In defense of canine behavioral assessments in shelters: Outlining their positive applications

Behavioral assessment of dogs is performed at shelters worldwide, often in an attempt to identify dogs that may have behavior problems after adoption. However, the assessment components have been shown to have unknown or in some cases limited predictability for exhibition of problems in the new home, with generally good predictability for sociability and friendliness aspects of assessment, but weaker predictability for with problem behaviors. Despite the fact that some components of commonly used assessments have not been shown to be valid particularly with respect to problem behaviors, we believe that they can usefully contribute to an understanding of dogs' behaviors when combined with history from the previous owner, and shelter volunteer and staff observations. Learning about a dog's behavior may allow the dog to be matched with an adopter's requirements and help the adopter to understand the dog. Some assessments can identify dogs with problem behaviors and these dogs can be directed to a behavior modification program. If staff are adequately educated and uniform assessments are used across shelters, continual monitoring of behavior can identify welfare issues and other challenges that may highlight problems within a shelter that contribute to welfare concerns for the dogs. We conclude that shelters should focus on using standard behavior assessments in conjunction with other tools to improve shelter practices and potentially mitigate behavior issues.