Behavioral features of dogs adopted in northern-central Italy from south

Abstract

In Italy the phenomenon of “relays” has spread considerably aiming to move dogs from the southern regions to the central-northern areas for adoption, due to dogs’ uncontrolled reproduction and abandonment that feeds the population of strays in those regions. Introducing these dogs into household can cause behavioral problems that may endanger their welfare and disrupt human-animal relationship. An online multiple-choice questionnaire was created to explore behavioral features and most common behavioral issues of “dogs from south” adopted by northern-central Italy families. A descriptive analysis was performed. 1177 responses were collected. Most dogs (65.9%) were adopted via “relay” and 60.1% of the dogs spent some time in shelter before adoption. Most of the dogs (66.5%) were adopted before the age of one year; 41.6% of dogs lived in apartments. In 69.8% of dogs, the pre-adoption life was unknown. About 50% of the dogs showed problem relaxing, and 13.7% played rarely or never. Regarding fear behavior, 12.3% of dogs showed discomfort towards 4 or more stimuli; the most frequently reported categories are loud noises, unknown people and urban traffic. 13.1% of dogs showed excessive vocalizations, destructivity, panting/pacing, reactivity when left alone at home. However, 69.1% of owners affirmed that their dog’s behavior improved in the post-adoption period. The findings underscore the importance of raising public awareness about the risks associated with impulsive adoptions. Pre-adoption information on the possible behavioral problems and behavioral assessment of stray dogs could help reduce returns to shelters and improve the welfare of both dogs and adopting families.