Do Canine and Human Personality Assessments Predict Successful Adoptions?

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study was to investigate whether dog personality, human personality, and dog–human personality domain combinations predict successful adoption of dogs. First, we investigated the level of consistency of the Monash Canine Personality Questionnaire-Revised (MCPQ-R) on five different dog personality domains (Extraversion, Motivation, Training Focus, Amicability, and Neuroticism) by comparing the ratings of relinquishers and new adopters (n = 136 relinquisher–adopter pairs). The intra-class correlation, ranging from –0.12 for Motivation to 0.24 for Amicability, indicated low consistency between both groups of raters. Second, we evaluated the correlation of dog personality domains and adopter personality domains, utilizing the MCPQ-R and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) (n = 173 relinquisher-rated MCPQ-R/IPIP pairs; n = 136 adopter-rated MCPQ-R/IPIP pairs). Spearman correlation coefficients showed weak associations between human and dog personality across all dog–human joint personality domains (ranging from –0.11 to 0.16). Third, we evaluated the association between the personality dimensions of the MCPQ-R/IPIP and the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) (n = 185). The regression results indicated that among the five dog personality domains, Training Focus showed the strongest (negative) correlation with LAPS score, indicating that human–animal attachment increased when the percentage of Training Focus of dogs increased, in both rater groups. Fourth, dog personality, human personality, and dog–human personality domain combinations did not have good discriminative ability for post-adoption attachment and retention, with the area under the ROC curves ranging from 58 to 80% (n = 185). In summary, the mechanisms leading to a successful adoption of a shelter dog is complicated and personality (both dog and human) alone cannot sufficiently determine it. A multifactorial approach may include pre-adoption conversation-based interviews and post-adoption support services such as education about positive reinforcement and force-free training methods.

KEYWORDS:

• Animal shelter
• attachment
• dog adoption
• dog personality
• human–animal interaction
• human personality

Acknowledgements

This research was sponsored by the Maddie’s^® Shelter Medicine Program at Purdue University. The authors extend gratitude towards the staff, volunteers, and board members at the Clinton County Humane Society and the Humane Society of Indianapolis for their support of this project.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this study was generously provided by Maddie’s Fund^®, whose mission is to revolutionize the status and wellbeing of companion animals (www.maddiesfund.org).