Puppy Chow

Trazodone, with or without gabapentin, reduced stress-related behaviors in shelter dogs

Delabar et al. randomized shelter dogs to four groups before surgical neuter: trazodone (8 mg/kg), gabapentin (25 mg/kg), both drugs, or neither. Each dog got a dose the evening before and the morning of surgery. Blinded observers scored 15 stress-related behaviors (13 made the final analysis) from short videos taken with and without a person present.

“the trazodone and combination groups had a significant reduction in mean behavior score … and the gabapentin group had an increase in mean behavior score.”

60 dogs across 4 groups works out to roughly 15 per group. The abstract reports no effect sizes. Each observation was a 1-minute clip, and the setting is the pre-surgery window only. Enrollment ended in 2021, five years before publication. No funding or conflict-of-interest statement is visible in the record.

If your vet team already gives trazodone before surgery, this supports it for visible stress around the procedure. It doesn't show that gabapentin alone helps, and it says nothing about stress over a long kennel stay.

doi.org/10.2460/javma.26.05.0384 · PMID 42854722

A proposed shared vocabulary for fear vs. frustration

Wilson, Soulsbury, and Mills (University of Lincoln) review the clinical animal-behavior literature and propose functional definitions of fear and frustration, using dogs as the model species.

“Our proposed definitions for fear and frustration structure and unite existing theories”

This is a conceptual paper and hasn't been tested. The abstract doesn't describe a systematic search. It isn't specific to shelters. The authors declare no competing interests.

Useful when your team is arguing over whether a barrier-reactive dog is scared or frustrated. It gives you shared language, not evidence about which intervention works.

doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1888439 · PMID 42839936

Older dogs had much lower odds of adoption in Italian shelters

Corsi et al. analyzed national-database records for dogs admitted to 18 shelters in Abruzzo during 2023–24.

“lower odds of adoption for animals aged 1-2 years (OR = 0.53) and over 2 years (OR = 0.31)”

The regional adoption rate rose from 45% to 49.6%, and average length of stay fell from 104 to 94 days.

This is descriptive registry data from Italian shelters (8 private, 10 public), so applying it to US open-admission shelters is a stretch. The abstract doesn't name the age group the odds ratios are compared against. It includes no behavior data, and no funding statement is visible.

It's another data point for putting your marketing and enrichment effort behind adult dogs. How well it applies to US shelters is unknown.

doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.4049.41768.2 · PMID 42864983

In senior dogs, touch sensitivity and unprompted vocalizing were linked to poorer quality of life

Kottferová et al. surveyed owners of older dogs online. Increased response to touch and vocalizing with no apparent trigger were each independently associated with poorer quality of life as owners perceived it. The number of health conditions was not. Better mobility was associated with lower odds of poorer quality of life.

“Multivariable ordinal regression analyses showed that increased response to tactile stimulation …”

The data are cross-sectional and owner-reported, and the respondents selected themselves online. The links are associations, not causes, and the authors say so. They declare no competing interests.

With senior surrenders, new touch sensitivity or vocalizing out of nowhere is a reasonable cue to ask for a pain workup before treating it as a behavior problem. Treat this as a hypothesis, not a protocol.

doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2026.107021 · PMID 42766958

AB 2344 (Haney): faster path out of the kennel for seized animals

Under existing law, an owner who doesn't pay care costs and reclaim the animal within 14 days of notice is deemed to have abandoned it. That rule applied to certain seizures and seizures under warrant. AB 2344 extends it to every lawful seizure:

“This bill would make those provisions apply to animals seized pursuant to any provision of California law.”

The coverage I found quotes the bill's author and sponsors, the LA County DA's office and Social Compassion in Legislation. I found no independent analysis. Contra Costa News says San Diego Humane Society supported the bill, and the Spokesman-Review reports no opposition. Dates: the Spokesman-Review says the bill was signed on Friday, Sept 25, while leginfo records approval on Sept 27, the same day it was chaptered. I used the leginfo date.

