Effects of a Temporary Fostering Program on Shelter Dog Welfare by Michelle Lian

Research Paper

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Table 2: Description of Dogs

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Table 4: C/C Ratio Values

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Figure 1: Marginal Means of Average In-Shelter Cortisol : Creatine Ratio

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After averaging cortisol levels from before and after the stay, dogs at BFAS were found to have significantly lower mean cortisol values than dogs at AHS (p<.001), HSWM (p=.003), and DCAS (p=.004) with dogs at SPCATX having significantly lower mean cortisol than dogs at AHS (p=.002)

Figure 2: Marginal means of Longest Bouts of Uninterrupted Rest

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Dogs had their longest bouts of uninterrupted rest during sleepovers (p<.001). Resting duration in shelters after sleepovers were longer than before (p<.012), but shorter than during sleepovers

(p<.010).

No main effect of shelter was found

Table 1: Description of Shelters

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Dogs at BFAS had previously participated in a pre-existing foster program 18 times on average; a median of 13.18 days had passed since the dog's last sleepover

Cortisol: Creatine Ratio Explained

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The C/C ratio is used in studies to assess stress levels in animals.
Creatinine is a waste product excreted in urine at a relatively constant rate
Cortisol is a hormone released by the adrenal glands in response to stress.
The C/C ratio accurately assesses cortisol levels because it normalizes the cortisol concentration in urine to the concentration of creatinine
This accounts for variations in urine concentration due to factors like hydration levels.
A higher C/C ratio suggests greater stress.

Table 3: Multiple Linear Regressions

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Presentation

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Handout

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