Good-looking vs. Obedient, Which Would You Rather Take Home? Appearance and Behavioral Predictors Affecting the Adoption of Shelter Dogs in Slovakia

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to investigate the key factors influencing the successful adoption of dogs from dog shelters in Slovakia. The study covered the following factors in relation to individual dogs: time spent at the shelter, age, body weight, sex, coat color, length of the coat, and behavior (specifically intraspecific aggression, aggression toward humans, activity, and fear-related behavior). The survey was conducted in three shelters in the territory of the Slovak Republic. The online and on-site questionnaires of about 162 successfully adopted dogs were collected and were filled in by the shelter staff, those who accepted dogs into the shelter. Non-parametric statistics (Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis H test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons test with correction) confirmed that the most important factors influencing the decision-making process of potential adopters were the age of the dog and its weight. However, we found that the length or color of the coat and sex had no effect on early adoption. While behavior is important during the prospective adopter/owner’s interaction with the dog, it is still not the most important criterion in making a decision.

KEYWORDS:

• Adoption
• decision making
• dog welfare
• public health
• shelter
• stray dogs

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to extend their sincere thanks to Veronika Bou Nader for her support and help with translation to English and to Niamh Dolan for language editing. The authors also thankthe anonymous reviewers for their very useful comments and suggestions.

Additional information

Funding

This research received was funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic, grant KEGA 002UVLF-4/2019.