UTRECHT, Netherlands — Millions of dogs enter animal shelters every single year. Unfortunately, experts believe that number will rise soon as people go back to work — with no one to take care of the dogs they adopted during the coronavirus pandemic. While having to give up a pet for any reason is stressful for humans, a new study finds these jarring changes are just as traumatic for the dogs themselves.
Researcher Janneke van der Laan and her team compared the sleep quality and nighttime activity of 29 shelter dogs and 29 pet dogs in the own homes during this study. Study authors used night cameras and activity trackers on each dog’s collar to follow their movements.
Results show shelter dogs are significantly more restless at night in comparison to the average family dog. Although this trouble sleeping tends to decrease over time, shelter dogs still show more restlessness than pet dogs — even 12 days after entering a shelter.
Interestingly, the team found that smaller shelter dogs, such as Shih Tzus and Chihuahuas, suffer from more stress than their larger shelter-mates. Researchers also note every dogs has their own individual reactions to living in a new environment. While some could barely sleep for days after entering a shelter, others calmed down much faster.
Researchers from Utrecht University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine find it can take days and sometimes weeks for dogs to adapt to entering a shelter. Moreover, shelter dogs experience significantly more stress than pet dogs, especially during their first two nights in a new environment.
Adopting a puppy can be an attractive idea — you get to start out with a four-legged blank slate, and raise it to adulthood. However, people often focus on the “cute” part and forget the reality of raising a puppy: It can be just as intense and difficult as raising a child, and it’s also a full time job.
Sure, it only takes about a year and a half to raise a puppy, as opposed to eighteen (or more) for children, but that can be a year and a half of having things chewed up or peed on, having your rules constantly tested, and having a growing ball of energy rushing around the house.
Dogs also end up in shelters when expectations and reality don’t meet — that little Dalmatian puppy grew up into a large, energetic dog living in a studio apartment, or that lap dog that was so cute in the pet store became uncontrollable and dominant because its cuteness earned nothing but affection, affection, affection, so the dog never had any rules, boundaries, or limitations.
Yes, they may, kennel cough being particularly common. However, most shelters nowadays will also provide you with a voucher for a subsidized or no-cost first vet visit, and the more devastating diseases have vaccines that are routinely provided by the shelter, like the DHPP (Distemper/Hepatitis/Parvovirus/Parainfluenza) shot, as well as a rabies vaccination. Shelters also make sure that dogs are free of fleas and worms, and they provide spaying and neutering as part of the adoption process.
There are shelters that offer a glimpse of the dog’s story, but that’s not necessarily a good thing because, again, humans like to dwell in the past. Whether the dog was abused by children, thrown out of a car, rescued from a dog-fighting ring, or whatever traumatic event she went through, it’s past. Dogs live in the moment.
In fact, many would argue that a mental ailment is often more debilitating than a physical one. Which would you rather endure: an upper respiratory infection or an anxiety disorder? And what if you had both ailments at once—would you expect to recover from your cold quickly if you were also feeling upset and anxious? Can you imagine how it would affect others to be around you when you were sick and anxious?
Human psychology research suggests that our emotional state impacts our cognitive function (i.e., how we process information). For example, people in negative states tend to think negatively—they make negative judgments and have a difficult time coping in times of stress. In contrast, people in positive emotional states typically cope much better. It turns out that if we have a positive outlook, we approach the world with an open mind. We do not feel defeated; we are up for the challenge, we learn better, we go further.
To illustrate this concept, imagine yourself entering a building and being confined to a small cell. As you try to get your bearings and cope with what is happening, you look around and begin to realize that all the other people appear scared or confused. What an unnerving experience that would be—and how different would it be if instead, you looked around and saw people who were relaxed and smiling? Automatically, you would feel better, right? Your outlook would be much more positive.
When confined in an animal shelter, cats and dogs experience a wide range of emotions that profoundly affect their emotional health in the short term and may also have long-term impacts. This is particularly true if they become sensitized to people, places or things that trigger their fear or frustration on an ongoing basis, or when stress and its associated negative emotional states are prolonged.
That is a tall order. Yet our ultimate task is to ensure that our animals feel good because it is crucial for their overall health. It is not only beneficial for them, but also for those around them, because feeling good can literally be contagious. As that positive energy spreads, it helps animals to connect with potential adopters— and that may be their fast-track ticket to a loving home.
How To Tell If Your Rescue Has Been Abused | Lucky Dog
UTRECHT, Netherlands — Millions of dogs enter animal shelters every single year. Unfortunately, experts believe that number will rise soon as people go back to work — with no one to take care of the dogs they adopted during the coronavirus pandemic. While having to give up a pet for any reason is stressful for humans, a new study finds these jarring changes are just as traumatic for the dogs themselves.
Researchers from Utrecht University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine find it can take days and sometimes weeks for dogs to adapt to entering a shelter. Moreover, shelter dogs experience significantly more stress than pet dogs, especially during their first two nights in a new environment.
Researcher Janneke van der Laan and her team compared the sleep quality and nighttime activity of 29 shelter dogs and 29 pet dogs in the own homes during this study. Study authors used night cameras and activity trackers on each dog’s collar to follow their movements.
Results show shelter dogs are significantly more restless at night in comparison to the average family dog. Although this trouble sleeping tends to decrease over time, shelter dogs still show more restlessness than pet dogs — even 12 days after entering a shelter.
“We also saw this restlessness in hormone measurements in the urine of shelter dogs” says Janneke van der Laan in a university release.