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November 1, 2022 15 mins

The choice to relinquish a dog to a shelter is often one that weighs heavily on the pup parent. It is in most cases seen as a last resort, and often one they’d rather not have to make.


While I want to remain sensitive to anyone who has had to make that decision, it’s important to discuss the main reason why so many dogs are relinquished to shelters. Understanding the “why” behind relinquishment can hopefully help reduce the frequency!


Some estimates put the number of dogs relinquished to shelters at around 1 million per year (roughly 3 million end up in shelters overall, but I want to focus on relinquished dogs).


Let that sink in for a moment…


Roughly 2,700 dogs PER DAY are being relinquished to shelters.


In this video, we’ll dive into the data from two different studies that aimed to pinpoint why dogs are relinquished. My hope is that understanding this data can help us individually and as a society make more informed and healthy decisions with our pets.


Here is what we will cover:

-The #1 problem behavior reported during a relinquishment

-How many surrendered dogs received training? Both formal & informal

-Additional statistics about dogs ending up in shelters

-What we can do to reduce the number of dogs being relinquished to shelters


If you're needing help with your dog's behavior, please sign up for 30 Day Perfect Pup! It is 100% free (no credit card required) and covers topics like potty training, biting, leash walking, and more! Sign up free here: https://pfrd.site/signupfree-heree

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is the perfect pup podcast.Helping you build a better
relationship with your pup presented by pop furred.
Hello, pup parents and welcome to today's episode of The
Perfect pop of podcast. My name is Devin this episode.
It's a little bit sad, but it's also one that we need to talk
about. And that's the fact that there
are over a million dogs per yearthat are relinquished to

(00:23):
shelters. So not that just end up in
shelters but are given up by pupparents for a variety of
reasons. You talk about what those
reasons are what we can do to reduce this to tist.
Akande, a few other creative ideas than and things that we
just need to understand about these statistics, and how we can
personally, and as a community, help decrease those numbers.

(00:44):
So, let's get right into it. Roughly 3 million dogs per year,
end up in shelters and while there isn't a perfect statistic
out there as to how many are relinquished, there are a few
data points. I was able to piece together
that show roughly a million Our relinquished by the pup parent
to a shelter willingly. Whether that be because the dog

(01:06):
needs to be euthanized, other reasons that we'll talk about
more, but that's about 2,700 dogs per day.
So on average, you know, almost 3,000 people per day are having
to make the terribly challengingdecision, to relinquish their
dogs. And I don't want to minimize how

(01:28):
painful that experience. Be for people.
I have not personally, experienced it, but I know
people who have, and I've read stories and I've seen different
Threads Online and talk to people who have had to make the
very tough choice of relinquishing, their dog.
And I don't want to minimize that.
I cannot even fathom how hard that would be.

(01:48):
And I do think as well that we need to as a community of pup
parents be a little bit better about not having a stigma
against people who do feel that they need to relinquish.
Their dog. Of course I think we should all
try to do certain things like we're going to talk about in
this episode to keep our dogs inour homes, but every situation
is unique. And if you've had to go through

(02:10):
that experience of relinquishingyour dog, my heart goes out to
you. I am certain that was extremely,
extremely challenging, and many of these statistics that we're
going to cite. A lot of the reasons for
relinquishment had to do with moving or landlord wouldn't let
them have a pet, you know, reasons that are sometimes
completely out of your control. And again it doesn't Get easier.

(02:30):
It's so so challenging. So I'm going to reference to
studies that have their limitations just like any study
does. But the first study was done
about 25 years ago and a group of shelters across the United
States. So they tried to get different
geographical and socio-economic regions and you know, they tried
to have a variety but basically when people were coming and

(02:52):
presenting their dogs for relinquishment, they asked them
to take a survey and it had manyquestions, some of them had to
do with, you know, Demographics of the human, you know, age,
ethnicity income level, those types of things.
But then it also has to do with information about the dogs.
How old the dog was where they got the dog originally, whether

(03:12):
it was from a shelter or a breeder, or a friend, those
types of things, age of dog, breed, all that good stuff.
Study, number two was slightly different and in my opinion a
little less effective but it dida phone interview with anyone
who had said they had relinquished a dog with Past
five years so that in itself provides its limitations because

(03:33):
I can barely remember what I didlast week and how I felt last
week. Let alone something to happen,
three to five years ago. So these studies do have their
limitations but I think generally you will see that the
information that is provided by these studies is consistent with
what you would believe. So let's dive in and know that
these are a good framework for how we're approaching this.

(03:55):
One of the most interesting statistics found in these
studies was They asked people who were relinquishing due to
problematic behaviors or challenging behaviors.
They ask them to cite the top reasons why they felt like, they
couldn't handle their dog's behavior.
And number one by quite a long shot was hyperactivity.
Number two was barking or excessive noise, you know?

