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Publications (76)
Behavioural problems in dogs are a major welfare concern for both dogs and owners, which can lead to relinquishment or euthanasia. As such, it is important to find ways to minimize the risk of development or severity of problematic behaviour. Such interventions should ideally occur early in the dog’s development and need to be widely and easily acc...
The adjustment period-wherein adopted animals transition to their new home-is a critical time for animal welfare and owner satisfaction, yet literature varies in estimates of how long this period lasts in dogs. This study sought to better characterise the adjustment period in relation to owner experience and canine welfare and clarify its duration...
Background : Clients typically turn to their local veterinary practice as the first point of call when they are concerned about their pet's behaviour, unless they think it is purely a training problem. Therefore, it is essential that the whole veterinary team are aware of the medical considerations that can affect behaviour (including routine train...
The concept of psychological resilience is well-explored in the human literature and is often described as the ability to ‘bounce back’ following adversity. However, it remains a neglected research area in dogs despite observations that like humans, dogs vary in their ability to cope with stress. This study aimed to develop the first canine ‘resili...
Frustration is a negative emotional state implicated in a range of canine behaviour problems. The Canine Frustration Questionnaire (CFQ) is the first psychometric tool developed to assess frustration tendencies in dogs based on owner report. However, to date, no published studies have assessed behavioural and physiological correlates of this trait....
Odour detection animals are required to learn many individual odours during training. Most organisations and agencies use single-odour (sequential) training, where animals learn one odour followed by another. However, this method may not be optimal for learning or for detecting target odours when they are mixed with other substances, which is an in...
This book contains 16 chapters that discuss mental and emotional health in the veterinary practice, ruling out physical disorders leading to behavioural changes, addressing pain in veterinary psychiatry, normal behaviour, raising mentally and emotionally healthy pets, diagnosis, learning principles and behaviour modification, psychopharmacology, pr...
This book contains 16 chapters that discuss mental and emotional health in the veterinary practice, ruling out physical disorders leading to behavioural changes, addressing pain in veterinary psychiatry, normal behaviour, raising mentally and emotionally healthy pets, diagnosis, learning principles and behaviour modification, psychopharmacology, pr...
Osteoarthritis is a common clinical and pathological end-point from a range of joint disorders, that ultimately lead to structural and functional decline of the joint with associated lameness and pain. Increasing understanding of the risk factors associated with osteoarthritis will assist in addressing the significant threat it poses to the welfare...
Introduction: Psychometric tools have been developed for the assessment of behavioral and affective traits in non-human animals. Frustration can be defined as an emotional reaction experienced after a given expectation is violated. Frustration is a negative emotional state and whilst it probably plays a key role in certain behavior problems in dogs...
Dogs' abilities to respond to concentrations of odorant molecules are generally deemed superior to electronic sensors. This sensitivity has been used traditionally in many areas; but is a more recent innovation within the medical field. As a bio-detection sensor for human diseases such as cancer and infections, dogs often need to detect volatile or...
Scent detection dogs are used in a variety of contexts; however, very few dogs successfully complete their training, and many others are withdrawn from service prematurely due to both detection accuracy issues in the field and wider behavioral issues. This article aims to review our understanding of the factors affecting variation in scent detectio...
In this response to the commentaries, we highlight the relevance of our approach to different challenges faced by working dogs and those working with them. We agree with Byosiere, Feng, and Rutter (2019) that sourcing dogs from nontraditional routes would be beneficial and highlight the importance of using our approach to realize the potential of t...
Visual illusions are objects that are made up of elements that are arranged in such a way as to result in erroneous perception of the objects’ physical properties. Visual illusions are used to study visual perception in humans and nonhuman animals, since they provide insight into the psychological and cognitive processes underlying the perceptual s...
With increasing threats of terrorism, police and military detection dogs are of growing importance for protecting servicemen/women and society. However, a relatively high proportion of potential working dogs fail to make full operational status, or are later withdrawn from service. To date, research has focused primarily on factors which are associ...
Background
Working dogs are selected based on predictions from tests that they will be able to perform specific tasks in often challenging environments. However, withdrawal from service in working dogs is still a big problem, bringing into question the reliability of the selection tests used to make these predictions.
Methods
A systematic review w...
Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease diagnosed in veterinary medicine and poses considerable challenges to canine welfare. This study aimed to investigate prevalence, duration and risk factors of appendicular osteoarthritis in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. The VetCompassTMprogramme collects clinical data on dogs attending...
Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease diagnosed in veterinary medicine and poses considerable challenges to canine welfare. This study aimed to investigate prevalence, duration and risk factors of appendicular osteoarthritis in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. The VetCompassTM programme collects clinical data on dogs attendin...
Adherence to the advice of medical practitioners is critical to successful treatment outcomes and has been much researched in human health, but is less well studied in the veterinary and clinical animal behavior fields. Given that the management of behavior problems often requires substantial change in established client behavior, it is likely that...
