The Great Outdoors: Fenced Yards and Their Impact on Companion Dog Activity and Adoption

Despite the prevalence of requiring a fenced yard to adopt a dog in the United States, there is little research investigating this adoption policy or its impact on companion dog welfare and behavior. Using observational methods, previous studies have shown dogs engage in a variety of behaviors while in their yards. However, differences in their activity levels when they are in the yard versus when they are not have not been measured through more objective means. In this study, I first conducted an analysis of publicly available data from the pet adoption website, PetFinder.com to show how many United States rescues/shelters are requiring fenced yards to adopt a dog. In the second part of the study, I fitted AX3 accelerometers to 12 companion dogs with regular fenced yard access to investigate the activity levels of dogs when in a fenced yard and when not in a fenced yard. The results indicate that shelters and rescues required fenced yards for dog adoption in over 20% of the United States adoption profiles analyzed and that fenced yard access increased dog activity level in some dog participants.