The Dog Abandonment Crisis in the US: Real Statistics and Solutions

For my part, I wish we could all agree on something. The few good, ethical, responsible breeders aren't the core of the dog abandonment problem. And so-called "barriers to adoption" from rescues aren't the problem. The dog abandonment (and worse) crisis we face is multi-faceted.

The solution surely begins with being a responsible guardian of the animals in our care. Animal shelters, rescue organizations, and veterinary clinics should continue collaboration. Let me encourage you to consider fostering a shelter or rescue dog, to better promote adoptable dogs. Many rescues and shelters do an excellent job supporting their treasured foster homes.

Barriers to adoption may (or not) be high, based on anecdotal stories with the usual pile on of "this one time" that follows. But based on true, quantifiable statistics (which I'll reference below), too many dogs are neglected. Many are abandoned and never find permanent homes.

Having never purchased a dog, instead I've had success adopting from breed rescue. For rescue personnel it's always about the dogs' well-being. It's also about a good match being made into a promising, stable, and appropriate long-term home.

Purchase a dog for all the right reasons if you see fit. But please be fair and open-minded toward rescue. Avoid openly denigrating rescue, who are volunteers doing the best we can with limited resources.

A sad 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren't enough adoptive homes. I dislike the idea of cleaning up after irresponsible breeders whose unwanted puppies end up in shelters and rescues.

More than that, I dislike the idea of those dogs lingering in overfull shelters. They never experience long-term stability.

So, I continue to support rescue. How I'd love the unrestrained indulgence of supporting an ethical producer of physically healthy and behaviorally sound dogs.

Instead my heart is drawn to rescue, and I've been lucky. Collaboration between all dog lovers is prudent.

Real, quantifiable statistics:

1. Only 1 out of every 10 dogs born will find a permanent home.[1]
2. The main reasons animals are in shelters: owners give them up, or animal control finds them on the street.[2]
3. Each year, approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren’t enough adoptive homes. Act as a publicist for your local shelter so pets can find homes. Sign up for Shelter Pet PR.[3]
4. Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats.[4]
5. According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2% of cats and only 15 to 20% of dogs are returned to their owners.[5]
6. 25% of dogs that enter local shelters are purebred.[6]
7. About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners.[7]
8. It’s impossible to determine how many stray dogs and cats live in the United States. Estimates for cats alone range up to 70 million.[8]
9. Only 10% of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. Overpopulation, due to owners letting their pets accidentally or intentionally reproduce, sees millions of these “excess” animals killed annually.[9]
10. Many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.[10]
11. According to The Humane Society, there are about 3,500 brick-and-mortar animal shelters in the US and 10,000 rescue groups and animal sanctuaries in North America.[11]

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1. The Mosby Foundation. "Truth of what happens to shelter animals everyday." Web Accessed February 23, 2015. ↩︎
2. Towell, Lisa. "Why People Abandon Animals." PETA Prime, 2010. Web Accessed February 23, 2015. ↩︎
3. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Pet Statistics." Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
4. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Pet Statistics." Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
5. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Pet Statistics." Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
6. The Humane Society of the United States. "U.S. Pet Ownership and Shelter Population Estimates." 2012 & 2013. Web Accessed February 23, 2015. ↩︎
7. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Pet Statistics." Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
8. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Pet Statistics." Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
9. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Pet Statistics." Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
10. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Pet Statistics." Web Accessed February 26, 2015. ↩︎
11. The Humane Society. "Pets by the numbers." Web Accessed February 20, 2019. ↩︎

Dog Aging Project Treat Hide and Seek Game

Rosco is enrolled in a community science project that is studying healthspan in dogs. The project is supported by ambitious researchers collaborating between the University of Washington and Texas A&M University. At 16+ years of age, Rosco has much to contribute.

As part of his citizen science duties, Rosco participated in the Treat Hide and Seek game today. Rosco watches while I hide a treat in one of two boxes. After a set amount of time, Rosco searches for the treat. As the wait time increases, Rosco's search behaviors might change. Our task is to report Rosco's search behaviors back to the Dog Aging Project's research team. We did exactly that.

The general impression: with longer time to "think it over," Rosco's success rate increased initially. This continued until the final of 14 rounds when he had to wait a full 40 seconds before searching. Then he asked for a break, which we took.

Here's a brief video clip of Rosco playing the Treat Hide and Seek game:

Scentwork: Buried Water, Buried Sand, and Containers

When searching for buried odor in sand or water, odor moves over the side of the container, so you'll often see dogs sniffing along the sides of a buried hide. The odor can catch on the next bin over or on another object if the air is moving or it's windy. Often, buried searches at trials are outdoors.

