Use of accelerometers to measure stress levels in shelter dogs

Abstract

Stress can compromise welfare in any confined group of nonhuman animals, including those in shelters. However, an objective and practical method for assessing the stress levels of individual dogs housed in a shelter does not exist. Such a method would be useful for monitoring animal welfare and would allow shelters to measure the effectiveness of specific interventions for stress reduction. In this pilot study, activity levels were studied in 13 dogs using accelerometers attached to their collars. Behavioral stress scores as well as urinary and salivary cortisol levels were measured to determine if the dogs' activity levels while confined in the kennel correlated with behavioral and physiological indicators of stress in this population. The results indicated that the accelerometer could be a useful tool to study stress-related activity levels in dogs. Specific findings included a correlation between the salivary cortisol and maximum activity level (r = .62, p = .025) and a correlation between the urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio and average activity level (r = .61, p = .028) among the study dogs. Further research is needed to better understand the complex relationship between stress and activity level among dogs in a kennel environment.