Physiological and Behavioral Evaluation of Shelter Dogs During Veterinary Routine Health Checks

Shelter environments can be inherently stressful for dogs, a highly social species that forms strong attachment bond with humans. This study evaluated stress responses in 26 shelter dogs during routine veterinary examinations, analyzing behavioral scores alongside physiological and hormonal parameters, including heart rate, body temperature, cortisol (CRT), oxytocin (OXT), serotonin (5-HT), tryptophan (TRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). A significant negative correlation was observed between OXT and CRT (ρ = -0.540, p = 0.007), particularly in dogs exhibiting relaxed behavior. OXT was also negatively correlated with body temperature (ρ = -0.435, p = 0.034), supporting its potential role in modulating stress-induced hyperthermia. No significant associations were found between TRP, 5-HT, IL-6, or other physiological measures and behavioral scores. The absence of correlation between TRP and 5-HT may be due to blood-brain barrier regulation, while IL-6's lack of association suggests further investigation is needed to clarify its role in canine stress responses. These findings highlight OXT's possible buffering effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and suggest that behavioral assessment may offer a more sensitive measure of canine stress than hormonal or physiological parameters alone. Future studies with larger and more diverse samples are needed to confirm and expand upon these results.