![]() The main reason for dogs being returned to the Dogs Trust in 2005 was behaviour problems (58.6%). Behavioural problems often make dogs more difficult to rehome and are associated with an increased risk of dogs being unsuccessfully adopted. Relinquishment to a rescue kennel environment can in itself cause or exacerbate behaviour problems due to the stressors the dog is exposed to. Behavioural problems accounted for 65.6% of the dogs euthanised in UK rehoming centres in 2009. The most common problem behaviours cited for relinquishment were forms of aggressive or destructive behaviour. , 34.2% of dogs were relinquished to rescue centres due to the owners’ perception that the dog had behavioural problems. Carter and Taylor found that dogs in the Sunshine Coast region of Australia were primarily relinquished due to behavioural reasons (15%) and in a US based study Kwan and Bain found behaviour problems played at least some part in 65% of owner’s decision to relinquish their dog. Problematic behaviours displayed by dogs are one of the most frequent reasons for relinquishment worldwide. Aside from the risk of euthanasia, relinquishment to a kennel compared to the home environment exposes dogs to a number of stressors including social isolation, increased noise levels, spatial restriction and loss of control and predictability, all of which may negatively impact welfare. In 2009, 75% of dogs relinquished to rescue centres in the UK were matched with new owners and 10.4% were euthanised. Companion animal relinquishment is a worldwide problem, for example every year nearly 4 million dogs are estimated to enter rescue centres in the United States (US), more than 100,000 dogs enter rescue centres in Spain and over 200,000 admitted to rescue centres in Australia. These figures are over 10 years old, so this should be considered, but to the authors knowledge no more recent estimations exist. An estimated 129,473 dogs entered UK rescue centres in 2009 and 48% of surveyed rescue centres were running at full capacity for the year. The impact of an intervention offering behaviour advice may be limited by overall levels of advice acceptance by owners and therefore complimentary proactive solutions to reduce behavioural relinquishments should also be considered.Įvery year thousands of dogs are relinquished by their owners to rescue centres or animal welfare organisations (from here on referred to as rescue centres) throughout the United Kingdom (UK). These data suggest that owners are prepared to accept behaviour advice at the point of relinquishment request, so advice interventions could have potential to impact the levels of dog relinquishment to rescue centres. The odds of advice being accepted were 5.755 times (95% CI: 2.835–11.681 p < 0.001) greater for a relinquishment request due to problems with general management behaviours compared to aggression between dogs in the home, representing 4.2% and 20.2% of overall relinquishment requests. The results showed that advice was accepted in 24.4% of relinquishment requests and behavioural problem was a significant predictor of whether advice was accepted ( p < 0.001). The call records of 1131 relinquishment requests were reviewed and analysed to establish if the offer of free behaviour advice was accepted. The aim of this study was to investigate whether free behavioural advice would be accepted at the point of an owner requesting to relinquish their dog for behavioural reasons. Moving forward, additional strategies are needed to enable more owners to keep their dogs in their homes and reduce relinquishment.īehaviour problems are a leading reason for dogs being relinquished to rescue centres across the world every year. Consequently, the stress associated with maintaining a dog in sheltered conditions and rehoming them, and the trauma for the owner was eliminated in a quarter of cases. Offering free behavioural advice reduced the number of dog relinquishments. ![]() The advice was accepted almost six times more often by owners with dogs with general management behaviour problems, compared to owners who had problems with aggression between dogs in their home. Behavioural advice was accepted by 24.4% of the dog owners calling to relinquish their dogs. ![]() ![]() Free behavioural advice was offered to 1131 dog owners at the time of them calling to relinquish their dog to animal welfare charity. Efforts are needed to reduce dog relinquishment, by enabling dog owners to feel comfortable and confident with having them in their home. ![]() Dog owners report that a leading cause for relinquishment are their dogs’ behavioural problems. Annually, thousands of dogs are relinquished to rescue centres globally. ![]()
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