The results showed a difference between rehomed dogs and control dogs, mainly in their personalities. In the Dog Personality Questionnaire, rehomed dogs revealed a greater fear of handling and were scored as less playful, while they also showed a tendency to be scored lower in“activity/excitability” than the control dogs (Figure 1). The results also showed a difference between owners of rehomed dogs and owners of control dogs in the Big Five Inventory Survey, where owners of rehomed dogs scored higher in the personality trait “agreeableness” (Figure 2).
However, this study showed no difference between the rehomed and control group when assessing the dog-owner relationship, contact-seeking behaviour, long-term stress, physical activity, or behavioural synchronization.