Little is known about normal activity patterns of dogs in the shelter setting, how activity patterns influence adoption, or how activity and behavior develop in the new home after adoption. Our first objective was to compare dogs’ daily activity levels in the first week at the shelter and determine if activity levels were influenced by dog-related factors or contributed to the length of stay in the shelter. Activity was monitored via an accelerometer (Actigraph). Seventy-six dogs were enrolled at a local shelter and activity was monitored for 24 hours per day during the first week. Results revealed that dogs display consistent patterns in activity levels between the first and last day of enrollment (t(74) = 6.67, P = 4.04-9), and dogs that display higher levels of activity stay longer at the shelter as compared to those with low activity levels (t(63) = 2.13, P = 0.04). In addition, male dogs show higher activity levels compared to females (t(70) = 1.70, P = 0.09). Our second objective was to quantify the behavioral changes in newly adopted dogs during the first three months after adoption and to identify the factors that correlate with behavior changes. Among 58 adopters, there were 10 adopters who completed C-BARQ behavioral assessment surveys for all seven post-adoption timepoints between day 3 and week 12. Results revealed that five categories of behavior did not change over time, while nine others varied in their expression between three days and three months. Based on these results, it appears that dog’s activity levels in the shelter and dog’s behavior changes at home were found to be influenced by the dog’s age, sex, and the interactions between the new owners and dogs at home.
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