavioral issues were viewed as less adoptable, less appealing, and more demanding of resources than dogs described as having medical issues. However, while women perceived dogs with behavioral issues as less adoptable than dogs with medical issues, men viewed dogs with behavioral issues as more adoptable than dogs with medical issues. Dogs described as friendly were perceived as most adoptable followed by (in order) dogs with an abuse history, dogs with allergies, and dogs that jumped/pulled. Dogs with diabetes or separation anxiety were perceived as least adoptable. Dogs described as having a history of abuse were viewed as more adoptable, more affectively appealing, and less demanding of resources than dogs with either medical or behavioral issues. Participants who currently had a dog or who were raised with a dog as a child tended to view stimulus dogs as more adoptable than their counterparts who didn’t currently have a dog or who didn’t have a dog as a child. Married persons viewed dogs as more adoptable than unmarried persons, and younger persons viewed dogs as more adoptable than older persons. Understanding the attitudes/beliefs of potential dog adopters toward various medical and behavioral issues provides animal rescue and adoption groups with valuable information on how best to market dogs who have medical or behavioral problems. Shelters can offer potential adopters training classes for dogs with behavioral problems and “how-to” educational classes for those who adopt dogs with medical problems. The purpose of this study was to examine the various factors that contribute to people’s willingness to consider adopting dogs with different behavioral and medical attributes and backgrounds. There are few extant research studies related to the perceived adoptability of dogs with pre-existing medical and behavioral problems.

KEYWORDS:

• Abuse
• adoption
• canine
• dog
• human–animal interaction
• medical/behavioral characteristics

Dogs hold special appeal to humans as companions, family members, service providers, and workers. In the US, dogs are the most frequently owned pets (APPA, 2020; AVMA, 2018) and thanks to community education and awareness initiatives that promote adoption from animal shelters and rescue groups, adoption rates of canines from such sources have been rising slowly (Rowan & Kartal, 2018). Despite these promising trends, people still prefer to adopt purebred and younger dogs (Pricenomics, 2015) and often are resistant to rehoming potentially adoptable dogs that may have medical, behavioral, or abuse histories. The current study therefore addresses the question of whether dogs described as having medical issues, behavioral issues, or abuse histories differ in their perceived adoptability, affective appeal, and perceived demands on the resources of their potential owners.

According to a recent pet owners’ survey, there were approximately 89.7 million dogs owned in the US in 2017 (Bedford, 2019), and the American Pet Products Association (APPA, 2020) reported that 63.4 million households in the US own a dog. Additionally, individuals are not hesitant to spend money on their pets. In 2019, $95.6 billion dollars (USD) was spent on companion animals and the APPA (2020) estimates an increase of spending to $99 billion for 2020. Dog owners, on average, spend approximately $1400 (USD) annually on their pets. These statistics affirm the importance that individuals and families place on their companion animals.

Factors Contributing to Dog Adoption

Existing evidence suggests that potential dog adopters look for dogs that match their personality type. Curb et al. (2013) surveyed 88 dog owners and found that the participants matched their pet on four characteristics: willingness to share a possession, gratification in taking part in running outside, propensity to be destructive, and likelihood of harmonizing with others. Overall, dog owners showed that they were more likely to adopt a dog that had similar personality traits to themselves.

Siettou et al. (2014) examined characteristics that influenced people in the UK to adopt a shelter dog. Factors that were found to be important were dog age, size, coat length, and pedigree status. Friendliness toward children and other pets living in the household also were important to the adopter. Behavioral traits in the dog that were a concern to the potential adopter were fearfulness, adjustment issues (to the new environment), or poor training.

In another study of a sample of 234 potential pet adopters in Canada (O’Connor et al., 2016) participants were provided with a questionnaire on lifestyle, animal-care knowledge, and adoption expectations. Compared with potential adopters who were looking to adopt a pet cat, those who wanted to adopt a pet dog showed higher expectations for the pet’s behavior (i.e., wanting a more well-behaved pet). Additionally, it was found that potential adopters’ animal-care knowledge was positively associated with their expectations of the effort required for pet ownership. This study emphasized the importance of matching adopters’ expectations to the appropriate pet to reduce the potential for future relinquishment or rehoming.

A study conducted in Australia (Marston et al., 2005) used phone interviews to examine experiences of 62 new dog owners following adoption of a dog that had been relinquished to a shelter. The data indicated that adopters’ dog selection was influenced by dog size and general appearance/behavior. Adopters tended to prefer calm, friendly dogs. Problem behaviors that were reported after adoption included hyperactivity, incompatibility with current resident animals, and pulling on leash. Escape behaviors were associated with problems related to being separated from the owner.

