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Study: Pretty pups picked first at shelters (also, clicky poll)
I'm sure those of us in rescue could've guessed this.
The ASPCA is set to release a study revealing that "physical appearance" is the most important reason pet adopters give for choosing puppies from animal shelters.
Cats, meanwhile, could rely on inner beauty; the numbers showed that "behavior with people" was the most important quality folks looked for in a feline.
The ASPCA conducted the research from January to May of last year, gathering information at five shelters nationwide. Roughly 1,500 prospective pet parents answered questionnaires about their chosen pets, and how they decided that a particular animal was the one for them. The organization hopes to use their answers to make better and more frequent matches between shelter pets and people; understanding what factors go into the adoption decision is extra-handy for the front-line shelter workers, who can then supply additional information and insights about particular cats or dogs that might not be immediately evident to a first-time browser.
Dr. Emily Weiss, VP of shelter research and development for the group, welcomed the chance to "get inside the human animal's head" ? and not surprisingly, humans often reported wanting a sign from a cat or dog. Previous research confirmed that animals who came to the front of their cages to greet visitors had a much higher chance of getting adopted, and the new study establishes similar findings. Adopters were asked, among other questions, "What did this pet do when you first met him/her?", and many respondents mentioned a specific social exchange ? approaching, meowing, licking, and even jumping on or into the laps of visitors. Dr. Weiss noted that that kind of cue is key for the humans in establishing a connection beyond initial cuteness: "That interaction is important for the human animal?not just entertainment, but in choosing their next friend."
Other interesting stats included the relative importance of age to prospective adopters ? it ranked as the most important factor for kitten shoppers, while those looking for adult dogs ranked it much lower ? and the fact that a puppy's behavior with people, while less important (and presumably graded on a curve thanks to a lack of training), only lagged behind other factors by less than a percentage point. Some of the stats appear below, and you can read the entire study here.
Cats
Behavior with people: 77.9%
Physical appearance: 65.6%
Age: 63.9%
Kittens
Age: 78.1%
Behavior with people: 69.3%
Physical appearance: 62.8%
Dogs
Behavior with people: 78.3%
Physical appearance: 75.4%
Age: 65.6%
Puppies
Physical appearance: 76.8%
Age: 74.8%
Behavior with people: 73.9%
(Respondents were able to pick multiple reasons.)
[Poll]
Re: Study: Pretty pups picked first at shelters (also, clicky poll)
This is tough. I needed to be able to pick behavior with people AND animals
The only animal I ever picked on looks alone was Bear and it really wasn't looks I guess..it was the look he gave me
It's funny all of our dogs were picked for us. Spinner was selected by our rescue specifically for us based on criteria that we were looking for and we didn't get to see him in person until his home visit with us. That was one of the single best placements any rescue could have ever done. He is perfect for us in every single way.
Millie was rescued and my niece brought her to us, again. Millie chose us and we had never seen her.
Igor was rescued sight unseen and I drove three hours to get him and fed him Burger King the whole way home on my lap. He was so sad but seemed to know he was going home.
Noel and Holly chose us as well. We saw a few text pictures but it was meant to be a emergency foster situation and they just fit in so well in our home that it wasn't even a question.
I voted for physical appearance because to me that seemed closest to breed, which is the entire reason we choose to meet him. B was a crazy mess when we adopted him appearance-wise - in desperate need of a grooming and bath. And it is what I noticed first about him.
But his personality is what made me know he was coming home with us. He didn't really interact with us at all when they brought him out to meet us. He was looking around for the family that dropped him off the night before. After a few minutes, he literally sighed and came over and sat on my foot. He did choose me.
That being said, I'm always on the lookout for a second scottie and DH and I have decided against some ridiculously cute dogs because of their personalities/issues getting along with B.
I fell in love with Dozer when I saw his Petfinder pic. It's not necessarily his appearance, but what his expression was like in the pic.
