Effects of environmental enrichment on the behavior of shelter dogs

Objective—To determine the effect of food-toy enrichment combined with cage-behavior training on desirable behaviors in shelter dogs and adoption rates. Design—Randomized controlled clinical trial. Animals—107 dogs. Procedures—Dogs placed up for adoption in a municipal shelter were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n = 48) or control group (59). Experimental group subjects were exposed to an environmental enrichment and training protocol consisting of twice-daily cage-behavior training and daily provision of a food-filled toy. Cage-behavior training included operant conditioning via positive reinforcement of desirable behaviors, including approaching the front of the cage, sitting or lying, and remaining quiet when approached. Behavioral observations were performed by a blinded observer in a scan-sampling technique on day 0 (first day on adoption floor) and again on day 3 for experimental (n = 26) and control (32) dogs. Body posture, location in cage, and other behavioral parameters were ...