In another study (Hill & Murphy, 2016), animal-care professionals were administered surveys that included vignettes describing an adoption scenario, and they were asked to rate the extent to which they believed the described adoption would be successful (defined as keeping the dog in the home and not relinquishing it). Characteristics that were influential in perceptions of adoption success were dog size (adoptions of small dogs were viewed as more likely to be successful), personality, behavior (adoptions of confident or outgoing dogs were viewed as more likely to be successful), and extent of obedience training (adoptions of dogs with more training were viewed as more likely to be successful). The dog’s level of activity also was a significant trait in the likelihood of being adopted. Additionally, characteristics of the dog owner in the vignettes were related to perceived success of adoption. Owners who were described in the vignettes as highly active and those who did not have children or other companion animals were viewed as more likely to experience a successful adoption. Notably, the largest observed decrease in perceived adoption success was observed for descriptions of owners who often left their dog alone.

Other research has looked at factors that are related to the success of dog adoptions. Mondelli et al. (2004) carried out a study of individuals who adopted dogs (6 months of age or older) from a shelter in Italy, and assessed the reasons for relinquishing the dogs. Their data showed that the majority of returned dogs were male, even though more females were adopted than males. It was observed that, compared with study participants without a yard, those with a yard were better able to manage the dogs’ behavioral problems, and also kept their dog for a longer period.

Diesel et al. (2008) conducted a follow-up survey on owners of 5750 dogs that had been rehomed from a dog welfare charity in the UK, and examined factors that were related to success of the adoptions. Their results showed that behavioral issues were an indicator for poor adoption success. The owners had a high rate of dog relinquishment if the dog was aggressive and the owner didn’t seek advice or help. In contrast, owners who attended training classes showed an increased ability to keep the dog in the home and achieve a successful adoption. Another study conducted by Wright et al. (2007) showed that prospective adopters may discriminate against and not adopt dogs who behaved poorly (nonsocial, aggressive, jumping, etc.) in the kennel. They also found that traits that adopters looked for were friendliness, approachability, and lack of aggressiveness.

Research conducted by Gates et al. (2018) in New Zealand studied 61 dog adoptions. These adoptions were analyzed to identify the most common problem behavior and the owner’s response to that behavior. Seventy percent of the dogs in the sample had at least one reported behavior problem. The most common problem behaviors identified were overly energetic movements, poor manners, and destruction of property, but 87% of the study participants were not concerned about their dogs’ behaviors. Dog training contributed to dog adoption success. Lord et al. (2008) reported that the most common medical problems in newly adopted dogs were respiratory tract diseases and the most commonly reported behavioral problem was inappropriate elimination. The animals in this study were 4 months of age or older.

A study by Murphy et al. (2013) asked veterinarians to rank 120 medical and behavioral disorders in dogs as to whether the dog was healthy, treatable, manageable, or unhealthy, and to provide their opinion of what owners would do with dogs that presented these problems. The authors also conducted a parallel survey of 424 dog owners. The survey queries were about their relationship with their pet, willingness to provide medical/behavioral interventions, and willingness to commit financially to such interventions. Data from both sources were in agreement and showed a willingness by owners to treat a disorder as directed by the veterinarian and to spend money on veterinary services. The study results additionally showed that owners were willing to commit to treatment for their dogs, even when they had a past experience in which a pet did not recover from a disorder or illness.

Methods

The Northern Illinois University Institutional Review Board (IRB) provided ethical approval to conduct this research. The MTurk platform (Keith et al., 2017; Shank, 2015) was used, and all participant responses were confidential.

Instrumentation

To collect data on individuals’ perceptions of the affective appeal and resource demands of various dog health/wellness attributes, we created a web-based survey using the Qualtrics survey platform. Participants first provided informed consent by selecting their agreement to participate on an initial, informed consent page. A subsequent survey page then asked whether they, at the present time or any future time in their lives, would consider adopting a dog. Each of those persons who responded “yes” to this query then was sequentially presented with six distinct photos (see Figure 1) representing a variety of dogs. Photos were obtained from two public domain image sites (Wikimedia and Pexels). Each photo was paired with one of six dog descriptions (see Table 1) that portrayed the dog as having a major or minor medical condition, a major or minor behavioral issue, a history of abuse, or as friendly toward people and other animals. Each respondent was presented with each of the six photos, where each photo was paired with one of the six above described descriptions. The order and pairing of the photos/descriptions was randomized. Associated with each photo/description pair was a set of eight statements about the perceived affective appeal and resource demands of that dog (see Table 2), where each statement was paired with five ordinal Likert response options, ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree. Participants also were asked to indicate their gender, age, marital/civil status, family income, education level, place of residence, whether they currently had a dog, and whether they had a dog as a child.

Figure 1. Dog photos used in the survey.

Table 1. Dog descriptions used in the survey.

Description	Description type
1. This dog has diabetes. The dog will need a special diet and insulin	Major medical
2. This dog has allergies and dry, flaky skin. The dog would benefit from medicated shampoo and an occasional oral medication	Minor medical
3. This dog has separation anxiety (i.e., anxiety when left alone). The dog may destroy property and would benefit from behavioral training	Major behavioral
4. This dog pulls on the leash and jumps up on people. The dog would benefit from obedience training	Minor behavioral
5. This dog was rescued from an abusive situation by animal control officers	Abused
6. This dog is friendly with people, dogs, and cats	Friendly with others

Table 2. Statements about perceived adoptability, affective appeal, and resource demands.