Evidence and cruelty-case dogs, the ones who decline over months of holding, may reach foster, behavior work, and adoption sooner starting in January.

leginfo AB 2344 · Contra Costa News · Spokesman-Review

AB 2010 (Soria): high-volume spay/neuter no longer needs a separate surgical room

“This bill would specify that high-volume spay or neuter services, as defined, shall not be required to be performed in a separate surgical room.”

The only commentary I could open was SF SPCA's advocacy recap, which frames the bill as a fix for overcrowding. I found no independent estimate of how much clinic capacity the change will add.

This affects the pipeline indirectly. More spay/neuter capacity means fewer litters coming in, and adopted dogs can be altered faster.

leginfo AB 2010 · SF SPCA recap

SB 1296 (Durazo): landlords must publish their pet policy up front

Landlords need a written pet policy that is shown in listings and handed over with rental applications. If an applicant pays a fee and then can't rent because the policy wasn't disclosed, the landlord must refund the fee on request. Multifamily Executive reports the refund is due within seven business days of written notice.

“The law, however, doesn't dictate pet policies or require housing providers to accept pets.”

Don't oversell this one. It requires disclosure only. It doesn't give tenants a right to keep a dog or require landlords to accept pets, as the quote above (from Multifamily Executive) says.

Adopters can check a rental's pet rules before they apply. That may head off some returns when people move.

leginfo SB 1296 · Multifamily Executive

SDHS at 164% dog capacity while taking in hurricane-displaced cats

San Diego Humane Society brought 19 cats from Kaua'i Humane Society after Hurricane Lowell, with 20 more on the way. The same release puts SDHS at 164% of dog capacity and 86% of cat capacity, and asks the public to adopt, foster, or donate.

“Adoptions are completed in person on a first-come, first-served basis and holds cannot be placed over the phone.”

This is the organization's own release, and it asks for adoptions, fosters, and donations. The capacity numbers are self-reported.

With dog kennels this far over capacity, foster coaching, post-adoption support, and decompression plans are likely where trainer hours do the most good.

sdhumane.org

Dog crowding at SDHS hits a record high

“A combination of unspayed and unneutered dogs bought during COVID, rising veterinary costs and a challenging economy means more dogs are going in at the San Diego Humane Society than are coming out via adoption.”

Only the summary paragraph was readable, and the specific intake numbers in the article were not. CBS 8 ran a similar record-intake story the same day, but its page blocked automated reading, so none of its figures appear here.

axios.com · cbs8.com (not verified)

Off-leash rules at school fields are already causing closures

The article's page title is “San Diego tests color-coded dog waste rules at school fields.” Off-leash dogs at school fields now run on an honor system:

“The plan's honor system (put in place after the city cut Humane Society enforcement) is meant to allow pooches to run free while kids enjoy clean fields during the school day. But already, owners aren't picking up their dog poop, and it's leading to field closures.”

Short item, and only the summary paragraph was readable. Axios doesn't say here what the enforcement cut involved.

Adopters asking where they can take a dog off leash may find school fields closed. A good time to mention leash-optional alternatives and recall training.

axios.com

The county's $37M Santee shelter opens Oct 15, replacing Bonita

The roughly 23,000 sq ft County Animal Services shelter will replace the aging Bonita facility for East and South County. It will also serve as a regional hub for disaster deployment and intake. Hoodline gave no opening date.

“County officials deemed the Bonita facility structurally outdated”

This is secondary reporting; the article cites KPBS for its capacity figures. It gives no kennel count or opening timeline.

Correction (Oct 15): this card originally said there was no opening date. The County had already announced on Oct 1 that the Santee shelter opens Oct 15 and that the Bonita shelter closes permanently, with all Bonita sheltering moving to Santee. We relied on the Hoodline piece and missed the County's own release.

Bonita is closed. County sheltering for East and South County now runs out of Santee.

hoodline.com · County News Center, Oct 1