Effects of Exercise and Human Contact on Animal Welfare in a Dog Shelter
The aim of the study is to investigate the reduction of stress in dogs in municipal shelters through easy-to-implement activities, ie, 25-minute sessions of exercise and human contact, that do not require a significant investment in terms of funding, staff or time. The results demonstrate that the dogs taking part in these sessions have lower salivary cortisol levels (F=121.42; P<0.05) and achieve better scores on a behaviour test (t17=4.27; P=0.001). It can therefore be affirmed that the exercise and human contact protocol proposed in the present study diminishes stress and improves the welfare of dogs housed in shelters.
Menor-Campos, D.J., Molleda-Carbonell, J.M., and López-Rodriguez, R. (2011). Effects of exercise and human contact on animal welfare in a dog shelter. Veterinary Record, 169, 388. DOI: 10.1136/vr.d4757.
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View ResourceTopic(s): Dog to People - Positive Caretaker Interactions, Exercise, Shelter and Rescue, Social Interactions