The Potential Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Animal Adoptions in an Italian Shelter
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Ethics Statement
2.2. Dog Kennel
2.3. Animals Enrolled in the Study
2.4. Training Program
2.5. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Age-Dependent Dog Adoptions of the Analyzed Kennel
3.2. Impact of the Training upon Dog Adoptions
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Activity | Aim |
---|---|
Luring technique | Dogs are required to follow the human hand, which is considered a non-aversive target and/or movement to be done. Of note, in this way dogs experience positive emotions. The present activity underpins many others, involving control and direction signals. |
Nose work activity | Aroused dogs learn to perform olfactory research following the verbal signal of “Search”, with the aim of lowering the state of emotional activation. Olfactory research improves the concentration attitude, and places the dog at the most appropriate emotional level for learning process. |
The command “sit” | Dogs acquire a dog trainer-guided sitting posture, by means of non-verbal communication. |
Management of the leash | Dogs learn to walk in a cooperative manner with the human, without tugging, nor pulling. |
The command “stay” | Dogs are trained to be in awaiting state (no action required), as much as they can, and far from the trainer, until something will happen. The longer they stay the better they perform this activity. |
Recall | Dogs learn to return to the human when recalled. They receive a treat, a cuddle, a compliment or start playing a game they like together with the trainer. |
Feel safe during touch | Dogs are caressed in the direction of the hair, at first avoiding the head, tail and paws and preferring the trunk. The aim is to potentiate the pleasure of tactile contact, discovering where that subject prefers to be caressed. |
How to improve intraspecific socialization | Dogs are required to experience pleasure when spending some time together with dogs housed in different boxes, modulating their impulsivity, aiming at mastering a good intraspecific communication. Dogs are chosen by their personalities and compatibility. |
The command “give the paw” | Dogs learn to give the paw to the human, when required. |
Number of Dog Adoptions | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Non-Trained Dogs | Trained Dogs | ||||||
Group | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | Total |
Juvenile | 142 | 106 | 57 | 73 | 64 | 125 | 567 |
Young-adult | 42 | 42 | 22 | 38 | 50 | 61 | 255 |
Adult | 21 | 13 | 22 | 36 | 48 | 30 | 170 |
Senior | 3 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 42 |
Total | 208 | 163 | 108 | 157 | 174 | 224 | 1034 |
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d’Angelo, D.; Sacchettino, L.; Quaranta, A.; Visone, M.; Avallone, L.; Gatta, C.; Napolitano, F. The Potential Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Animal Adoptions in an Italian Shelter. Animals 2022, 12, 1759. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141759
d’Angelo D, Sacchettino L, Quaranta A, Visone M, Avallone L, Gatta C, Napolitano F. The Potential Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Animal Adoptions in an Italian Shelter. Animals. 2022; 12(14):1759. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141759
Chicago/Turabian Styled’Angelo, Danila, Luigi Sacchettino, Angelo Quaranta, Michele Visone, Luigi Avallone, Claudia Gatta, and Francesco Napolitano. 2022. "The Potential Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Animal Adoptions in an Italian Shelter" Animals 12, no. 14: 1759. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141759