2.1. Ethical guidelines
The behavior evaluation was an essential step in assessing dogs’ behavior at this shelter and so the implementation of the behavioral test and the subsequent analysis of test results received full ethical approval from the shelter organization's senior management board.
2.2. Subjects
Dogs at four sites of a regional Massachusetts, USA, animal welfare organization were evaluated using the Match-Up Behavior Evaluation. Results for 668 dogs, evaluated from June 2006 to December 2008, were included in the study. Dogs younger than 4 months were not evaluated using the Match-Up Behavior Evaluation. Dogs were housed singly in kennels which ranged in size from 119 cm × 127 cm to 119 cm × 94 cm, with concrete blocks on three sides and metal caging in the front. In two of the shelter locations, kennels faced each other across an aisle so dogs in those kennels could see other dogs. Dogs were fed two times a day with access to fresh water at all times and either walked two to three times a day by shelter staff or volunteers or were allowed access to separate outdoor runs attached to each kennel. Dogs were provided with soft bedding and a variety of chew and play toys, as appropriate.
As shown in Table 1, there were 266 (39.8%) female dogs, 306 (45.8%) male dogs, and 96 (14.4%) dogs missing all demographic data. There were 243 (36.4%) spayed females and 288 (43.1%) neutered males. The average age at intake was 38.4 months, with the youngest being 4 months and the oldest being 169.2 months (Median = 25.2 months, SD = 34.8). Of the total sample, 426 (63.8%) were identified as mixed breed and 147 (22%) were identified as purebred. Of the dogs identified as purebred, the most common breeds were Pit Bull Terrier (n = 16), Beagle (n = 15), and Labrador Retriever (n = 15). The most common source of the dogs was owner-surrenders: 419 (62.7%) were surrendered.