Statement	Statement type
1. If I were looking for a dog to adopt, I would consider adopting this dog.	Affective appeal
2. I would be concerned about the costs involved in caring for this dog.	Resource demands
3. I feel an emotional attraction to this dog.	Affective appeal
4. This dog would benefit from my care.	Affective appeal
5. This dog would require more of my time than most dogs.	Resource demands
6. I would enjoy caring for this dog.	Affective appeal
7. This dog would require more of my effort than most dogs.	Resource demands
8. Most other people looking for a dog to adopt would consider adopting this dog.	Affective appeal

Participants/Data

Participants included 958 respondents recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk (“MTurk”) crowd-sourcing website (United States only), who received an incentive ($.50 USD) after submitting a completed survey. Among those submitting a survey, 121 cases were removed for displaying “bot-like” characteristics including highly similar IP addresses and identical or very similar (and often nonsensical) responses to open-ended queries on the survey. (Note: As these likely were “bots,” these cases did not correspond to 121 unique individuals.) In addition, 77 cases were removed for displaying one or more of the following characteristics: (1) no variability in responses to ratings of the dog photos/descriptions, (2) responses to open-ended survey queries that consisted of plagiarized, “copied-and-pasted” content from identified web sources (e.g., humanesociety.org), or duplicate IP addresses. Among the respondents, two individuals identified as “other” gender and six individuals responded that they preferred not to identify their gender. Because these very small sample sizes precluded the ability to make reliable inferences about these gender groups, these eight cases were removed from the analytic sample. Finally, only those respondents who indicated that they would, at this time or at some future time in their lives, be open to the possibility of adopting a dog were included in the analytics sample. The final analytic sample consisted of 752 cases.

Table 3 shows the characteristics of the analytic sample. Participants were fairly balanced by gender (54% women), were primarily married or cohabiting (65%), and resided in suburban areas (46%). A large majority of respondents currently had a dog (71%), and also reported having a dog as a child (85.2%). Most (58%) were 21–39 years old. The most common family income range was $50K–$60 K, and 41% of respondents had a 4-year college degree.

Table 3. Sample characteristics.

Characteristic	Frequency	Percent
Gender
Male	345	45.9
Female	407	54.1
Total	752	100.0
Marital/Civil Status
Married or cohabitating	486	64.6
Not married / not cohabitating	266	35.4
Total	752	100.0
Residence
Suburban area	348	46.3
Rural area	190	25.3
Urban area	214	28.5
Currently Have a Dog
Yes	537	71.4
No	215	28.6
Total	752	100.0
Family/Caregivers Had Dog When a Child
Yes	641	85.2
No	111	14.8
Total	752	100.0
Age
20 years or younger	7	0.9
21–30 years	234	31.1
31–39 years	205	27.3
40–49 years	148	19.7
50–59 years	100	13.3
60–69 years	47	6.3
70–79 years	10	1.3
80–89 years	1	0.1
Total	752	100.0
Family Income
Less than $10,000	31	4.1
$10,000–$19,999	52	6.9
$20,000–$29,999	65	8.6
$30,000–$39,999	86	11.4
$40,000–$49,999	84	11.2
$50,000–$59,999	121	16.1
$60,000–$69,999	58	7.7
$70,000–$79,999	70	9.3
$80,000–$89,999	45	6.0
$90,000–$99,999	48	6.4
$100,000–$149,999	72	9.6
$150,000 or more	20	2.7
Total	752	100.0
Education
Less than high school	5	0.7
High school graduate	64	8.5
Some college	154	20.5
2-year degree	70	9.3
4-year degree	309	41.1
Master's degree	129	17.2
Professional or doctoral degree	21	2.8
Total	752	100.0

Analysis

To assess the effects of the dog descriptions and participant characteristics on one specific indicator of a dog’s affective appeal – its perceived adoptability – generalized linear mixed- modeling first was carried out, where the repeatedly measured outcome of perceived adoptability (i.e., responses to statement 1 in Table 2) was clustered within respondents. An ordinal logistic link function appropriate for the ordinal nature of this outcome was used. The primary fixed effects of interest were the description types (i.e., major medical, minor medical, major behavioral, minor behavioral, abused, or friendly with no issues), coded as a set of binary indicator (i.e., “dummy”) variables (0 = characteristic not present, 1 = characteristic present). We additionally examined the effects of the dog descriptions by aggregating the two medical issues descriptions (the “major” and the “minor” medical condition) into a single, overall “medical issues” category, and likewise aggregating the two behavioral issues descriptions (the “major” and the “minor” behavioral) into a single, overall “behavioral issues” category. These categories were not intended to be representative of all medical conditions, but simply were labels for these specific conditions. Respondent-level covariates included age, gender, family income, educational level, current dog ownership, and whether the respondent had a dog as a child. The specific dog photos used also were coded as a set of 0/1 dummy variables. However, it should be noted that the photos were chosen to represent a range of dog breeds, sizes, and colors, and this range of photos was used to introduce natural variability into the results. However, the effects of these various characteristics were not a focal interest in this study (e.g., there was no intent to examine the effects of breed, size, color, or other characteristics of the photos). Further, the randomized design of the study negated any potential confounding effects of such photo characteristics on the variables of interest in the study.

