Using hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal measures for assessing and reducing the stress of dogs in shelters: A review

Dogs admitted to animal shelters exhibit behavioral and physiological signs of stress. Among these is activation of the body's primary stress-responsive system, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. HPA activity provides a metric for assessing both the dog's physiological response to the shelter as well as the effectiveness of attempts to reduce this response. Glucocorticoid measures of HPA activation are high for days following entry...