Interesting behavior at animal shelter...

I find it both interesting and very sad that there are so many dogs in a run together.

I really doubt that they all came from the same shelter and just passed the DA screening....there are too many dogs for that to be the case. How long were you there? I would guess that they'd already gotten sorted out a pecking order and found respect for each other or there were scuffles you just hadn't seen yet. I think if a dog is truely DA....it would come out pretty quickly, especially when put in a run with other dogs, regardless of how they are associated. But, thats just my thoughts on it....maybe they could hold back....

I think for a lot of dogs, a shelter takes out a lot of factors.  My dogs for example.... Nikon is more likely to react or rumble at another dog if he is on our property and/or with me, or with my other dogs.  Take me, the rest of his pack, and our property out of the equation and he's just an "alone" dog with nothing to protect.  He can be protective of his pack, his people, and his property but in his heart he is a pack animal and needs *some* form of companionship.  If everything that matters to him disappears, he will start over.  The more out of his own element he is, the less alert and reactive he is.  He would not let a "strange" dog walk up to our gate and enter our yard, yet I can take him to a dog show and show him in a ring with several other intact male dogs without so much as a sideways sniff in their direction.  There is also the me-vibe.  If I tense up, especially on a leash, my dogs are more likely to pick up on that and react.

The shelter where I used to volunteer prefers to have 2 dogs to a run because they say the dogs appear less stressed.  The dogs that are alone are because they are DA or have some health condition (like a dog that just had a leg amputated).  Most of them end up paired off.  For feeding though, the run is guillotined in half.  The dogs never are fed together and we were not even supposed to bring food/treats into the kennel area unless it was in our pockets and only given one dog at a time while we were out on a walk away from other dogs.

  Many dogs don't show their "true" temperament in a shelter environment because it is a strange, stressful place. That tends to take away the confidence with many dogs and make them more subdued than they normally are. That doesn't mean those dogs won't show dog aggression once away from the shelter environment for awhile.

 When I worked at doggy daycare it was not uncommon for breeds prone to dog aggression to pass evaluation with no issues, only to have to be removed from daycare weeks or months later for dog aggression. They passed evaluation and were peaceful short term within the daycare group because it was a strange place with strange people and a "pack" of strange dogs. Even dog aggressive dogs are rarely bold enough to make a move when they are in a strange place and outnumbered. Once they felt confident with the situation though, that changed.

AgileGSD

  Many dogs don't show their "true" temperament in a shelter environment because it is a strange, stressful place. That tends to take away the confidence with many dogs and make them more subdued than they normally are. That doesn't mean those dogs won't show dog aggression once away from the shelter environment for awhile.

 When I worked at doggy daycare it was not uncommon for breeds prone to dog aggression to pass evaluation with no issues, only to have to be removed from daycare weeks or months later for dog aggression. They passed evaluation and were peaceful short term within the daycare group because it was a strange place with strange people and a "pack" of strange dogs. Even dog aggressive dogs are rarely bold enough to make a move when they are in a strange place and outnumbered. Once they felt confident with the situation though, that changed.

This is why I get calls from people with relatively newly adopted dogs who "suddenly" develop bad habits about three months after adoption;-)  That's the time frame when a lot of the dogs start feeling really comfy in the new environment and begin testing limits, or when other issues surface.  Some do it earlier and some later, but in any case the honeymoon is over...

AgileGSD

  Many dogs don't show their "true" temperament in a shelter environment because it is a strange, stressful place. That tends to take away the confidence with many dogs and make them more subdued than they normally are. That doesn't mean those dogs won't show dog aggression once away from the shelter environment for awhile.

 When I worked at doggy daycare it was not uncommon for breeds prone to dog aggression to pass evaluation with no issues, only to have to be removed from daycare weeks or months later for dog aggression. They passed evaluation and were peaceful short term within the daycare group because it was a strange place with strange people and a "pack" of strange dogs. Even dog aggressive dogs are rarely bold enough to make a move when they are in a strange place and outnumbered. Once they felt confident with the situation though, that changed.

That's why I hate when you see dogs up for adoption and they say gets along great with other dogs... just as above. Give them time in their own place and when the honeymoon is over dogs can be different. Not to say that all will change and not to say those that do will do a major turn around. It's just something that can happen. When people adopt and it says great with other dogs, the family may have no idea that this could possibly change. 

Liesje

Take me, the rest of his pack, and our property out of the equation and he's just an "alone" dog with nothing to protect.  He can be protective of his pack, his people, and his property but in his heart he is a pack animal and needs *some* form of companionship.  If everything that matters to him disappears, he will start over.

I agree 100% with this.  Also, that much stress can cause a lot of dogs to shut down, it may not be curled up in the fetal position, but with 5 other dogs and chaos pulled away from everything it knows...... that's a lot to handle for anyone.

I don't think it's wise to put 5 same sex animals of approximately the same age in a run together, though.  That may seem like a good practice for organizing them, but a terrible idea for pack animals. JMHO.

Willow does really terrible with other dogs and animals on walks, at the park, etc.  But, in the waiting room at the vets office she will lay down and ignore the other dogs there.  The only exception was if they bothered her.  Also, she could also walk past dogs at the groomers with absolutely no reaction.