Development and Validation of an Observational Behavior Tool (LIFE™) for Assessing Canine Coping in Shelter Environments

As animal shelters strive to promote positive welfare and successfully place dogs into adoptive homes as functional pets, the ability to identify dogs that may not be coping well within the shelter is critical. Although traditional behavior evaluations may serve multiple purposes, one of their primary purposes in animal shelters has been to predict how dogs may behave after adoption. Most traditional tests utilize a series of provocative and often artificial interactions, despite mixed evidence to support their predictive value. This study examined the reliability and validity of the LIFE (Living Interactions and Functionality Evaluation) tool, an observational assessment designed to evaluate canine coping abilities in real time within a shelter setting and identify dogs in need of intervention. Over 800 dogs were evaluated during routine shelter interactions, including kennel handling, leash walking, and interactions with people and other dogs. Observable behaviors associated with positive or negative emotional states were assigned numerical values to generate objective coping scores, which were then compared with subjective classifications assigned by trained evaluators and an expert in animal behavior. Objective scores increased significantly across subjective classification categories and aligned closely with expert assessments across all evaluated contexts. Inter-rater reliability was high, supporting consistency between evaluators. These findings support the LIFE tool as a valid and reliable welfare-focused assessment approach for identifying dogs experiencing coping difficulties within shelter environments and guiding more targeted intervention strategies, with or without a behavior expert on staff.