(04:18):
You think about it and those twothings.
Yeah, they're General. And they can Encompass a lot of
other things but, you know, a dog that's seemingly.
Always having energy and a dog. That's making a lot of noise.
Those things can be challenging and frustrating.
Eating. So when we talk about
hyperactivity, you know, it's important to recognize that dogs
are dogs. They have more energy than

(04:39):
typically we do especially a puppy or a younger dog.
They are learning. They are exploring their growing
and they are going to have a lotof energy.
So part of this, generally, withhow we look at, you know, the
dogs that end up in shelters and, and the amount of
relinquishment that is happening, is I think before
even training or even, you know,No, the things we're going to

(05:00):
talk about it's having a proper expectation of what a dog is
like of course, if you already have your dog now and you're
feeling overwhelmed, that's okay.
We're going to talk about some things to to reduce
hyperactivity. So some of the top things that
you can do and I'm not going to dive too far into this because
we have tons of episodes about you know reducing problem.
Behaviors working on impulse control, you know, dealing with

(05:23):
Hyper dogs. So first things first, your dog
needs proper exercise. Dogs need physical exercise, and
I'm not going to A walks becauseI think thinking, oh, I took my
dog on a 15, 20 minute walk, that's enough exercise.
Truthfully, it's probably not enough and it's a little bit of
a trap to think about exercise just as walks so making sure

(05:43):
your dog has physical exercise, including walks but also you
know fetch tug using a flirt pole.
You know, then playing with other dogs, really getting their
energy out. The other thing is, mental
enrichment, or mental exercise. That's things like snuffle, mats
or lick, mats or Or foraging boxes or puzzle toys.
And a big part of that is maximizing meal time, you feed

(06:05):
your dog, two, three, four times, a day, depending on their
age, that is an opportunity to provide enrichment for them.
Instead of just putting their food in a bowl, try, putting
some of it in a Kong or in a snuff film at or in a puzzle
feeder or, you know, even just spreading some of it out on the
ground and they have to forage and find it with their nose,
those little things, they make ahuge difference and of course

(06:29):
working on Control, we have 21, impulse control games, as part
of pub, food academy. Plus it is a great course that
is going to take impulse control, which can feel daunting
and overwhelming and help you play games that are going to
make it fun for you. And for your dog and work on
things, like bursting through doors barking at the door that

(06:50):
waiting for their food. All those challenging things, a
couple other stats that came outin these in these studies and
really kind of where I want to focus on.
On is 96 percent of people surveyed in that first survey
said that their dog had not received any formal obedience
training and they classified formal as you know an in-person

(07:12):
trainer or going to an in-personobedience classes.
Something that is you know more structured 96% of those dogs
that were really English, did not have formal training and
even beyond that even outside ofthe more formal side of
training. I've popped parents said, they
did not do any training at all and truthfully, as sad as it

(07:36):
makes me, it's not surprising. Those dogs did not stand a
chance. If you don't do training with
your dog, you will become overwhelmed with their behavior
and how they act dogs are not wired to behave how we envision
them and want them to behave. Sometimes, it's the exact
opposite. You know, our dogs, see a door

(07:58):
open, that's A place to explore.You don't want them going
through the door, but their innate desires.
Their literally hardwiring in their brain is telling them to
go out their door. Or if a squirrel runs by, they
have hard wiring in their brain,they have prey drive, they want
to chase it. Do you want them to chase it?

(08:19):
Probably not. But that doesn't mean that
they're not going to because it's hardwired into their brain.
And that's what I mean when I say some of these dogs that were
relinquished and are getting relinquished to They never stood
a chance because if training does not happen, we're going to
become overwhelmed. And there are going to be things
that are problematic and lead usto feel like we need to or we

(08:41):
can't handle our dogs. And again I'm not downplaying,
the challenge of raising a dog. It is frustrating, it is
difficult. And sometimes you feel like what
you're doing is not working. I've been there, I've shed the
tears. I've been frustrated, I've
yelled into my pillow, all that stuff, because of my Puppies and
dogs behaviors. I promise you.

