Independent Study 490A: What Were the Reasons for Why Adopters Choose a Black Dog Over Other Colors?

Abstract

<p>Many animal shelters across the country have noticed that black dogs are not adopted as quickly as lighter colored dogs. This trend goes even further as a dog that is all black is not adopted as quickly as a black dog with one white toe or other small white flashing. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the reasons why an adopter chose a black dog over other colors. This study was performed at the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Iowa, located in Des Moines IA. A total of 13 canine records were used in this study. The dogs that qualified for this data set had been 100% black (solid). The three questions asked of each adopter were as follows; (1) What attracted you to a black dog? (2) Have you had a black dog before? and (3) If no to question 2, are you familiar with a black dog from friends’ family or the neighborhood? In addition, the type, age, sex and how long that dog was at the ARL was also collected. A variety of dog breeds were involved in the study with the most popular all black dog breed being classified as a Labrador mix (8) respectively. What attracted you to a black dog? The most commonly cited reason for why a black dog was being adopted was based on appearance (n = 4). Next, breed (n = 2), color did not matter (n = 2) and previous ownership (n = 2) were cited. “Other” (n = 3) included an emotional connotation “he is big and smart” “I felt lucky” and “I love black dogs.” Have you had a black dog before? Of the 13 responses, 8 said that they had owned a black dog in the past (Figure 1). If no to question 2, are you familiar with a black dog from friends’ family or the neighborhood? Of the 13 responses, 12 were familar with a black dog before. Therefore in conclusion, the most common reason cited for adopoting a black dog was based on dog apperance. Even though 8 out of 13 adopters had owned a black dog before, previous ownership was only cited twice. Furthemore, the majority of adopters were familiar with a black dog and it could be hypothezied that this interaction was favorable.</p>