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| Behavioral treatment protocols and the impact of treatment delay on outcomes of fearful shelter dogs� |
| Bailey H Eagan, Kristen Collins, Katherine Miller, Lauren Zverina, Emily Patterson-Kane. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New York, New York, United States |
Research is needed to identify lifesaving interventions for unadoptable, fearful shelter dogs. Study 1 examines the efficacy of a behavioral treatment program, while Study 2 assesses the impact of differential treatment delays on rehabilitation. Both were conducted on fearful ASPCA dogs from 2013–2023 (n=807). Study 2 included a subset (n=409) assigned to delay onset groups of 0, 2 or 4 weeks. � Study 1 results show 85.9% graduated, and 99.5% were adopted. The median weeks in treatment was 12.2 (IQR 14.5-21.1), and length of stay was 152 days (IQR 102-217). Study 2 results of generalized linear mixed models show that a 4-week delay decreased weeks in treatment (β=-0.14, p=0.024) but increased length of stay (β=0.15, p=0.010). Results revealed positive effects of time (log odds=0.43, p< 0.001) and negative effects of 2-week (0.58, p=0.001) and 4-week (0.36, p< 0.001) delays on behavior evaluations compared to no delay, suggesting improvements were not due to time alone. Our research suggests the treatment of fearful dogs in shelters can prove highly effective. Delaying the start of treatment may reduce the amount of treatment time needed but does not reduce length of stay. |