Kennels

This note is about issues and approaches that could improve the design of shelters or kennels for professional, sheltered dogs leading to better lives for the dogs and better human-animal relationships.

Cf.

• topical notes:
  • Dog
  • Companion Animals
  • Animals
  • Personhood
• approaches and concepts:
  • Capabilities
  • Interspecies Design
  • Multispecies Design
  • Deep Design
  • Ecocentric Design
  • Interspecies
  • More than Human Design

Issues and Concerns

Reframing the Design Problem

• Designing systems and relationships rather than isolated objects and spaces.
• Treating the kennel as a multispecies institution and culture, not only a building or enclosure. Cf. Multispecies Design, Interspecies.
• Moving from welfare as harm minimisation toward flourishing and positive capabilities. Cf. Ecocentric Design, Capabilities.

Wellbeing and Capabilities

• Applying the capabilities approach to canine wellbeing: what dogs are able to do and be, not only the resources provided to them. Cf. Capabilities.
• Supporting positive welfare and agency through choice, control, predictability, and opportunities for species-typical behaviour.
• Designing sensory environments suited to canine perception across acoustic, olfactory, visual, and thermal dimensions.

Methods and Participation

• Using more-than-human and animal-centred design methods that treat dogs as participants and beneficiaries. Cf. More than Human Design, Interspecies Design.
• Co-designing with the people who live and work with kennelled dogs, including carers, trainers, and veterinarians.
• Grounding decisions in evidence through animal-based welfare measures, baselines, and adaptive trials.

Ethics and Politics

• Confronting the ethics of intensive confinement and of professional dog-keeping. Cf. Dog, Companion Animals.
• Moving beyond personhood toward relational notions of beingness and vulnerability. Cf. Personhood.
• Recognising working dogs as labouring beings whose service depends on their conditions of care.

Behaviour and Wellbeing

Cobb, Mia L. “An Examination of Attitudes and  Kennel Management Practices  Relating to the  Welfare of Working Dogs.” PhD Thesis, Monash University, 2019.

Cobb, Mia L., Alan Lill, and Pauleen C. Bennett. “Not All Dogs Are Equal: Perception of Canine Welfare Varies with Context.” Animal Welfare 29, no. 1 (2020): 27–35. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.29.1.027.

Cobb, Mia L., Adrian Carter, Alan Lill, and Pauleen C. Bennett. “Perceived Importance of Specific Kennel Management Practices for the Provision of Canine Welfare.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 249 (2022): 105591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105591.

Clark, Hannah G. “Shelter Dogs Need a Home: The Effect of Enrichment and Human Contact on the Welfare and Adoptability of Shelter Dogs.” Honors Senior Project, Grand Valley State University, 2021.

DiGangi, Brian A., Victoria A. Cussen, Pamela Reid, and Kristen A. Collins, eds. Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff. 2nd ed. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2022.

Epstein, Jody, Seana Dowling-Guyer, Emily McCobb, Courtney Glotzer, and Nicholas H. Dodman. “Addressing Stress in Dogs in Shelters through a Novel Visual and Auditory Enrichment Device.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236 (2021): 105215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105215.

Gaines, Samantha A. “Kennelled Dog Welfare: Effects of Housing  and Husbandry.” PhD Thesis, University of Bristol, 2008.

Gunter, Lisa M., Erica N. Feuerbacher, Rachel J. Gilchrist, and Clive D. L. Wynne. “Evaluating the Effects of a Temporary Fostering Program on Shelter Dog Welfare.” PeerJ 7 (2019): e6620. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6620.

Gunter, Lisa M., JoAnna M. Platzer, Jenifer L. Reed, Emily M. Blade, Rachel J. Gilchrist, Rebecca T. Barber, Erica N. Feuerbacher, and Clive D. L. Wynne. “The Implications of Weeklong Fostering and Co-Housing on Shelter Dog Welfare.” PeerJ 14 (2026): e20608. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20608.

