A new study shows that a week away from the kennel may be one of the best stress-relievers a shelter dog can get—and pairing them with a familiar canine buddy when they return helps even more.
Millions of dogs enter US animal shelters each year, and while many eventually find new homes, the experience can be deeply stressful. Loud kennels, erratic routines, and isolation all take a toll on their well-being.
The new study led by Virginia Tech’s School of Animal Sciences identifies one of the simplest and most effective ways to ease that strain: Give dogs a break in a foster home.
Conducted in partnership with Arizona State University and two animal shelters, one in Arizona and one in Virginia, the study found that a week in a foster home significantly reduced cortisol, a key hormone linked to stress. Wearable sensors showed the dogs spent more time resting.
The study also found that upon returning to the shelter, dogs housed with a familiar companion had a more restful re-entry.
“This is the longest foster period we’ve studied and the effects were even stronger than what we saw with shorter stays,” says Lisa Gunter, an animal behavior and welfare expert in Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and lead author of the study.
“This is especially encouraging. We have yet to find the beneficial limits of a stay in a foster home for dogs in shelters.”
How one week at home affects shelter dogs
Unlike earlier research focused on fostering stays of just a couple nights, this study looked at what happens when dogs spend a full week in a home.
Researchers tracked 84 shelter dogs across 17 days: five in the shelter, seven in a foster home, and five more back in the shelter. They collected over 1,300 urine samples to measure cortisol and used collar-mounted activity monitors to track rest and their movements.
The results showed clear changes in both hormone levels and the dogs’ behavior. During the foster stay, cortisol levels dropped significantly—an effect that was twice as large as that seen in shorter stays. Sensor data showed dogs spent more time resting in homes. Importantly, cortisol levels weren’t higher when dogs returned to the shelter as compared with their pre-fostering period.
“While these improvements in dogs’ welfare were temporary in the foster home, dogs were no more stressed in the shelter following foster care as they were before it,” Gunter says.
“That’s encouraging because that’s often a concern. Instead, foster care is a chance for dogs to rest and recharge in a home.”
Why familiar kennelmates matter
The study also examined whether returning to the shelter and living with a familiar companion helped dogs cope more effectively.
Before the foster stay, dogs housed with a compatible kennelmate showed no major differences in stress or activity levels. But after the week away, those reunited with a familiar dog rested more and engaged in less high activity than dogs housed alone or with a new companion.
“For dogs, familiar relationships provide stability—like a best friend in a stressful situation,” says Erica Feuerbacher, associate professor and coprincipal investigator on the study. “Being kenneled with a known companion helped them settle faster and rest more easily.”
Feuerbacher’s previous research has shown that cohousing familiar dogs not only reduces stress but can also increase adoption rates.
Improving shelter dog welfare and adoption
The findings build on years of work by Gunter and Feuerbacher aimed at improving the lives and adoptability of shelter dogs.
In an earlier study across 51 shelters and nearly 28,000 dogs, Gunter and colleagues found that short outings of as little as one to four hours increased dogs’ likelihood of adoption by five times. Dogs who spent one or two nights in foster care were over 14 times more likely to find permanent homes.
“Those adoptions weren’t usually by the foster families,” Gunter says. “Instead, these dogs were out in the community, walking in a neighborhood, or being seen in a home on social media. That visibility makes a real difference.”
Together, these studies suggest that foster stays and cohousing can meaningfully improve dogs’ experiences in the shelter and how quickly they get adopted.
Gunter says these are practical, low-cost strategies shelters can implement now.
“We keep finding that when dogs leave the kennel and go into a home, they do better,” Gunter says. “These are the types of interventions shelters can use to improve the lives of dogs in their care.”
The full study appears in PeerJ.
Source: Virginia Tech
