Which Shelter Dogs Wait Longest for a Home
In our 2021 study of 975 shelter dogs, severe food guarding and trouble meeting other dogs added about two weeks to the wait for adoption. Milder guarding made no difference.
Pippa Kok, MS
Founder, UES Pet Concierges
Pippa is a pet care professional with over 15 years of experience with companion animals and wildlife care. She holds a BS from Cornell University in Interdisciplinary Animal Studies and an MS from the University of Florida in Veterinary Medical Sciences, and has co-authored two peer-reviewed studies of shelter dog behavior. She was formerly a Canine Behavior Specialist at the Animal Care Centers of NYC. A regular in neighborhood bird rescues, she was recently featured in Upper East Site for helping save a trapped pigeon.
Today she is most interested in walking dogs with behavioral challenges and chaperoning pets on veterinary visits, where she explains the vet's findings to owners in plain language.
Publications
Peer-reviewed research Pippa co-authored in the Department of Animal Science at Cornell University. Both papers are free to read.
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McGuire, B., Kok, P., Garland, M., Guy, B., Jackson, A., & Haber, S. (2023). Influence of walker sex and familiarity on scent-marking behavior of juvenile and mature shelter dogs. Animals, 13(23), 3649.
On leash walks with 113 shelter dogs, mature males urinated more often when a woman walked them than when a man did, and mature dogs of both sexes were less likely to defecate with a man. The pattern held as the dogs got to know their walkers.
Our plain-language summary · Read the paper · doi:10.3390/ani13233649
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McGuire, B., Chan, J., Jean-Baptiste, K., Kok, P., & Rosenbaum, E. (2021). Results of behavioral evaluations predict length of stay for shelter dogs. Animals, 11(11), 3272.
Using nearly five years of records for 975 dogs at a New York shelter, the study found that dogs rated as showing dangerous behavior in their evaluation waited longer to be adopted. Scores on the food-guarding and dog-meeting tests predicted how long a dog stayed.
Our plain-language summary · Read the paper · doi:10.3390/ani11113272
Articles by Pippa
How Shelter Dogs Behaved on Walks with Men and Women
Adult shelter dogs peed and pooped less on walks with men they didn’t know. What our 2023 study found, and what it means for your dog’s walks.
Freeze-Dried Raw Treats for Puppies: Why We Avoid Them
Freeze drying doesn’t kill pathogens, so freeze-dried raw treats carry extra risk for puppies and the families they live with. Here’s what we recommend instead.