Animals in kennels and shelters experience significant stress from confinement and social isolation that enrichment programs can substantially reduce.
Kennel and shelter environments impose welfare costs on animals through noise, isolation, unpredictability, and confinement. Dogs who enter shelters in relatively good behavioral condition can deteriorate over weeks as kennel stress compounds. This behavioral deterioration then reduces their adoption prospects, creating a welfare cycle. Enrichment programs — including human interaction, play groups, environmental complexity, and foster placement — break this cycle by addressing the behavioral needs driving stress responses. Foster programs have particularly strong evidence for welfare benefit and adoption success.