FEATURE
to rely on owner reports for why the animal was returned , which may or may not be accurate . Research on the accuracy of owner reports in this situation has yielded mixed results .
One possible issue with owner reports is that some people may want to give a socially desirable answer . Another is that one person ’ s expectations of an animal may be very different from those of another person . After all , one person could find a dog behavior acceptable that another finds shocking ( e . g ., one can imagine there would be different possible reactions to housetraining accidents or humping a pillow ). The bottom line is that the lack of agreement between people returning the same dog could potentially be a symptom of a larger reporting accuracy issue .
Not surprisingly , behavior is a huge factor With all that said , behavior issues were the most common reason dogs were returned ( about 36 percent of returns ). Unfortunately , there were no specific data on how often behavior support services
Dogs between two and eight years of age were most likely to be returned , with dogs between six months and two years of age being the next most likely ( teenage dogs , anyone ?). Next came senior dogs . Puppies under six months of age were least likely to be returned . Breed type also played a role . Toy breeds were 65 percent less likely to be returned than herding breeds . Similarly , terriers were 35 percent less likely to be returned than herding breeds .
were being utilized by adopters at Charleston Animal Society . According to a different study done at a different animal welfare center , Hawes et al . 2020 , the majority of returning adopters for that facility were aware of pet support services , but only a minority had used them . In other words , even when the help is available , research suggests that people may not use it .
However , the structure of follow-ups may be important . A paper by Lisa Radosta-Huntley and colleagues ( 2007 ) found that the method of follow up influenced outcomes . Veterinary behavior clients experienced one of two follow-up procedures . The first type was structured follow-up where clients were asked to contact the clinic at 10 , 30 , and 60 days whether or not they needed additional help . Another group of clients had an unstructured follow-up plan where they were simply encouraged to contact the clinic anytime they needed help .
\ Although there was no difference in bite incidence between the two groups , many other measures were influenced by the type of follow-up plan . The structured follow-up clients were more likely to report improvement in aggressive , anxious , and fearful behavior compared to the unstructured follow up group . They were also more likely to say that the clinic staff were accessible , that their accessibility contributed to the dogs ’ positive outcome and that they would return for help if they needed it . Those are a lot of differences for a what seems like a relatively minor change ! Therefore , it ’ s possible that the structure of the follow-up plan could impact how likely adopters are to utilize that resource .
Another common reason for pets being returned was incompatibility with an existing pet . This reason accounted for about 20 percent of the returns in this study , though in prior studies it has accounted for a lower percentage . Nevertheless , these data suggest that adoption counselling should address existing pets . A meeting of existing pets with a new potential pet prior to adoption , or even the opportunity to do an overnight with the new pet at home , might help reduce this problem .
Other reasons for return included factors such as the landlord not allowing pets , a person having medical issues , the family moving , or the pet having medical issues . Puppies were returned at a higher rate for “ housing issues ,” and the authors suggest people may impulsively adopt puppies without consulting their landlord . On the other hand , senior dogs were more likely to be returned due to their own health or the health of the human . This led the researchers to wonder if perhaps older humans adopt older dogs with the idea that they will be easier to take care of .
Did these dogs get readopted ? On the bright side , most returned animals were re-adopted – about 80 percent of dogs , and 90 percent of cats . Readoption was associated with intake age , return reason , return frequency , and sex for dogs . Adult and senior dogs were about four times as likely , and young adult dogs were about twice as likely , to be euthanized after return , as compared with puppies . The return reason predicted the likelihood of euthanasia . Dogs returned due to owner-related factors were only one quarter as likely to be euthanized as those returned for animal-related reasons ( which included things such as behavior issues and health , among other things ).
46 Building Better Trainers Through Education