Dogs housed alone: a landmark study still measures the gap with group housing
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Before booking a boarding stay or choosing a care option, whether a dog will be housed alone or with a companion rarely comes up as a question in its own right. A British study that has remained a reference on the topic gives precise numbers on what a housemate actually changes. Our bedding and set-up guidance is gathered in the dog bedding and habitat section.
Contents · 4 sections
Solitary dogs versus paired or group-housed dogs
Robert Hubrecht, James Serpell and Trevor Poole published, in 1992 in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, a study comparing the behaviour of solitary-housed dogs with that of dogs housed in pairs or groups, in shelter and laboratory settings (see the study). The finding is clear: solitary-housed dogs spent 72 to 85% of observed time inactive, versus 54 to 62% for dogs housed with others. Non-social, repetitive locomotor behaviour — circling, pacing with no apparent purpose — accounted for 4 to 5% of time in solitary dogs, against only 0.9 to 2% in group-housed dogs.
What this study does not show
The original setting is shelter and laboratory kennels from the early 1990s, not a family dog left alone for a few hours with toys and a walking routine: transferring the finding directly to a modern household calls for caution. The study establishes a correlation between solitary housing and inactivity or repetitive behaviour, not proof that isolation alone is the sole cause — available space and pen enrichment play a role too, as our article on indoor pens and spatial restriction shows.
What it changes for boarding or care
- Ask whether the facility offers paired housing for compatible dogs, rather than a systematic individual kennel, when choosing a boarding facility or kennel.
- A dog left alone several hours a day at home benefits from actively enriching its resting spot, on the same principle covered in our guide to the quiet resting spot for a dog home alone.
- Watch for repetitive behaviour — circling, pacing — as a signal not to ignore, whether in a boarding kennel or a room at home.
Frequently asked questions
Does this study apply to a family dog today?
The original setting is shelter and laboratory kennels, not a household with regular walks and enrichment: the gaps measured show a tendency, not a direct one-to-one transfer.
Does a dog housed alone necessarily develop repetitive behaviour?
No: the study shows a higher average frequency among solitary-housed dogs, not an inevitability for every individual dog in that situation.
Should paired boarding always be preferred?
The study points that way for dogs that get along with each other, but a dog poorly socialised with other dogs may find forced cohabitation more stressful than being alone. Find all our guides on the dog hub.
See it in the Planète Pets shop: Ice-silk cooling mat for dogs (62 × 50 to 100 × 70 cm) (€40.90) · the whole shop
See it in the Planète Pets shop: Folding 3-step wooden pet stairs for beds and sofas ($75.90, ships from the US) · the US shop
This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Dogs universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.