Birth and Death Rate Estimates of Cats and Dogs in U.S. Households and Related Factors

John C. New, Jr., William J. Kelch, Jennifer M. Hutchison, Mo D. Salman, Mike King, Janet M. Scarlett, Philip H. Kass

Studies report variable factors associated with dog and cat surpluses in the United States. Estimates of cat and dog birth and death rates help understand the problem. This study collected data through a commercial survey company, distributing questionnaires to 7,399 cat- and dog-owning households (HHs) in 1996. The study used an unequal probability sampling plan and reported estimates of means and variances as weighted averages. The study used estimates of HHs and companion animals for national projections. More than 9 million owned cats and dogs died during 1996-yielding crude death rates of 8.3 cat deaths/100 cats in HHs and 7.9 dog deaths/100 dogs in HHs. The study reported twice as many kitten as puppy litters, with an average litter size of 5.73 and 7.57, respectively. The study reported data on planned versus unplanned litters, reasons caregivers did not spay females, disposition of litters, and sources of animals added to HHs. These first national estimates indicate the magnitude of, and reasons for, animals leaving HHs. The crude birth rate was estimated to be 11.2 kittens/100 cats in HHs and 11.4 puppies/100 dogs in HHs.
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Visitor Circulation and Nonhuman Animal Welfare: An Overlooked Variable?

Gareth Davey, Peter Henzi

This article investigates visitor circulation and behaviors within a gallery of primate exhibits in relation to their possible implications for nonhuman animal welfare. When entering a primate house, the majority of visitors (84%) turned right, a pattern upheld throughout all times of the day. These findings demonstrate the existence of the "right-turn" principle, a concept previously identified and investigated in the museum setting. The existence of this circulation pattern in zoos has important implications for the practical management of animal welfare issues because unbalanced or large numbers of visitors at specific enclosures could present a stressful influence. The "direction bias" could not be attributed to demographic or behavioral traits, therefore suggesting that the principle, like similar findings from museum research, generalizes across visitor populations and, therefore, zoos. A visitor sample at another exhibit (located outside the exhibit gallery) did not display a direction bias, suggesting that the marked circulation pattern may be specific to exhibit galleries. The article discusses the significance and consequences of visitor circulation with respect to visitor management and animal welfare.

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The Bond That Never Developed: Adoption and Relinquishment of Dogs in a Rescue Shelter

Francesca Mondelli, Emanuela Prato Previde, Marina Verga, Diana Levi, Sonia Magistrelli, Paola Valsecchi

This study carried out a survey in an Italian shelter to analyze adoptions resulting in the rejection of the newly adopted dog. The results of this study show that the number of dogs adopted and returned was stable during the study, that more females than males were adopted, and that males were more likely to be returned. Almost all the dogs were returned because of behavioral problems, and most were more than 6 months of age. Some dogs were returned more than once, with 20% of the people who adopted the same dog at different times reporting the same behavioral problem. Having a house with a yard, a garden, or a terrace appeared to be important for better management of the dog and influenced the length of adoption. Half of the adopters had previous experience as caregiver for a dog; compared to adopters who had no previous experience, however, they returned their companion animal after a shorter period and because of behavioral reasons. Understanding why adopters return their dogs to shelters is an important step toward attempting to minimize relinquishments and, thus, optimize adoptions.

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Short Communication: Rat's Demand for Group Size

Emily P. Patterson-Kane, Maree Hunt, David Harper

Social isolation compromises the welfare of rats. However, it is not clear how many rats should be housed together under laboratory conditions. Pair housing, sometimes recommended over group housing, may help avoid aggression and disease transmission. Female rats, however, showed the highest average demand for a group size of 6 (versus 1, 2, 4, and 12) when stocking density was maintained at 20 cm2/rat. This finding contributes to work suggesting that rats should be group housed. This article shows that further studies are required into the actual risks of disease and injury associated with group versus pair housing.

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A Fresh Look at the Wolf-Pack Theory of Companion-Animal Dog Social Behavior

Wendy van Kerkhove

A popular perspective on the social behavior of dogs in multiple-dog households sees the dogs' behavior as reflecting the sociobiological laws of the rigidly structured dominance hierarchy that has been described for wolf packs. This view suggests that aggression problems among dogs are natural expressions of conflict that arise whenever dominance status is in contention. One recommended solution has been for the owner to endorse and enforce a particular dominance hierarchy because, on the wolf pack model, aggression is minimized when the structure of the hierarchy is clear, strong, and stable. This article questions the validity of this perspective on 2 principal grounds. First, because it does not seem to occur in the wild, this article suggests the strong dominance hierarchy that has been described for wolves may be a by-product of captivity. If true, it implies that social behavioreven in wolvesmay be a product more of environmental circumstances and contingencies than an instinctive directive. Second, because feral dogs do not exhibit the classic wolf-pack structure, the validity of the canid, social dominance hierarchy again comes into question. This article suggests that behavioral learning theory offers another perspective regarding the behavior of dogs and wolves in the wild or in captivity and offers an effective intervention for aggression problems.

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Comment on van Kerkhove's "Wolf-Pack Theory"

John C. Wright

van Kerkhove (2004/this issue) attempts to address an applied animal behavior problem. A cacophony of issues, however, points to the difficulty of understanding and integrating the scientific literature on principles of animal behavior and conditioning (learning theory). The author's primary focus seems to be on the inappropriateness of "wolf-pack theory" (not a theory at all) to guide treatment programs for the reduction of dogdog (intraspecific) aggression. The author's commentary also includes other topics that deserve critical comment and may be conceptualized within several categories.

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