Next, to assess the effects of the dog descriptions and other covariates on (1) the perceived overall affective appeal of the dog and (2) the perceived resource demands of the dog, a mixed-effects latent regression model was constructed and fitted using robust maximum likelihood estimation, where the perceived overall affective appeal and perceived resource demands each were considered as two latent outcomes, each measured by responses to the corresponding statements shown in Table 2. The predictors were the same as those used in the generalized linear mixed-model.

Results

Table 4 shows the results from a generalized linear mixed-model predicting the perceived adoptability of a dog from the dog description and other covariates. As these results show, compared with dogs described as friendly with others, dogs with each of the other descriptions were viewed as significantly less adoptable (each p < 0.001). Additionally, pairwise comparisons using a Bonferroni correction showed that, with one exception, each pair of dog descriptive types differed significantly, with friendly dogs viewed as most appealing to adopt, followed by (in order) abused dogs, dogs with allergies, and dogs that jumped/pulled. Dogs with separation anxiety and diabetic dogs were least appealing to adopt, and did not differ significantly from each other. Examining the effects of participant characteristics, younger persons showed more interest in adoption than older persons, married/cohabiting persons showed more interest than those who were not married or cohabiting, those who currently had a dog indicated more interest in adoption than those without a dog, and those who had a dog as a child showed more interest in adoption than those who hadn’t had a dog as a child. This result is consistent with prior research (Serpell, 1981). No statistically significant effects on adoptability of the dogs were observed for participant gender, family income, education, or location (urban, suburban, or rural).

Table 4. Results from regression predicting “If I were looking for a dog to adopt, I would consider adopting this dog” from dog descriptors and other covariates.

Predictor	B	SE(B)	z
Demographics
Age	–0.148	0.043	–3.468***
Married or co-habiting	0.318	0.125	2.553*
Female (vs. Male)	–0.015	0.112	–0.133
Currently have a dog	0.356	0.128	2.775**
Family income	–0.036	0.021	–1.721
Education	–0.028	0.045	–0.620
Suburban (vs. Urban)	–0.109	0.134	–0.814
Rural (vs. Urban)	–0.172	0.158	–1.087
Had dog as a child	0.320	0.156	2.042*
Dog Description (compared with “friendly” dog)
Abuse history	–0.552	0.106	–5.210***
Allergies	–1.149	0.104	–11.007***
Diabetes	–2.127	0.107	–19.847***
Jumps / pulls on leash	–1.505	0.105	–14.356***
Separation anxiety	–2.066	0.107	–19.301***
Photo (compared with Photo #1)
Photo #2	–0.342	0.100	–3.403***
Photo #3	–0.502	0.099	–5.079***
Photo #4	–0.641	0.101	–6.360***
Photo #5	–0.161	0.100	–1.616
Photo #6	–0.204	0.099	–2.051*

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Differences in perceived adoptability also were evident among the six dog photos shown in Figure 1 with, at the sample level, Photo #1 (Yellow Lab) being perceived as most adoptable, followed by (in order), Photo #5 (Border Collie), Photo #6 (Jack Russell Terrier), Photo #2 (Maltese), Photo #3 (Husky), and Photo #4 (Pug). Examining pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni corrections, it was observed that Photo #1 (Yellow Lab) differed significantly from Photos #2 (Maltese), #3 (Husky), and #4 (Pug), while Photo #3 (Husky) differed from all other photos except Photos #2 (Maltese) and #4 (Pug). Compared with the proportion of variability in perceived adoptability explained by the dog description involving behavioral and medical issues (R² = 0.151), however, differences among the dog photos accounted for relatively little outcome variability (R² = 0.013). As an additional analysis, we examined results from a generalized linear model that included the effect of dog size on perceived adoptability. This analysis showed that the larger dogs (Yellow Lab, Husky, and Border Collie) were perceived as significantly more adoptable (b = 0.164, p = 0.008) than the smaller dogs (Pug, Maltese, and Jack Russell Terrier), although the magnitude of this effect was very small (R² = 0.002).

Table 5 shows the results from a generalized linear mixed model assessing whether the perceived adoptability of dogs described as having medical problems (overall) differed from dogs with behavioral issues (overall), or from other dog types. These results showed that, dogs described as having behavioral issues (jumping/pulling or separation anxiety) were viewed as significantly less adoptable than dogs with medical issues (allergies or diabetes). Dogs with either medical or behavioral issues also were viewed as less adoptable than dogs with abuse histories, or dogs that were described as friendly with others. As an additional analysis, we examined the cross-level moderating effect of gender on the association between dog descriptions and adoptive appeal. This analysis showed that a significant interaction was evident (B = –0.33, p = 0.018). Specifically, women were more likely to prefer adoption of a dog with medical issues over one with behavioral issues, while men viewed adoption of a dog with behavioral issues more favorably than medical issues.