I think I subconsciously assumed this, because when we adopted our dog Jackie we focused on the less conventially "pretty" dogs. She's kind of funky looking but she has the sweetest personality that more than makes up for it. Plus, she got along wonderfully with our exisiting dog and cats so that was a huge deciding factor.
ETA: I had also been volunteering at the shelter and she was there for two months (way longer than the other dogs) because she was super hyper in her cage and caged between two gorgeous purebreeds. Out of the cage though she's laid back and so much fun.
Can't PIP at work but: http://lifeoncarolina.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-newest-addition.html (she's the little one)
We picked Donna (tortie) based on her sad story- when we went to meet her, she seemed scared of people and we couldn't get a good look at her, so we didn't really know her age/behavior/appearance that well. I'm so glad we got her anyway!
Gizmo (tabby) was definitely picked for her interaction with us. We were checking out the rescue cats at Petsmart, most ignored us but Gizmo came up to the door and licked our fingers, and we were sold
. The fact that she was so cute too didn't hurt, but it was mostly the behavior.
We picked Peloton at a rescue even based on his curiosity about everything around him. He was very interested and engaged in everything going on in the yard at the kennel and is still very curious about new things and people.
I think all greyhounds are pretty attractive dogs, so appearance wasn't a factor after we picked the breed.
Can't say I'm surprised.
All of my dogs kind of fell into my lap. I didn't choose them.
Same here. I guess I picked Max. I just grabbed the one that matched Napoleon so at least all the dog hair would be the same color around the house.
I answered "behavior around people" but it would be more correct to say that all three were selected thanks to shelter/rescue volunteers' recommendations.
Our cat, Lucky, was eye-catching, but we passed him by because he was extremely lethargic and we were worried he was sick. When one of the volunteers saw we were having trouble finding a match, she encouraged us to give Lucky a look and told us he had just been brought in a couple hours ago and was still in shock but was supposed to be friendly and good with other cats. We decided to give him a chance, and he turned out to be the best cat ever!
Our two dogs were both suggested to us by rescue volunteers. Toby we initially skipped right past because of the terrible-quality photo on the rescue's site, but when we re-read the bio his foster mom wrote we were won over. Dixie was actually matched with us sight-unseen, because she matched all our requirements so well (cat, small dog and child-friendly, right age and health to run on leash).
I think if you take the time to shop for the right rescue or shelter, then let them help match you, it works the best. Unfortunately, most people do it backwards...falling in love with a photo online that may or may not be a good match at all.
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath
We really considered all options, of course - but they way they interacted with people was the main one, closely followed by interaction with other animals.
The only exception is Jasper, who I never met until H took me to pick him up from his foster home. I have no idea why H wanted him so bad. I think it was his general behavior/interaction with kids at the facility he works at.
Hilo is gorgeous!
We initially decided to meet Georgie based on the picture my coworker sent me of her at the shelter...but didn't fall in love with her and decide to adopt her until after we met her and interacted with her. So I guess for her it was a combo of appearance and how she interacted with people.
Eddie, on the other hand...I fell in love with his little face not because he was "pretty" (actually, he was underweight and recovering from mange...he was certainly cute, but now he's gorgeous
) but because of the deathly terrified look he had on his face when he was hiding under his foster mom's chair (KatiesCats, you remember that look...). Something in the look on his face said "Please someone get me outta here and love me, I'm so scared" (he was at an adoption event) and I fell in love right there.
aww thank you! I might be biased but he's the sweetest, smartest, and most well-behaved dog ever lol.
I just went ahead and picked appearance because that's what drew us in to her Petfinder post. "Behavior around people" makes me laugh because if we were going by that she definitely would have failed. She wanted nothing to do with us or anyone else, but somehow we still knew we had to have her!
Here's her sad little Petfinder pic:
ETA: I don't know why all that crap is showing up. I posted my pic the same way I always do!
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October 13, 2012
I voted for behavior with people since I chose Cat. He adopted me - he was a stray and approached me on my parents' back porch. He was so cute and loving, I couldn't say no. But he definitely made the first move and I found that adorable.
