Assessing the welfare of shelter dogs by studying their sleep/rest patterns.

Abstract

An animal shelter can be a stressful environment for dogs. Inclusion in a shelter can lead to welfare impairment with short and long term effects. In order to monitor the level of well-being a change in sleep- or resting patterns could be used as an additional indicator. This study examined sleep/rest quality and quantity and stress-related behaviour in a group of shelter dogs, in combination with urine cortisol: creatinine ratio (UCCR) and body weight. The research group consisted of 32 dogs. In 5 dogs, changes in sleep/rest quality and quantity and in stress-related behaviour were examined using video images recorded the first night after intake in a shelter and again after 2 weeks. In the other 27 dogs only urine cortisol: creatinine ratio (UCCR) and body weight were examined. After intake at the shelter, dogs went through more and shorter sleepwake cycles than laboratory dogs and dogs in domestic situations had done in a previous study. After two weeks in the shelter, dogs slept/rested more, had longer sleep/rest periods and showed fewer sleep disturbances than during the first 48 hours after admission to the shelter, although none of these differences were statistically significant. After two weeks the UCCR had dropped significantly (p=0,001), as had the body weight (p<0,001). Stress behaviours occurred less frequently, but this decrease in frequency was not significant. Although no significant differences were found (possibly due to the small sample size) in sleep/rest patterns and stress-related behaviour in dogs between the first night after inclusion in the shelter and 2 weeks after that, all parameters point in the same direction, namely that animals on entering a shelter experience much stress at first but seem to adapt to life in the new environment within a couple of weeks. So, in conclusion, it looks as if monitoring sleep/rest patterns could be a possible indicator for animal welfare.