# Participation in a Short-Term Socialization and Training Program Improved Kennel-Raised Dog Welfare

## TL;DR

A socialization and training program improved the behavior and welfare of kennel-raised dogs, making them more relaxed and less distressed.

## Contribution

This study demonstrates that structured human interaction can significantly enhance the welfare of kennel-raised dogs.

## Key findings

- Relaxed behavior increased by 53% after the program.
- Distressed behavior decreased by 50% following the intervention.
- Principal Component Analysis identified four key dimensions of behavioral change.

## Abstract

Kennel-raised dogs have limited experiences and are exposed to more stressors, so they are more prone to developing fear-based behaviors than dogs raised in a home. Other studies have shown that increased positive interactions with people benefit the welfare of kenneled dogs. We created our Dog Socialization and Training class for undergraduate students to enrich the environments of university teaching dogs. To assess effectiveness, each student rated his/her dog for 20 behaviors early and late in the semester. In between, they socialized and trained their dogs in 36 30 min sessions over 12 weeks. The early behavior ratings were favorable, demonstrating that the dogs were well cared for. Remarkably, after the socialization and training, the ratings for each of the 20 behaviors appeared to improve. The greatest changes were in Relaxed behavior, which increased by 53%, and Distressed behavior, which decreased by 50%. We conclude that the environmental enrichment with positive human interactions was associated with improvements in the dogs’ behavioral profile and these benefits may make them more successful in teaching veterinary students and in their adaptation to future adoptive homes. The strengthening of the dog–human bond can occur at any age and has the potential to improve dogs’ welfare.

Kennel-raised dogs are exposed to more stressors and fewer positive experiences than dogs raised in homes. We created a Dog Socialization and Training class to enrich the environment of university teaching dogs. Undergraduate students (103 total) were assigned a dog (64 total) to socialize and train for at least 36 30 min periods across 12 weeks. Each student used a Qualitative Behavior Assessments (QBA) tool to score 20 different behaviors on a scale of 0 to 125 for his/her dog at the beginning (PRE) and the end (POST) of each of the nine semesters. The PRE QBA scores were high for the ten positive valence behaviors including Relaxed (mean ± SE: 75 ± 6) and low for the ten negative valence behaviors including Distressed (31 ± 3). Following the interactive experiences, QBA scores for all 20 behaviors appeared to improve from 9% to 53% (p < 0.006). Principal Component Analysis identified four dimensions in the QBA scores that were responsible for most of the data variance. Providing kennel-housed dogs with regular, positive human interactions was perceived to increase the dogs’ positive valence towards humans and reduced negative responses. These benefits are expected to enhance the dogs’ teaching effectiveness with veterinary students, adoptability, and future adaptation to new forever homes.