Hobbes, again, we adopted out of need. He was living under our house in Texas and we could hear him meowing pitifully through the ductwork. He was adorably small and fluffy (although he's gotten substantially fluffy) but his personality/behavior with people really took the cake. He's very loving and attentive.
Dot I found on Petfinder. She actually isn't at all what we were looking for, but she had a cute picture and a moving story, and through interaction with the rescue, it turns out that she was the perfect dog for us. So home with us it was. I'd call her selection based on looks initially and then based on interaction with people.
Seriously? You don't think this information could possibly be useful to the ASPCA in any way?
My Lunch Blog
Really? The purpose of this study is to help animals be placed with suitable homes. They are trying to find the reasons people are drawn to their animals so shelters/rescues can place animals that aren't necessarily jumping out when it comes to first impressions to homes that could be perfect for them. At least that is what I got out of the study...no?
When we got Cosmo I wanted a puppy, and I picked the runt of the litter, but the byb that i got her from told me i didn't want the runt b/c she was too needy and destructive, so i picked cosmo based on her behavior. she was friendly and snuggly and calm. Which she still is to this day. i SWEAR i have the most laid back lab on the planet.
Doby we picked based on age. We didn't want to bring a big adult dog into the home with Cos b/c she is scared of other dogs and thought she would react better to a puppy. It was also a little bit based on looks, b/c i loved his ears.
I'll come out and admit that we were shallow and wanted "pretty" dogs. And a little part of me was very excited that Boston and Renzo kind of coordinate with each other. I know that isn't the most PC answer, but I wanted to respond honestly.
If we were going on interactions with humans we would have left Renzo at his foster home. He was very aloof and kind of ignored us. BUT, something told us we HAD to have him and I"m so glad we listened to our guts because we love him like crazy and he's the perfect addition to our family.
Growing up I always said that someday I would have a "big brown dog" so when I saw Boston it was all over. :-) I had always loved the look of GSPs so when I saw Renzo's picture on the rescue website I was a goner.
When we went to adopt B & L, we wanted kittens. We went in planning on adopting littermates, but they were both so friendly, we knew they were it. L actually jumped into DH's arms.
S, J and SB kind of chose us. We meant to foster J and SB, but they were so freaked out in the shelter we had to pick them up. They are so friendly and loving with us, and J is not scared of DS at all. He has tested out the bassinet tent several times.
5 cats. 1 baby.
This whole thread makes me with there were dog "matchmakers". We've been trying to find the right dog for awhile, and I wish there was someone out there who would do the looking for us, bring us a dog, and say he/she is perfect for us based on mutual lifestyles.
Have you spoken with any rescues that have their dogs in foster homes? I think that foster families have so much more information about a dog's personality/temperament than a shelter environment and they should be able to help you pick out a few that would be a good fit.
Good luck!
With my cat, Emma, it was purely looks. I wasn't even planning on going home with a kitten. I was only going along with my roommate at the time so she could look at kittens. And then...there she was tiny, fluffy, tuxedo kitten, curled up sound asleep next to her sister. That was it for me. I took Emma and my roommate took the littermate she was curled up with.
With Harley, it's tough to say. She was a stray that approached DH at the shop where he used to work. She peed on the floor and flicked it on him with her tail. So...maybe, it was her way with people that won him over? She was a hot mess physically: limping, mangy, open wounds on her head...but she was also a puppy, so even with all of that, she was damn cute. So...maybe it was her looks after all. Who knows?
I'm shallow
Looks all the way.
My husband knows this very well (I'm an ankle girl). That's why we ended up with an insane GSP and the world's most f'ed up shelter dog (took her two years to finally stop hiding under the bed). I pick pretty first and then work with whatever I get. My life forms a mold around the things I like.
But I'm a Taurus, so I'm also bull headed. I feel like the 'black dog syndrome' comes a lot from the fact that black dogs' eyes are harder to see/read. It's more difficult to see their 'personality' shining through. Of course, I think the road goes both ways. I really enjoyed the NOVA show called "Dogs Decoded", can you tell?