If your dog identifies a hide and you call alert and the dog moves away from the nose hold, just freeze and wait them out until they return to the nose hold then pay at source. If after identifying the odor and the handler calls "Alert" your dog moves away from the hide, just go with them to continue the search.

Sometimes trials are held on slippery footing, such as polished or finished concrete, which can be tricky for some dogs. It's a good idea to consider boots or special paw protector stickers and practice with them before you need to use them at a trial. Jackie's coach uses RC Pets sport socks for dogs, and Aqumax non-slip paw protectors.

Here's a clip of Jackie playing three searches this week: containers, buried water, and buried sand:

Scent Work Containers

Jackie did multiple container searches in nose work class this week. Searching on and off lead improves Jackie's drive, speed, and leadership of each search in differing situations.

Canine Scent Work

Canine scent work, often referred to as nose work, is the canine sport that mimics the work of detection dogs like those used in search and rescue, law enforcement, and conservation efforts. It harnesses a dog’s natural scenting abilities to search for specific odors, such as essential oils, or even distinguish the scent of their own handler from the smell of other people.

Container Searches

Container searches are a subset of canine scent work where dogs are tasked with locating target odors hidden within a set of containers. The containers vary in size, shape, and material, challenging the dog to discriminate and identify the correct one based solely on scent.

Container searches offer several benefits for dogs and their handlers:

• Mental Stimulation: Dogs engage their minds by focusing on isolating and identifying specific scents amidst distractions.
• Physical Exercise: While mentally taxing, scent work also provides physical exercise as dogs actively search and move around.
• Bonding and Communication: Handlers and dogs build stronger bonds through teamwork and clear communication during searches.

Training for container searches involves teaching dogs to recognize and alert to the target scent through positive reinforcement techniques. Handlers learn to read their dog’s behavior and cues, which indicate when the dog has located the target odor.

Jackie playing multiple container searches:

Proof Is In The Pudding, or In The Chicken Pot Pie

To proof for an obvious and prolonged nose hold: call "Alert!" then move in and pay Jackie at source. Once your dog has learned a solid nose hold, no longer use a marker word "Yes!" but instead just call "Alert!" and pay directly at source.

Proofing Jackie's nose holds while alerting three hides in a container search:

If Jackie breaks her nose hold to look up at the handler when I call "Alert!", simply freeze, wait for Jackie to return to her nose hold, then go in and pay at source. Jackie is paid for holding her nose at source, even while she hears the alert being called.

The tin can game proofs for distractions. Start by putting odor such as lysol or windex on a paper napkin inside a couple tins, and the source odor in another tin. Pay Jackie at source when she nose holds at the correct odor tin. After you pay at source, pick up the odor tin, toss a reset cookie, and replace the tin in a different spot to continue playing.

Move with Jackie around the tin can game, but don't get too close or crowd her. The handler can allow her to search independently while still supporting her by rotating on an imaginary person hole cover while staying in one place.

In this clip we see Jackie starting off very well playing the tin can game, and then she hones in on the food scents (especially the chicken pot pie!). Jackie then displays what I call the classic border collie out-of-body experience: they overthink so hard that they stare off into the distance until they recover to the task at hand.

Jackie proofing for distractions playing the tin can game:

Gradually increase the game's difficulty by adding more tins with food inside -- leftovers from your own dinner for example. Jackie particularly loved the tins with chicken pot pie and a pretzel with peanut butter on it!

The decision to play on or off lead depends on the search space. In a large, open area where the search space is not securely contained with fences or walls, for example, the handler will probably choose to search on lead to maximize time by keeping your dog on lead within the search area.

Jackie searching off lead in an interior search:

Searching off lead tends to increase Jackie's independence and search speed, and is a nice option when searching areas that are large but contained such as a school kitchen or gymnasium, or areas that are small but obviously demarcated such as during the tin can game. When searching off lead, stay within fifteen feet of Jackie with your hands in position as though there is an imaginary lead between dog and handler.

Jackie Nose Work 7.31.24

When teaching nose holds, gradually build duration of the nose hold by waiting at first a split second then mark and reward, then a second and mark/reward, then two seconds and mark/reward, then three seconds and mark/reward; upward to the point that the dog nose holds for several seconds.

Once Jackie understands a reliable several-second nose hold, begin proofing so she holds her nose at source while the handler calls "Alert!"

In scent work class this week Jackie played the 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 Game: a container search that teaches the dog to check each container without skipping any containers. We played different interior searches for multiple hides.

Video clip of Jackie playing interior searches and the 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 game:

30 Day Scent Work Challenge Final Searches

Dogs learn remarkably fast if we allow them to, and if we teach them in a fair and understandable way. When playing scent work, always do a multiple hide search, and always search for a different number of hides each time.

Find three, four, or more hides, and randomly rotate the number of hides in each search, always finding a different number of hides in each successive search. This way Jackie learns she will almost always hear "Find more!" and understands to keep searching.