Table 5. Results from regression predicting “If I were looking for a dog to adopt, I would consider adopting this dog” from medical vs. behavioral descriptions and other covariates.

Predictor	B	SE(B)	z
Demographics
Age	–0.144	0.042	–3.464***
Married or co-habiting	0.306	0.121	2.522*
Female (vs. Male)	–0.013	0.109	–0.117
Currently have a dog	0.349	0.125	2.788**
Family income	–0.035	0.020	–1.700
Education	–0.027	0.044	–0.626
Suburban (vs. Urban)	–0.099	0.130	–0.757
Rural (vs. Urban)	–0.159	0.154	–1.030
Had dog as a child	0.306	0.153	2.008*
Dog Description (compared with medical issues)
Behavioral issues	–0.144	0.068	–2.122*
Friendly with others	1.604	0.093	17.186***
Abuse history	1.061	0.088	12.105***
Photo (compared with Photo #1)
Photo #2	–0.325	0.100	–3.249**
Photo #3	–0.494	0.098	–5.019***
Photo #4	–0.619	0.100	–6.174***
Photo #5	–0.163	0.100	–1.640
Photo #6	–0.202	0.099	–2.044*

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

A multilevel latent variable regression model next was fitted to the data to examine how dog characteristics and the other covariates simultaneously predicted overall perceived affective appeal and overall perceived resource demands of a dog. The measurement model showed good fit to the data (χ²₍₅₆₎= 845.82, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.07, SRMR = 0.085). Within-person reliability (omega) coefficients for each construct exceeded 0.80, and between-person reliability coefficients exceeded 0.90, indicating good reliability. When the structural model predicting overall perceived affective appeal and overall perceived resource demands was fitted, this model showed good fit to the data (χ²₍₁₅₂₎ = 1895.87, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.050, and SRMR = 0.046). Examination of the structural weights (Table 6) showed that, for both overall perceived appeal and overall perceived resource demands, each dog description – prior abuse history, allergies, diabetes, pulls/jumps, and separation anxiety – differed significantly from dogs described as friendly with others, with the dog descriptions accounted for 13.9% of the within-person variability in overall perceived appeal, and 23.6% of the variability in overall perceived resource demands, which correspond to “medium” and “large” effect sizes, respectively (Cohen, 1988).

Table 6. Multilevel latent variable regression predicting perceived affective appeal and perceived resource demands of dogs from dog descriptions and other covariates.

	Perceived affective appeal			Perceived resource demands
Predictor	B	SE(B)	z	B	SE(B)	z
Demographics
Age	–0.005	0.018	–0.298	–0.036	0.016	–2.23*
Married or co-habiting	0.034	0.047	0.721	0.137	0.046	3.002**
Female (vs. Male)	0.079	0.045	1.764	0.024	0.043	0.575
Currently have a dog	0.023	0.048	0.485	–0.031	0.044	–0.712
Family income	–0.003	0.008	–0.328	–0.016	0.008	–2.067*
Education	–0.020	0.019	–1.087	0.025	0.017	1.491
Suburban (vs. Urban)	0.008	0.052	0.149	–0.080	0.048	–1.649
Rural (vs. Urban)	–0.008	0.066	–0.124	–0.109	0.062	–1.748
Had dog as a child	0.058	0.064	0.912	0.025	0.055	0.449
Dog Description (compared with “friendly” dog)
Abuse history	–0.216	0.059	–3.676***	0.585	0.049	11.961***
Allergies	–0.506	0.058	–8.741***	0.575	0.051	11.204***
Diabetes	–0.925	0.067	–13.774***	1.046	0.067	15.662***
Jumps/pulls on leash	–0.681	0.059	–11.616***	0.609	0.051	12.054***
Separation anxiety	–0.964	0.066	–14.700***	0.958	0.064	14.981***
Photo (compared with Photo #1)
Photo #2	–0.208	0.066	–3.167**	–0.039	0.049	–0.798
Photo #3	–0.294	0.062	–4.736***	0.045	0.047	0.957
Photo #4	–0.353	0.068	–5.23***	–0.094	0.049	–1.933
Photo #5	–0.079	0.063	–1.252	0.015	0.047	0.325
Photo #6	–0.117	0.063	–1.865	–0.067	0.048	–1.400

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Specifically, dogs described as friendly with others were perceived as more appealing and less demanding of resources than every other dog type. Pairwise comparisons of the dog descriptors (Table 7) showed that, for the outcome of perceived affective appeal, all pairs of dog descriptions differed significantly from each other except for (1) diabetes and separation anxiety, and (2) jumps/pulls and allergies. For the outcome of perceived resource demands, each pair of dog descriptions differed significantly, except for (1) abused, allergies, and jumps/pulls, and (2) diabetes and separation anxiety. Comparing the dog photos, the order of perceived appeal of the various dogs paralleled the order of perceived adoptability in the previous analysis, with Photo #1 (Yellow Lab) again being viewed as most appealing, and Photo #2 (Pug) again being perceived as least appealing. Regarding differences among the photos in perceived resource demands, Photo #3 (Husky) was perceived as most demanding of resources, followed by Photo #5 (Border Collie), Photo #1 (Yellow Lab), Photo #2 (Maltese), Photo #6 (Jack Russell Terrier), and Photo #4 (Pug). Additional analysis showed that, when compared with the smaller dogs (Pug, Maltese, and Jack Russell Terrier) the larger dogs (Yellow Lab, Border Collie, and Husky) were perceived as both more appealing (b = 0.101, p = 0.001), but also more demanding of resources (b = 0.087, p < 0.001). Among the participant characteristics, younger persons, married/cohabitating persons, and those with lower family incomes were more likely to express concern about these resource demands than older, non-married/non- cohabitating, and higher-income persons. No statistically significant participant effects were observed on the latent outcome of perceived affective appeal.

