Labels That Sentence

If you're looking for a canine companion, this post is dedicated to you. Since we've talked quite a bit about adoptions as the holidays approach, it was essential to write a post about the unjustly mischaracterized PPP (Potentially Dangerous Dogs labeled in Spain) so you can consider all your options when adopting. Don’t bother looking at the breed label when you visit a shelter to adopt, as it won’t tell you much about the dog.

If you're curious to know whether it's true that Pitbulls and other PPPs (Potentially Dangerous Dogs) have a bad reputation, this post is for you too. Keep reading and you'll find studies that prove it.

It's important to remember that a Pitbull is not a recognized breed as such. It's a defined group of dogs that includes breeds like the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and other Pit Bull-type dogs that share similar identifiable characteristics such as body shape, muscular tone, short hair, and head size, in addition to their bad reputation.

In shelters, there are many mixed-breed dogs labeled as PPPs. If DNA tests were performed on them, most would be mixes of several breeds, not just PPP crosses, and perhaps even their PPP part wouldn’t be significant. Before putting labels that condemn the life of an animal, shouldn’t we make sure?

Studies show that labeling a dog by breed influences the perception and decision of adopters, and removing this label would be a good strategy to increase adoptions.[1],[2] In shelters, dogs labeled as Pitbulls end up waiting three times longer to be adopted than other dogs, according to a study published in PLOS ONE by Lisa Gunter de Arizona State University, USA. [1],[3]

Here’s a clear example with faces. Boris and Brendan are from the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA, and they could be twins. They both look very similar, wagged their tails when someone approached their cage, and both became sad when visitors left. Still, the fate of these two dogs, both available for adoption at the same shelter, turned out very differently.

Image Study 1

Boris found a home in just one week. Brendan waited two more months before someone noticed him. If he hadn’t been sacrificed, like a million dogs each year in the United States and many others around the world, including Spain, he would have remained in the shelter.

So, why was there such a different result when both dogs looked so similar? It’s all about labels. Boris was labeled as a Boxer (photo on the right), while Brendan was labeled as a Pitbull (photo on the left). Sad, right?

Recent behavior studies indicate that breeds don’t tell us much that is useful about dogs. Correctly identifying breeds in mixed-breed dogs based on their appearance and morphology is very, very complex. When you add the negative perception of PPP breeds, it’s a completely inadequate method to describe the majority of shelter dogs.

A study that investigated several fatal dog attacks in the U.S. [4] around 2000 showed that many other factors are more important than breed in determining the causes. Factors such as the dog’s sex, whether it is neutered or not, and evidence of abuse or neglect played a much bigger role than the dog’s breed identity (which is often mis-labeled).

Previous research indicates that breed stereotypes exist (Wright, Smith, Daniel & Adkins, 2007; Bennett & Mornement, 2009; Twining, Arluke & Patronek, 2000), and that the appearance of the person accompanying the dog affects people’s perception of the dog’s temperament (Walsh, McBride, Bishop & Leyvraz, 2007).

The results of this study showed that pit bull-type dogs were perceived more negatively than other breeds, but this impression was positively influenced by the presence of an older woman or a child (images 1 and 3).

These results could be useful for the animal welfare community. Positive perceptions of pit bull-type dogs’ closeness, friendliness, intelligence, and adoptability can be increased, while their perceived aggression can be reduced, simply by including a person with a positive stereotype (e.g., elderly woman, child) in photos with these dogs. These improved perceptions could contribute to the success of educational efforts about pit bulls and increase public interest in adopting them.

Adopters often ask, “What type of dog is this?” and the shelter is often forced to answer with a breed name, even when most of these dogs don’t come with papers or genetic tests. The breeds labeled on the dogs’ signs in the cages, which determine the dog's fate, are only estimates based on their appearance. It’s like saying that people from other ethnicities are potentially criminals.

Since there are over 200 known breeds, and these can be combined in up to 55 trillion different ways, it shouldn’t be surprising that the breeds labeled by shelters are often wrong. [1]

So how do we prevent these biases from affecting dogs that don’t deserve them?

In 2014, the large shelter of Orange County Animal Services in Florida  conducted a bold experiment: they removed all breed labels from the cages! Not only did adoptions of dogs that would have been labeled as pit bulls rise by 75%, but in general, all adoptions improved! In total, they found 30% more homes for their dogs. [1] [6]

I’d be happy with this post if you take away at least this one phrase:

A dog’s physical appearance doesn’t say much about her/his behavior.

Even dogs that look alike and belong to the same breed often have different behavioral traits, just like humans have different personalities. Therefore, it would be advisable for shelters here to join Florida’s initiative and remove all breed labels to see how much their adoptions increase.

As for the legal restrictions on PPP dogs based on their appearance, they are utterly useless. Public safety would improve by reducing risk factors for dog attacks, supervising children, recognizing canine body language, avoiding unknown dogs in their territory, and promoting early education in puppies to be well-socialized dogs.

To sum up, when you go to a shelter to adopt,

LOOK BEYOND THE LABELS!

Dogs deserve to be recognized as individuals.

I hope you’ll consider adopting a PPP one day!

If you’re near Barcelona, I’m sharing a couple of links where you can find many dogs waiting for a home:

https://www.instagram.com/asociacion_defensa_ppp/

https://loveanimalsbcn.com/blogs/animales-en-adopcion/ppps-en-adopcion

Belén

References:

[1] Gunter LM, Barber RT, Wynne CDL (2016) What’s in a Name? Effect of Breed Perceptions & Labeling on Attractiveness, Adoptions & Length of Stay for Pit-Bull-Type Dogs. PLoS ONE 11(3): e0146857. lisa.gunter@asu.edu
, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

[2] Purebreds are Like Unicorns: Understanding the Breed Ancestry of Shelter Dogs & the Influence of Breed Labels on Potential Adopter Perception. Lisa Gunter, Rebecca Barber, Clive Wynne. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

[3] Pit bull label may triple length of stay in dog shelters, 2016.

[4] Co-occurrence of potentially preventable factors in 256 dog bite–related fatalities in the United States (2000–2009).

[5] DNA studies reveal that shelter workers often mislabel dogs as ‘pit bulls’, 2016.

[6] Orange shelter no longer will identify dogs by breed to avoid pit-bull stigma, 2014.

[7] Hoffman CL, Harrison N, Wolff L, Westgarth C. Is that dog a pit bull? A cross-country comparison of perceptions of shelter workers regarding breed identification. J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2014; 17(4): 322–339. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2014.895904 PMID: 24673506.