Hannah Flint

• BSc, MSc, PhD
• Senior Research Scientist at Waltham Petcare Science Institute

Domestic cats (Felis Catus) are often exposed to stimuli that have the potential to negatively impact their welfare. These can include situations such as veterinary visits, travel, changes to their home environment, and interactions with unfamiliar people or pets. Cannabidiol (CBD)-infused pet products have grown in popularity in recent years, as p...

A complete assessment of animal welfare requires not just an understanding of negative emotional states, such as fear and anxiety, but also of positive states, such as calmness and happiness. However, few studies have identified accurate and reliable indicators of positive emotional states in dogs. This study aimed to identify parameters that may s...

Dogs are routinely exposed to events that may elicit stress and result in negative emotional states which can impact pet dog welfare. One event many dogs living with people are routinely exposed to is car travel, with many dogs displaying behaviors, along with corresponding physiological responses, that are indicative of stress and anxiety. There a...

Rehoming is a potentially stressful process for dogs retired from commercial breeding (CB) kennels, as they may struggle to cope with the myriad novel factors associated with transitioning to a home environment. Failure to adapt may increase the risk of an unsuccessful adoption, jeopardizing dog welfare and the benefits of rehoming programs. Little...

Many dogs experience stress when separated from their caregivers, as well as when traveling in vehicles. Pet owners employ various approaches to managing these issues, from training, to giving medications and supplements, often with mixed results. Cannabidiol (CBD) can alleviate stress and anxiety in humans but the effect it has on canine stress is...

Simple Summary Dogs are a social species and may experience negative emotions when left alone even for short periods of time. This study explored the effectiveness of different food-based enrichments on engaging dogs, and alleviating potential negative emotional states caused by social isolation. The results indicated that dogs spent the most time...

Many cats show signs of fear and stress during veterinary examinations and procedures, and environmental stimuli such as noise can contribute to these responses. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of background noise commonly heard in veterinary clinics (people talking, kennel doors shutting, dogs barking) on behavioural and...

Veterinary visits can be stressful for dogs, but how their wellbeing changes during a visit is not well understood. Music therapy has been successfully used in clinical practice to alleviate stress and anxiety in people. The present study aimed to understand how canine stress changes during a veterinary visit, establish the effect of music, and hig...

Objective, reliable behavioral tests are needed to refine on-site welfare assessments of dogs housed at commercial breeding (CB) kennels and provide a basis to inform predictions of their behavior when retired from such kennels. This study tested the reliability, construct validity, and applicability of a protocol for the behavioral assessment of d...

Fear and aggression in dogs within veterinary clinics can lead to canine welfare impairments and pose a safety concern for veterinary staff. However, few studies have explored potential underlying causes for this fear and aggression. We used an online cross-sectional survey targeted to current dog owners to examine risk-factors associated with fear...

A method for evaluating a companion pet food is provided. The method comprises providing at least a first and a second pet food to a companion animal, taking one or more noncontact thermal measurements of the companion animal while interacting with the first and second pet foods, and comparing the measurements. Kits, systems and/or computer media f...

Understanding fear behavior in puppies is important for dog welfare, prevention of behavioral issues, and ensuring research assessments are accurate. Further research is necessary to determine which specific behaviors puppies show when they are fearful and whether these behaviors are similar to those seen in older dogs. We assessed which puppy beha...

Full text of this article is available at: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1XqTrcF2OWoJx

Aggression in dogs is a safety concern both for humans and animals, and can lead to decreased animal welfare in affected dogs due to potential abuse, neglect, relinquishment or euthanasia. We examined risk factors associated with stranger-directed aggression in dogs using the previously validated, Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Question...

Simple Summary This study was designed to benchmark the characteristics of loads of cattle stopping for feed, water and rest during long distance transport in Canada. Another objective of this study was to determine how well these loads were following current Canadian regulations for the length of time animals can spend in transit, and how long the...