Table 7. Pairwise dog description comparisons for latent outcomes of perceived affective appeal and perceived resource demands.

	Abuse	Allergies	Diabetes	Jumps/pulls	Anxiety
Affective Appeal
Allergies	*
Diabetes	*	*
Jumps/pulls	*	ns	*
Anxiety	*	*	ns	*
Friendly	*	*	*	*	*
Resource Demands
Allergies	ns
Diabetes	*	*
Jumps/pulls	ns	ns	*
Anxiety	*	*	ns	*
Friendly	*	*	*	*	*

*Statistically significant pairwise difference (p < 0.05, with Bonferroni correction); ns = no statistically significant pairwise difference. The order of affective appeal, from “most appealing” to “least appealing” was (1) Friendly, (2) Abused, (3) Allergies or Jumps/pulls, (4) Diabetes or Anxiety. The order of perceived resource demands, from “least demanding” to “most demanding” was (1) Friendly, (2) Abused, Allergies, or Jumps/pulls, and (3) Diabetes or Anxiety.

Results from the multilevel latent variable regression model (Table 8) showed that dogs described as having behavioral issues were viewed as less affectively appealing than dogs with medical issues. Also, dogs described as having an abuse history were viewed as having more affective appeal than dogs with either medical issues or behavioral issues. These distinctions accounted for 11.4% of the data variance. When perceived resource demands was considered as the outcome, dogs described as having behavioral issues did not differ significantly from dogs with medical issues. Also, dogs described as having an abuse history were perceived as significantly less demanding of resources than dogs with either medical or behavioral issues. These descriptors explained 17.4% of the variance in ratings. An additional cross-level interaction model examining moderating effects of gender revealed that, although both women and men viewed dogs with behavioral issues as less affectively appealing than dogs with medical issues, this difference was more pronounced among women than men (B = –0.30, p < 0.001). Also, for the outcome of perceived resource demands, a significant moderating effect of gender (B = 0.18, p < 0.001) was observed whereby women tended to view dogs with behavioral issues as more demanding of resources than dogs with medical issues, while men tended to view these two dog types as equally demanding of resources.

Table 8. Multilevel latent variable regression predicting perceived affective appeal and perceived resource demands of dogs from medical vs. behavioral descriptions and other covariates.

	Perceived affective appeal			Perceived resource demands
Predictor	B	SE(B)	z	B	SE(B)	z
Demographics
Age	–0.005	0.018	–0.270	–0.038	0.016	–2.309*
Married or co-habiting	0.033	0.047	0.706	0.14	0.046	3.037**
Female (vs. Male)	0.08	0.045	1.772	0.023	0.043	0.538
Currently have a dog	0.023	0.048	0.476	–0.030	0.044	–0.687
Family income	–0.003	0.008	–0.303	–0.017	0.008	–2.116*
Education	–0.020	0.019	–1.092	0.026	0.017	1.528
Suburban (vs. Urban)	0.008	0.052	0.155	–0.081	0.049	–1.658
Rural (vs. Urban)	–0.008	0.066	–0.122	–0.110	0.063	–1.752
Had dog as a child	0.059	0.064	0.916	0.024	0.055	0.44
Dog Description (compared with medical issues)
Behavioral issues	–0.109	0.039	–2.748**	–0.024	0.027	–0.894
Friendly with others	0.709	0.056	12.632***	–0.800	0.046	–17.439***
Abuse history	0.495	0.051	9.637***	–0.220	0.033	–6.587***
Photo (compared with Photo #1)
Photo #2	–0.205	0.052	–3.955***	–0.042	0.036	–1.163
Photo #3	–0.296	0.048	–6.195***	0.048	0.033	1.421
Photo #4	–0.352	0.055	–6.452***	–0.095	0.036	–2.642**
Photo #5	–0.082	0.046	–1.772	0.019	0.035	0.542
Photo #6	–0.119	0.046	–2.562*	–0.064	0.035	–1.856