At this stage in our learning, do three-minute-long searches, and always time each search. If Jackie returns to alert on the same hide, remember to only pay once for any hide; just cue "Find more!" and continue the search. If Jackie returns to the same hide a third time, never pay twice for the same hide, but rather remove that hide from the search.

Jackie and I closed out our 30-day challenge with Odor Recognition Test (ORT) practice, handler discrimination, containers, and even a challenging double-blind interior search set by my nephew while he was visiting!

I told my nephew, who has no experience with dogs or scent work, to "make it easy for her to find." So he hid it up inside the robot vacuum cleaner tower, taped onto the bag full of unemptied-for-weeks vacuum debris (dust, dog hair, dander, human dander, etc)!

Unknown to me before the search, my nephew also "tried out" different hiding areas by placing the scent source in several areas in the room, each time changing his mind, before he settled on a hiding place that suited him. So source spots were lingering throughout the room! Jackie still managed to alert the actual hiding spot source within 35 seconds.

Jackie plays ORT, Containers, HD, and Interior searches in the final days of our 30 day scent work challenge:

High Hides and the "Look up!" Cue

In scent work class this week, Jackie and I learned a new cue, "Look up!" Used when finding source that is hidden two feet, or higher, above the ground. In preparing for trials, measure on your body with a tape measure and mentally mark on your body two, three, four, and five feet.

Circus dog? Nope, just searching a high hide!

For example, if after measuring, your knee on your mental note is about two feet above the ground, while you're searching novice hides, you know that anything below your knee is in play, while anything above your knee is not in play.

If your remembered mental measure says your knee is two feet above the ground, your waist is three feet, your chest is four feet, and your neck is five feet, you'll know by that height on your person to search for in play hides at trials in novice (two feet and lower), advanced (three feet), excellent (four feet), and master (five feet), respectively.

If you walk up to an end table, for example, that is above your knee while doing a novice search, you know that tabletop is not in play. However if you walk past an end table that is below your waist while doing an advanced search, you know that tabletop is in play.

Yep, that's about four feet, so I'm prepared to tell Jackie "Look up!" if I see this object while doing an Excellent level trial search

By measuring and mentally marking where on your body two, three, four, and five feet are, then you easily know what is and is not in play during the search.

The "Look up!" cue tells the dog to search up over their head. Rather than pointing at everything in the search area, instead teach the "Look up!" cue so your dog learns to search high hides as well.

Jackie understanding the "Look up!" assignment!

To first teach the "Look up!" cue, have the dog walk past a series of small, adjustable-height hanging buckets set at about your dog's nose level. Point to the bucket and say "Look up!" then pay when the dog touches the bucket with their nose.

The second time walking past the row of hanging buckets, refrain from pointing and instead just say the verbal cue "Look up!" and mark then pay each time the dog touches the hanging bucket with their nose.

Practice the "Look up!" cue at home on very sturdy items. Hiding food treats on exterior window ledges of varying heights is a good way to practice the "Look up!" cue.

Jackie learning the "Look up!" cue:

Day 7 of 30 Day Scent Work Challenge

In Jackie's nose work class we played four hides. We practiced for our upcoming Odor Recognition Test (ORT) trial where Jackie will find birch, anise, and clove to qualify for competing at further National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW) trials.

In novice level NACSW hides, any of these three odors may be used, while in AKC novice birch is the only odor used until the team reaches advanced level where birch and anise are used.

Today Jackie played interior containers, and interior buried for both sand and water, with good success.

Always allow your dog to lead the search. Don't lead the search if your dog can't find the hide, do a happy exit and then go re-set the hide so it's easier for your dog to find.

Move naturally with Jackie through a search; avoid being rigid. Follow her and rotate on an imaginary person-hole cover with smooth, natural movements.

Keeping your leash taught while searching becomes a signal to Jackie to continue searching, that the search is still in progress. Hold the leash as though it were coming out of the middle of your chest, no higher.

Keep enough positive tension in the leash so the clip stays up off the dog's back and there is a definite pressure as Jackie leans into the harness to search. 

Continue to play the cat food bowl game at home, so that Jackie continues learning that searches sometimes have six hides, sometimes, four, occasionally one. Never play the same number of hides twice in a row. Instead, each search has a different number of hides so Jackie never finds a pattern to follow, and each search is fun and fresh.

Jackie searches containers, buried sand and water, and practices for her ORT:

Days 3 and 4 of 30 Day Scent Work Challenge

 For day three of our 30 day scent work challenge Jackie and I played the cat food bowl game, but with a twist: I hid the bowls so they were not directly visible to Jackie at the start.

On day four we played a simple interior search.

Video clip of Jackie's searches on days three and four of our 30 day scent work challenge: