Abstract
The majority of dogs in US animal shelters are of mixed breed. Many animal shelters still use visual identification to assign breed labels, despite research indicating it to be largely inaccurate. Some shelters now include personality descriptions in conjunction with, or instead of, breed labels. However, little is known about the interaction between these factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to experimentally evaluate the impact of breed labels and descriptions on the perceived adoptability of dogs. Participants, recruited both in-person at a shelter and online, were shown ten dog photos, and indicated how likely they were to adopt the dog. The photos were randomly presented under four conditions: (1) photo only; (2) photo with breed label; (3) photo with description; and (4) photo with both a breed label and description. Overall, descriptions significantly increased perceived adoptability, while breed labels decreased it. Certain breed labels, such as 'Chihuahua mix', 'Chow mix', 'Jack Russell Terrier mix', 'Miniature Pinscher mix', and 'Terrier mix', negatively impacted adoption ratings, while 'Lab mix' had a positive effect. Descriptions like affectionate, calm, eager to make you proud, easy-going, friendly, lively, non-dominant, and sociable improved perceived adoptability, whereas energetic reduced adoptability. There were no significant interactions between breed labels and descriptions. Additionally, there was substantial individual participant variability in adoption interest across photos. These findings suggest animal shelters might increase adoption interest in dogs by removing breed labels and including positive descriptions in dog adoption profiles. Such changes may contribute to improved animal welfare by reducing shelter length of stay.