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Discussion

Adoptability of Dogs with Medical Versus Behavioral Issues

Dogs described as friendly were viewed as more adoptable than dogs described as having medical or behavioral issues. Overall, dogs described as having behavioral issues were viewed as less adoptable and less affectively appealing than dogs described as having medical issues. However, an important distinction was observed in the moderating effects of participant gender, which showed that perceived differences in affective appeal and resource demands between dogs with medical vs. behavioral issues were significantly less pronounced in men than in women. Also, notably, when the outcome of perceived adoptability was considered, women showed preference for adopting a dog with medical issues over a dog with behavioral issues, while men were more willing to consider adoption of a dog with behavioral issues than one with medical issues. The findings pertaining to men are interesting, and may not accord with practical reality because dogs with behavioral issues often can be equally or more demanding compared with dogs with medical problems. For example, the monetary costs of long-term behavioral training, socialization, desensitization, and counter conditioning for a multitude of behavioral issues can be as high as for a dog with major medical needs, such as surgery. Similarly, the pharmacologic costs associated with caring for a dog with a behavioral problem, can be as costly as for a dog that needs insulin or antibiotics for a medical problem (Behrend et al., 2018). It appears that women participants in this study were more apt than men to recognize the substantial resource demands (time, energy, and cost) required of a dog with a behavioral issue.

A dog with a behavioral disorder such as separation anxiety can cause severe destruction to a home or vehicle in a very short period of time (Dinwoodie et al., 2019). A possible explanation for men showing greater preference than women for a dog with behavioral issues is that they may intuitively know that medical care can be expensive and, for them, this immediately translates to “vet bills.” Insulin, for example, can be quite costly when administered as a daily or twice-daily dose. Dog insulin (Vetsulin) can cost anywhere from $30 to $150 (USD)/month (AAHA, 2018; Allen, 2019). However, people often don’t realize the time, energy, and monetary cost of working with a dog with behavioral problems. The study conducted by Murphy et al. (2013), in which veterinarians ranked behavioral and medical problems, showed that owners were willing to treat a disorder as directed by the veterinarian and spend money on veterinary services. This makes sense, because the dogs in that research study very likely had attachment bonds with their owners and their owners thus viewed them as family members. The current study examined participant views of adoption preference based on photos and descriptions rather than on a dog with whom they had an attachment bond.

Effects of Abuse History

Dogs described as having a history of abuse were viewed as more adoptable, more affectively appealing, and less demanding of resources than dogs with either medical or behavioral issues. In fact, abused dogs were perceived as very similar to friendly, social dogs. These findings were surprising. A dog who has experienced abuse and neglect often suffers long-term damaging effects on behavior – effects that often are unalterable (McMillan et al., 2015). In contrast, a dog with a major medical disorder such as diabetes will need daily care (e.g., insulin/diet), but with proper treatment can live a long, healthy, and behaviorally asymptomatic life. Again, as with the prior finding that dogs with behavioral issues were viewed as less adoptable, less affectively appealing, and more resource-demanding than dogs with medical issues, it appears that perceptions of dogs with abuse histories may not align with practical reality. A possible explanation for the relative appeal of abused dogs is that (1) people feel compassion for the dog together with an emotional response to the dog’s back-story, and (2) people experience an increase in their self-esteem knowing that they are able to “rescue” a dog from an abuse or neglect situation. It may feel good for an individual to help other sentient beings who are more disadvantaged than they are (McMillan, 2014, 2016; Serpell, 2019).

Effects of Dog Photos

The observed effects of the dog photos on perceived adoptability of dogs showed that the Yellow Lab photo was perceived as both most adoptable and most affectively appealing. This is consistent with many surveys that consistently show Labrador Retriever breeds as among the most popular breeds to adopt in the US (e.g., AKC, 2020). However, the lower perceived adoptability and affective appeal of the Pug and Husky breeds did not parallel the relative popularity of these breeds among the public and suggests other characteristics of the photos may have played a role in how these dogs were perceived. Also, interestingly, although larger dog breeds (Yellow Lab, Border Collie, Husky) were perceived as more adoptable and as having more affective appeal than smaller dogs, they simultaneously were viewed as more demanding of resources. This paradox may suggest that individuals may not view resource demands such as time, energy, and monetary cost as substantial barriers to perceived adoptability.

Effects of Current and Past Dog Ownership

In the current study, participants who currently had a dog or who were raised with a dog as a child tended to view dogs as more adoptable than their counterparts who didn’t currently have a dog or who didn’t have dog as a child, and married persons viewed dogs as more adoptable than unmarried persons. In recent years, dogs have increasingly come to be viewed by individuals as “part of the family” (Carver, 2019). People take their dogs on family outings and are attached to them as loving companions. Adults will raise their children with dogs, just as they themselves had been raised. The results in this study are consistent with these observations. The research shows that children can learn empathy and responsibility by having a pet (Hawkins et al., 2017). There are also emotional, cognitive, and educational benefits that can accrue with pet ownership (Purewal et al., 2017; Serpell, 2005).

