Marking frequency during intraspecific socialization sessions is related to urinary cortisol levels in shelter dogs

The aim of this study was to determine whether behavioural indicators such as marking frequency and whether cortisol/creatinine ratio (C/Cr) are influenced by three socialization sessions. Six adult shelter dogs were selected: Group 1 (n.3) with adequate social experience and Group 2 with behavioural problems of aggression against humans (n.2) and excessive fear response towards conspecifics (n.1). Spontaneous urine samples were collected for C/Cr after socialization sessions. C/Cr was positively correlated with urinary marking frequency (P