Hecker, Grace, Katherine Martineau, Mariah Scheskie, Rhonda Hammerslough, and Erica N. Feuerbacher. “Effects of Single- or Pair-Housing on the Welfare of Shelter Dogs: Behavioral and Physiological Indicators.” PLoS ONE 19, no. 6 (2024): e0301137.

Hiby, Elly, Nicola J. Rooney, and John W. S. Bradshaw. “Behavioural and Physiological Responses of Dogs Entering Re-Homing Kennels.” Physiology & Behavior 89, no. 3 (2006): 385–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.07.012.

Miller, Lila, and Stephen Zawistowski, eds. Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff. 2004. 2nd ed. Hoboken: Wiley, 2013.

Polgár, Zita, Emily J. Blackwell, and Nicola J. Rooney. “Assessing the Welfare of Kennelled Dogs: A Review of Animal-Based Measures.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 213 (2019): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.02.013.

Protopopova, Alexandra. “Effects of Sheltering on Physiology, Immune Function, Behavior, and the Welfare of Dogs.” Physiology & Behavior 159 (2016): 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.03.020.

Stafford, Kevin J. The Welfare of Dogs. Dordrecht: Springer, 2006.

Stephen, Jacqueline M., and Rebecca A. Ledger. “An Audit of Behavioral Indicators of Poor Welfare in Kenneled Dogs in the United Kingdom.” Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 8, no. 2 (2005): 79–95. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327604jaws0802_1.

Taylor, Kelly D., and Daniel S. Mills. “The Effect of the Kennel Environment on Canine Welfare: A Critical Review of Experimental Studies.” Animal Welfare 16, no. 4 (2007): 435–47. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0962728600027378.

Wells, Deborah L. “A Review of Environmental Enrichment for Kennelled Dogs, Canis Familiaris.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 85, no. 3 (2004): 307–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2003.11.005.

Sensory Environments and Enrichment

Amaya, Valeria, Mandy B. A. Paterson, and Clive J. C. Phillips. “Effects of Olfactory and Auditory Enrichment on the Behaviour of Shelter Dogs.” Animals 10, no. 4 (2020): 581. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10040581.

Kogan, Lori R., Regina Schoenfeld-Tacher, and Allen A. Simon. “Behavioral Effects of Auditory Stimulation on Kenneled Dogs.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior 7, no. 5 (2012): 268–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2011.11.002.

Murtagh, Katy, Mark J. Farnworth, and Ben O. Brilot. “The Scent of Enrichment: Exploring the Effect of Odour and Biological Salience on the Behaviour of Kennelled Dogs.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 223 (2020): 104917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.104917.

Sales, Gillian D., Robert C. Hubrecht, A. Peyvandi, Stuart R. Milligan, and Bridget M. Shield. “Noise in Dog Kennelling: Is Barking a Welfare Problem for Dogs?” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 52, nos. 3–4 (1997): 321–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(96)01132-X.

Scheifele, Peter, Doug Martin, John Greer Clark, Debra Kemper, and Jennifer Wells. “Effect of Kennel Noise on Hearing in Dogs.” American Journal of Veterinary Research 73, no. 4 (2012): 482–89.

Welfare Assessment Frameworks

Kiddie, Jenna, and Lisa Collins. “Identifying Environmental and Management Factors That May Be Associated with the Quality of Life of Kennelled Dogs (Canis Familiaris).” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 167 (2015): 43–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2015.03.007.

Littlewood, Katherine E., Morgan V. Heslop, and Mia L. Cobb. “The Agency Domain and Behavioral Interactions: Assessing Positive Animal Welfare Using the Five Domains Model.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10 (2023): 1284869. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1284869.

Mellor, David J., and Ngaio J. Beausoleil. “Extending the ‘Five Domains’ Model for Animal Welfare Assessment to Incorporate Positive Welfare States.” Animal Welfare 24, no. 3 (2015): 241–53. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.24.3.241.

Mellor, David J., Ngaio J. Beausoleil, Katherine E. Littlewood, Andrew N. McLean, Paul D. McGreevy, Bidda Jones, and Cristina Wilkins. “The 2020 Five Domains Model: Including Human-Animal Interactions in Assessments of Animal Welfare.” Animals 10, no. 10 (2020): 1870. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101870.