Effects of Participant Age

This study found that younger persons viewed dogs as more adoptable than older persons. This is consistent with the assertions of Bhattarai (2016), who claimed that millennials (i.e., those born between 1981 and 1996) are less likely to own a home or vehicle, but more likely to own a pet. Millennials often delay parenthood and request flexible work schedules, which are behaviors conducive to being available to care for a pet. Pets can serve as a proxy for having children, and young people can adopt a dog and experience the benefits of companionship without having to be in committed human relationship (Twenge, 2006). The lessened desire to adopt expressed by older persons relative to younger persons also may reflect, for example, the views of retirees. These individuals may have their sights set on travel due to their increased, post-employment freedom, and pet ownership may serve to curtail some of this freedom to travel. Lastly, seniors may not want a dog at this stage of their life because they don’t want to deal with the grief resulting from the loss of the pet, or with the worry of who would care for their dog should they themselves become ill or pass on (Rotolo, 2020; Tousley, 2014).

However, in the current study, it also was observed that younger persons viewed dogs as more resource-demanding than their older counterparts. It’s possible that this may reflect either decreased available resources among younger persons, or different priorities or demands that younger persons have regarding these resources.

Gender Effects

No significant differences were observed between women and men in their perceptions of the adoptability of dogs, and both genders viewed the dogs as equally affectively appealing and equally demanding of resources. Women and men did differ, however, in the distinctions they saw between dogs with medical issues versus dogs with behavioral issues. Specifically, compared with women, men viewed dogs with behavioral issues as more adoptable relative to dogs with medical issues, while women viewed dogs with medical issues as more adoptable than dogs with behavioral issues. Additionally, to a significantly greater extent than men, women tended to view dogs with behavioral issues as less affectively appealing and more resource demanding than dogs with medical issues, although this effect was small.

In addition, people who were married or cohabiting perceived dogs as more adoptable than people who were single. Owning a dog can involve substantial time demands for feeding, toileting, and exercising. These needs can better be met if there are multiple individuals in a household. Adoption might be characterized by young couples without children as “We’ll get a dog and see if we are ready for kids,” or empty-nesters who enjoy having a dog to love and nurture (Boya et al., 2012).

Limitations

There are several limitations to this study. First, the study relied on self-report survey data. Individuals made judgements about hypothetical dogs and dog characteristics, and they were not in a situation in which they were making actual decisions about adoption. Perceptions about adoption, affective appeal, and resource demands may not always correlate strongly with behaviors pertaining to adoption. However, certain observations were consistent with what might reasonably be expected and lend support to the validity of the findings. Individuals with higher income, for example, expressed less concern with the monetary resources required for dog ownership. Second, the study relied on online participants. These participants perhaps may respond differently to survey items than a participant from another venue: for example, a person at an animal shelter who is actively looking for a dog. Additionally, although the present study controlled for variability in dog appearance by using photos of dogs that differed in size, breed, and color, the study was not intended to focus on how such traits might affect adoptability. Future studies aimed at this purpose would require a much larger number of dog breeds, sizes, and colors to reliably discern their effects on perceived adoptability, affective appeal, and resource demands. Such studies might also investigate how various personal characteristics such as gender, age, and prior dog ownership moderate the effects of a dog’s appearance. Such studies would be important, and would help to further clarify the role that a dog’s appearance plays in individuals’ decisions to adopt and care for dogs.

Future Research

Future research might consider replicating this study and examining other variables such as other types of dog issues (e.g., housetraining issues, shyness) dog age, dog size, or the reason(s) why a dog was relinquished to the shelter for adoption. Other intervening or control variables might include the presence of other types of pets in the home, whether participant potential adopter currently has children, (and, if so, their ages), and participant nationality and cultural background/context.

Conclusions

Dogs with behavioral and medical problems are known to be more difficult for animal shelters and rescue groups to place in adoptive homes. This study found that dogs with an abuse history were not viewed negatively, and in certain respects, this actually might arouse sympathy in potential adopters. Additionally, women are somewhat more willing than men to adopt a dog with medical problems while men view dogs with behavioral problems as more adoptable than women.

By understanding the attitudes of potential adopters, animal shelters and rescue groups are likely to be more successful in adopting animals with pre-existing problems. For example, dogs with an abuse history appear to hold extra appeal compared with dogs with medical or behavioral issues; yet, once adopted such dogs may require as much or more attention and resources. It is vital, then, that animal shelters and rescue groups provide forthright information about the realities of adopting abused dogs to ensure successful placement. With other types of dogs, too, offering positive support can also be helpful, such as shelter staff teaching the adopter about the diabetes diagnosis, how to give insulin, where to access supplies – for example, insulin syringes, insulin – and awareness of signs/symptoms as to when to access veterinary services. This education can be transferred to adoption group “foster parents” who can also assist with training of potential adopters.

Individuals adopting a dog with a prior abuse history should be provided with specific resources and recommendations to address potential issues that may occur after adoption. Offering positive support such as dog training classes, 1:1 training options, in-home training availability, access to a behavior help-line, or a written behavior plan (Blackwell et al., 2016) may be options to help alleviate any potential anxiety among adopters that may exist when adopting a dog with an abuse history or an existing behavior problem. Dogs who jump and have poor manners can be showcased to potential adopters who enjoy the outdoors or are active in sports/exercise. Transparency is of utmost importance so the potential adopter is educated as far as the adopted dog’s needs and how to best care for them to promote a high quality of life.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.