(09:02):
I know how hard it is, but when we make a commitment of getting
a dog and bringing them into ourhome, we are making a commitment
to raise them and train them to be, well, behaved dogs, that can
handle their environment around them.
So it is on us and it's not easy.
But that is a huge reason why wehere at pup furred launched and

(09:28):
are continuing to Lon. Free online, dog, training
courses, I promise. I know that this might sound
like a sales pitch and I get it.We are a company, we are trying
to make a profit. We are trying to sell products,
of course we are but we truly deeply care as a company and the
reason big reason this company was started originally was we

(09:52):
saw that statistic of 96, percent of dogs, relinquished to
shelters had received zero formal training And we know that
there is a need for people and there they have a desire to
train but they don't know where to start and sometimes you end
up on 100 different websites andyou're on a bunch of YouTube
channels and that's fine. And you can try and piece it

(10:13):
together, but what 30-day, perfect pup does.
And why we created it this way, is it puts it into an easily
consumable package that you can go through track, your dog's
progress, see what days you're on and go back and reference,
you have a videos, you have textRecaps.
There's an ebook, there's so many opportunities to do this
and what was interesting, as well.

(10:34):
In one of these other studies, they, you know, asked as some of
these parents, you know what factors may have led you to not
relinquish your dog? Like what could what maybe could
have you done to or could have been different, it would have
led you to keep your dog in yourhome and about 34%, that had
said having access to free or low-cost training programs could

(10:58):
have helped reduce Is relinquishment.
And that truly at the core of why we here at Pop forward and
meet individually. Love what I do and care about
you know the work that I do and these podcasts and the Articles
and the videos and all the different things we do here at
pup furred. We want to help reduce that

(11:20):
statistic because it's so important to train our dogs and
people need access to high-quality training which
third a perfect pup is And they need it for free and that's why
we have created these free courses.
We also have the new dog startercourse.
We have an Impulse course that'sfree with Kevin that we created

(11:40):
like we have resources because we want people to build strong
relationships with their dogs. The other point that came out in
the studies of one of the highest factors to reducing
relinquishment. Number one was training, that
was what needed to be done. It's It's non-negotiable, we

(12:01):
must train, our dogs, and the second was proper vet care are
dogs. They're unique.
They have unique health concerns, and staying up with
the routine vet visits is so so important.
Because as our, if our dogs havehealth problems, sometimes those
financial burdens stack up and that leads us again to feel like

(12:21):
we may need to relinquish our dogs.
So on that, note to, I highly recommend just individually for
my own experience looking at Petinsurance because sometimes that
10, 20 bucks a month or whateverit might be for your specific
dog or household put towards pet.
Insurance can really save you money in the long run and let's

(12:42):
face it dogs. Can be expensive dogs, they have
a lot of things that they need and vet care, especially when
you have emergencies or, you know, medical things that pop up
that you're not expecting. That can really add up.
So all of this to say that thereare hundreds of Of thousands,
literally millions of dogs ending up in shelters every

(13:03):
single year and well, it can feel daunting and it can feel
like there's nothing we can do. There are some things that can
be done individually and as a community and above all its
training, your dog, it's puttingthe time and effort in.
And I want to say this, that training your dog, it's not just
about behaviors. Yeah, of course, that's kind of

(13:25):
the end result. We're looking for, but when you
train your dog, a couple You're going to happen first, you are
going to become better acquainted with your dog.
Generally, your relationship is going to improve your going to
see how they act, you're going to see their corks, they're
going to see, you know, you'll learn their strengths, and their
weaknesses. And in turn.
The second thing, the second thing that it will do is it is

(13:46):
going to give you empathy for your dog, and for their
situation. So, above all train, your dog.
It's so so important and it's going to help you.
It's going to help them feel more.
Didn't and you are going to be ahappier pup parent.
And hopefully, as we all strive to do this, we are going to keep

(14:06):
dogs in Homes. At the core of what we're doing
here at Pub firt, is we are trying to reduce the number of
dogs that end up in shelters andwe want to help you as a parent.
Raise happy healthy and well, mannered pops and we know that
starts with training and nutrition is a part of that and
companionship is vital. So I hope you enjoyed this

(14:27):
episode. If you're thinking, hey Mike
He's pretty well behaved or I'm on the right track.
You can still help by sharing, 30-day, perfect, pup, I know.
Yes, we're a company. Of course, we try and sell
products as part of 30-day, perfect, pup.
But at its core, people don't have to buy products to use
30-day, perfect, pup, I'm sayingthat as someone who helps with
the marketing app up for it, I've worked with this company

(14:50):
for almost five years. You don't have to buy products
to use 30-day, perfect, pup. It is a 100 percent free
resource. You don't have to put a credit
card in. So if You know, people if you
have friends families, neighbors, who are struggling
with their dog's Behavior, share, 30-day, perfect, Puck
with them, and it may just save that family situation and it may

(15:11):
help them keep their dog out of a shelter.
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple
podcast if that's where you're listening.
If you're on YouTube, subscribe leave me a comment.
I love seeing reviews, especially with feedback.
I take it all very seriously butother than that, we will catch
you. The next episode.
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