Nussbaum, Martha C. Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2022.

Webber, Sarah, Mia L. Cobb, and Jon Coe. “Welfare through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.885973.

Working Dogs

Cobb, Mia L., Cynthia M. Otto, and Aubrey H. Fine. “The Animal Welfare Science of Working Dogs: Current Perspectives on Recent Advances and Future Directions.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8 (2021): 666898. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.666898.

Rooney, Nicola J., Samantha Gaines, and Elly F. Hiby. “A Practitioner’s Guide to Working Dog Welfare.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior 4, no. 3 (2009): 127–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2008.10.037.

Shelter and Kennel Design

Kaji-O’Grady, Sandra. “Architecture and the Interspecies Collective: Dog and Human Associates at Mars.” Architecture and Culture 9, no. 4 (2021): 569–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/20507828.2020.1792108.

Koda, Naoko, Miwa Murata, and Sakura Mizuta. “Incorporating an Innovative Kennel in a Guide Dog Program Based on the Health and Welfare of Dogs and Humans.” People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice 8, no. 1 (2025).

Loveridge, G. G. “Environmentally Enriched Dog Housing.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 59, no. 1 (1998): 101–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(98)00125-7.

Schlaffer, Lucinda, and Paul Bonacci. “Shelter Design.” In Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff, edited by Lila Miller and Stephen Zawistowski. 2004. 2nd ed. Hoboken: Wiley, 2013.

Animal-Centred and Multispecies Design

Parker, Dan, Kylie Soanes, and Stanislav Roudavski. “Interspecies Cultures and Future Design.” Transpositiones 1, no. 1 (2022): 183–236. https://doi.org/10.14220/trns.2022.1.1.183.

Ruge, Luisa, and Clara Mancini. “An Ethics Toolkit to Support Animal-Centered Research and Design.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9 (2022): 891493. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.891493.

Saeidi, Sara, Mark D. Anderson, and Marie Davidová. “Kindness in Architecture: The Multispecies Co-Living and Co-Design.” Buildings 13, no. 8 (2023): 1931. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13081931.

Monitoring Technologies and Smart Kennels

Barnard, Shanis, Simone Calderara, Simone Pistocchi, Rita Cucchiara, Michele Podaliri-Vulpiani, Stefano Messori, and Nicola Ferri. “Quick, Accurate, Smart: 3D Computer Vision Technology Helps Assessing Confined Animals’ Behaviour.” PLoS ONE 11, no. 7 (2016): e0158748. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158748.

Mancini, Clara, Janet van der Linden, Gerd Kortuem, Guy Dewsbury, Daniel Mills, and Paula Boyden. “UbiComp for Animal Welfare: Envisioning Smart Environments for Kenneled Dogs.” Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (New York), UbiComp ’14, 2014, 117–28. https://doi.org/10.1145/2632048.2632073.

Critical Studies of Human-Animal Relationships

Bjørkdahl, Kristian, and Tone Druglitrø, eds. Animal Housing and Human-Animal Relations: Politics, Practices and Infrastructures. London: Routledge, 2018.

Srinivasan, Krithika. “The Biopolitics of Animal Being and Welfare: Dog Control and Care in the UK and India.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 38, no. 1 (2013): 106–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-5661.2012.00501.x.

Issues of intensive confinement.1

Ethics of canine-human interactions.2 For example, hybrid human-dog aesthetics.3

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Footnotes

1. McCance, Dawne. Critical Animal Studies: An Introduction. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2013.˄

2. Porter, Natalie. “Training Dogs to Feel Good: Embodying Well-Being in Multispecies Relations.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 33, no. 1 (2019): 101–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/maq.12459.˄

3. Huopalainen, Astrid, Suvi Satama, and Linda Tallberg. “Aesthetic Encounters, Canines, and Care: New Multispecies Methodological Avenues in Organizational and Business Ethics.” Journal of Business Ethics 203, no. 2 (2026): 241–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-025-06035-4.˄