Can putting dogs in kennels damage dogs psycologically? A recent article compates behavioural, cognitive and physiological indicators of welfare in short and long-term kennelled dogs. While the article looked primarily at shelter-kennelled dogs, the findings are just as valid for owners whose dogs have to spend extended periods of time in a boarding kennel (eg due to long term travelling commitments).

“A large number of dogs are housed in dog kennels for a proportion of their lives. Rehoming centres work to provide these dogs with a new owner with the ultimate aim of improving long-term dog welfare, but some dogs can spend months or years in this environment before finding their new home. The experience of being housed in kennels can be stressful for dogs as a result of factors such as the restricted environment, the noise and unsuccessful attempts to establish contact with other dogs or people.

 This study examined the amount of stress that 28 dogs that had been housed in the shelter for a short time (more than one week, but less than 3 months) experienced when compared to 28 dogs that had been housed in the same environment long term (more than 6 months) using a cognitive bias test, as well as measurements of urinary cortisol, behavioural observation and staff assessment.

 It was found that, conversely to the author’s expectations that dogs housed long term would experience a lower level of welfare, there was no difference between dogs that were kennelled for short and long-term periods. The authors discuss these findings and offer reasons why this may be the case.

 There were some behavioural differences noted between the two groups however, as identified by shelter staff, as dogs which had been housed for more than 6 months were less likely to play with unfamiliar people, were more likely to bark or growl at other dogs and play with objects when with dogs.

 The authors suggest that these may be reasons for failure of dogs to be homed, rather than consequences of long-term kennelling.

 Overall, this study suggested large individual variation in measures of welfare and behaviour, but few differences between dogs housed for more than 6 months as compared to those housed for shorter periods. This may suggest that the welfare of dogs is influenced more by specific aspects of their individual kennel experience rather than the overall time spent in a kennel environment and the authors suggest further research to examine this in more detail.

Titulaer M, Blackwell EJ, Mendl M et al (2013) Cross sectional study comparing behavioural, cognitive and physiological indicators of welfare between short and long-term kennelled domestic dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 147:149- 158.

Thanks to RSPCA AUSTRALIA SCIENCE UPDATE – ISSUE 42 – OCTOBER 2013 for bringing this to our attention…