Study says pet kennels are like jails

Matthew Ramsey, The Province
Published: Sunday, January 22, 2006

An international team of dog-behaviour specialists has found that when in a kennel, man's best friend acts a lot like a man in a jail.

Dr. Rebecca Ledger, a Vancouver-based animal behaviourist, says observations show that the brains of dogs react similarly to those of human beings when incarcerated.

Ledger -- along with Jacqueline Stephen of Brunel University in the United Kingdom, Dr. Caroline Hewson of the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island and Dr. Sam Gosling of the University of Texas in Austin -- has made a video aimed at helping kennel and animal-shelter staff keep canine charges as stress-free as possible.

Ledger and Stephen recently published a study that shows two-thirds of dogs observed in kennels in the U.K. demonstrated signs of poor welfare -- from initial fear and anxiety characterized by trembling and loss of appetite, repetitive pacing and jumping as the length of time caged increased, to eventual listlessness and unresponsiveness.

It's a list of issues the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals checks for already.

Dogs can be helped to adapt to kennels or shelters by walking them, playing with them and socializing them with other dogs.

"Although it seems intuitive, it isn't always possible in a kennel environment," Ledger says. "The best thing an owner can do is make sure their dog doesn't stray again."

Methods to prepare a dog for a long-term kennel stay include introducing the animal to the kennel in increments -- a day here, a day there -- so they develop a positive recall of the experience. Ledger says the video will be marketed worldwide.