Mutts And Purebred Dogs In Shelters: NAIA Animal Shelter Survey

About 5 percent of the dogs in US shelters are purebred, according to a 2015 survey by the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA). That is far below the 25 percent figure that national animal organizations and the media often cite. The NAIA Shelter Project published its study in July 2015, and this page explains who counted, how they counted, what they found, and how a second study from British Columbia compares.

The NAIA states that one of its major goals is to reduce the number of adoptable pets that are euthanized in American shelters. It ran the survey because it wanted a more accurate count of purebreds. Shelter workers with firsthand experience had long said 25 percent sounded too high. A realistic number also helps potential adopters know what to expect when they go looking for a dog at a local shelter.

What share of shelter dogs are purebred

The NAIA reports that the number of purebreds in US shelters is closer to 5 percent (5.04 percent) than to 25 percent. It adds that the figure would be 3.3 percent if two groups were left out: Chihuahuas and dogs described as Pit Bulls. Together those two groups make up 35 percent of all the purebreds that shelters listed in the study.

The other roughly 95 percent of the dogs were not labeled purebred. Most of them were mixed breed dogs, often called mutts. Our page on National Mutt Day is about mixed breed dogs.

How the NAIA counted

The survey covered 18 US shelters, two in each of the nine US Census divisions. A shelter qualified only if its website showed the dogs it currently had available to the public. A graduate student visited each site and cataloged the dogs on hand every Monday for 52 weeks, and the NAIA saved the screen shots so readers can check them.

The NAIA accepted the breed label each shelter gave a dog, even when a label looked doubtful, because it could not send breed experts to every shelter. Dogs listed as Pit Bulls were counted among the purebreds in the main total. The NAIA also published a second set of numbers that leaves them out.

That choice matters, because Pit Bull is not a breed. The Animal Rescue League of Boston calls it an umbrella term that is commonly reported to cover three registered breeds: the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the American Pit Bull Terrier. It also says many dogs labeled Pit Bull-type are actually mixed breed dogs or other purebreds with a similar look.

Why older numbers were higher

The NAIA says the 25 to 30 percent figures come from studies done in the 1990s, and that those studies had two weaknesses. First, they relied on what shelter staff and the people giving up their dogs said the breed was. Shelter staff are rarely breed experts, and people often call a Collie-like dog a Collie, a chunky black dog a Labrador Retriever, and a stocky, short-coated brown dog a Pit Bull.

Second, those studies counted the purebreds that came into shelters, not the purebreds that were available to the public. The NAIA says the difference is large for two reasons. Purebreds are reclaimed by their families at a higher rate than mixed breed dogs, and purebred rescue groups remove, foster, and place many of the purebreds that remain in shelters. The 2015 survey counted the dogs on hand each week, so it reflects the dogs available to the public.

Chihuahuas, Pit Bulls, and relocation programs

The public knows that dogs described as Pit Bulls are common in shelters. The NAIA says what is less well known is that Chihuahuas are the single most numerous purebred in shelters. Chihuahuas are small, attractive to adopters, and adopted quickly. For that reason their numbers are especially high in shelters that import dogs for adoption.

The NAIA's shelter data page adds that the shelters with the highest purebred share all run relocation programs, which bring in dogs from outside their local area, in some cases from distant states and Puerto Rico. One shelter does not fit that pattern. Capital Area Humane Society in Ohio also takes in dogs from outside its area, but its largest group of purebreds is dogs described as Pit Bulls moved from other Ohio shelters.

Why breed labels in shelters are only guesses

A breed label on a kennel card or a website listing comes from a quick look, and a quick look is often wrong. The NAIA noticed that some labels on shelter websites, such as "Poodle cross" or "Chihuahua," did not appear to match the dog in the listing. It still counted the labels as given, because it could not check each dog in person.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston makes the same point about Pit Bull-type dogs: it is not easy to identify a dog's breed from appearance alone, so many dogs with that label are not what the label says. The BC study uses the word "suspected" for the same reason. Treat both numbers in this article, 5.04 percent and 3.2 percent, as estimates based on labels.

A second count from British Columbia

A different study counted purebreds in a different way. Bailey Eagan, Emilia Gordon, and Alexandra Protopopova studied dogs that people gave up to British Columbia SPCA shelters in Canada from 2008 to 2019, a total of 32,081 dogs. They published it in Frontiers in Veterinary Science in April 2022. The shelter records marked each dog as a suspected purebred or a mixed breed. Of the 32,081 dogs, 1,048 were suspected purebreds, which is 3.2 percent, and 31,033 were mixed breed.

The two counts should not be added together or averaged. They measure different things, as the table shows.

Why dogs end up in shelters

The BC SPCA study also recorded the main reasons people gave when they surrendered a dog. The shares were:

• Too many dogs in the home: 19 percent
• Housing problems: 17 percent
• Personal issues: 15 percent
• Money problems: 10 percent
• Dog behavior: 10 percent
• The pet parent's health: 8 percent

Puppies and mixed breed dogs were the ones most linked to the reason "too many." Suspected purebreds were less likely than suspected mixed breeds to be given up for that reason.

Behavior was the stated reason for one dog in ten. A dog parent who wants to work on the basics at home can start with our dog training handbook.

Support shelter dogs

You can provide support to shelter organizations by checking out our collection of cute dog rescue tshirts. A fourth of the proceeds are donated to no-kill animal shelters.

FAQ

What percentage of dogs in shelters are purebred?

In the NAIA Shelter Project survey, published in July 2015, the NAIA reported 5.04 percent across 18 US shelters. In a study of dogs surrendered to British Columbia SPCA shelters from 2008 to 2019, 3.2 percent were recorded as suspected purebreds. The two numbers come from different places, years, and methods.

Is it true that 25 percent of shelter dogs are purebred?

The NAIA says the 25 to 30 percent range comes from studies in the 1990s that counted dogs entering shelters and relied on breed guesses from staff and from the people who gave the dogs up. Its 2015 count of dogs on hand each week put the share near 5 percent.

What are the most common purebred dogs in shelters?

The NAIA found that Chihuahuas are the single most numerous purebred in shelters, and that dogs described as Pit Bulls are also common. Together they make up 35 percent of the purebreds the shelters listed. Most of the dogs overall were mixed breed.

Are shelters bad for dogs?

Shelters differ from place to place, so there is no single answer. The journal Animals published a 2021 study on the behavioral problems and welfare of long-term shelter dogs, the dogs that stay in a shelter the longest.

Sources

• National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) Shelter Project. "Survey of Shelter Dog Composition: Mutts vs. Purebreds," July 2015. shelterproject.naiaonline.org/purebred.
• NAIA Shelter Project. National Data page, 9 census divisions and 18 shelters. shelterproject.naiaonline.org.
• NAIA Shelter Project. Shelter Data page, 52 weeks of shelter screen shots and the note on relocation programs. shelterproject.naiaonline.org.
• Eagan, B. H., Gordon, E., and Protopopova, A. "Reasons for Guardian-Relinquishment of Dogs to Shelters: Animal and Regional Predictors in British Columbia, Canada." Frontiers in Veterinary Science, April 2022. frontiersin.org.
• Animal Rescue League of Boston. "5 Facts About Pit Bull-type Dogs." arlboston.org.
• "Characteristics and Welfare of Long-Term Shelter Dogs." Animals, 2021. doi.org/10.3390/ani11010194.