Noise sensitivity is a common behaviour problem in dogs. In humans, there is a well-established relationship between painful conditions and the development of fear-related avoidance responses. Whilst it is likely that a relationship exists between noise sensitivity and pain in dogs, this does not appear to have been investigated. The aim of this st...
In domestic dog’s trait impulsivity can be measured psychometrically using the Dog Impulsivity Assessment Scale (DIAS) and experimentally using a temporal discounting paradigm which requires substantial training. A Spatial Discounting Task (SDT) was developed as an alternative experimental method to assess impulsivity, and evaluated performance in...
This is the first report of aggressive behaviour as the primary presenting sign in two dogs subsequently found to have chronic diskospondylitis, with neither dog showing other typical clinical signs of this condition. Mild signs of pain were elicited on physical examination in both dogs. Further medical investigation revealed signs indicative of ch...
These proceedings contain oral and poster presentations from various experts on animal behaviour and animal welfare in veterinary medicine presented at the conference.
These proceedings contain oral and poster presentations from various experts on animal behaviour and animal welfare in veterinary medicine presented at the conference.
The ability to identify a novel stimulus as a member of a known category allows an organism to respond appropriately towards it. Categorisation is thus a fundamental component of cognition and an essential tool for processing and responding to unknown stimuli. Therefore, one might expect to observe it throughout the animal kingdom and across sensor...
Interactions between health, behaviour and individual differences such as; mood, affect or personality have been studied more in humans than they have in non-human animals. In humans, links can be made between personality and the expression of health problems, and between personality, affect, coping, treatment and recovery success. Previous researc...
With growing interest in the value of animal companionship to human health, and increasing business awareness of promoting work-based health innovations and improving employees’ feelings of support, there has been a rise in interest about allowing dogs in the workplace (e.g., “Take your dog to work day” initiative; Pet Sitters International, 2015)....
Situations that are emotional and arousing have an effect on cognitive performance. It is thought that beta adrenergic activation and the release of stress hormones enhance memory consolidation and lead to an increase in memorability of emotional events. This beneficial effect has been shown in humans, non-human primates and rodents. Techniques whi...
Impulsiveness describes the inability to inhibit behaviour in the presence of salient cues. Trait-level impulsivity exists on a continuum and individual differences can be adaptive in different contexts. While breed related differences in behavioural tendency in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) are well established, the phenomenon within lines o...
AGGRESSIVE behaviour by dogs is the most frequent behaviour problem reported to veterinary behaviour clinics (Bamberger and Houpt 2006, Fatjo and others 2007). The behaviour is a serious problem for the victims (Weiss and others 1998) and for the animals themselves, since it often reflects a negative underlying emotional state, especially if associ...
Despite its historical importance, the scientific study of normal human–dog relationships and the bond that exists between us and dogs has received remarkably little attention. Much research has been theoretical and descriptive rather than hypothesis driven, even though empirical testing is possible. Relationships and the bonds that keep them toget...
The domestic cat is now one of the most common pet species in the Western world. As part of its role as a pet, cats are expected to not only tolerate but enjoy being touched. This study consisted of two experiments, with the first investigating the influence of body region touched and handler familiarity on the domestic cat's behavioural response t...
False negatives are recorded in every chemical detection system, but when animals are used as a scent detector, some false
negatives can arise as a result of a failure in the link between detection and the trained alert response, or a failure of
the handler to identify the positive alert. A false negative response can be critical in certain scenari...
Re-homing centres present a range of potential stressors to kennelled dogs which are likely to impact negatively on their welfare. Despite the presence of visitors to the kennel often being considered a potential stressor, empirical investigation into their impact on the behaviour and welfare of kennelled dogs in re-homing centres is lacking. This...
Stressors impact on all areas of a pet's life, potentially to the detriment of their well-being. In addition, should this lead to behavior change, it is likely to cause strain in the owner-pet relationship with an increased risk of relinquishment. Understanding why events may be perceived as stressful to a given individual is essential in remedying...
Stress and Pheromonatherapy in Small Animal Clinical Behaviour is about how stress impacts on animal behaviour and welfare and what we can do about it, especially by using chemical signals more effectively. This readily accessible text starts from first principles and is useful to both academics and practitioners alike. It offers a framework for un...
Introduction Comunication Signal Content Conclusion
Introduction Recognising the Nature of a Problem Behaviour The Consultation Medical Versus Behavioural Problems Conclusion
Introduction Welfare Considerations The Biology of House Soiling and Evaluation of the Problem Identifying Important Contingencies Differential Diagnoses for House Soiling Treatment Conclusion
Introduction Separation-Related Behaviour Problems Emotional Problems Related to Separation (Separation-Related Problems) Prevention of Separation-Related Problems Differential Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis Conclusion Review Activities
Introduction Potential Stressors in the Initial Settling in Period Dos and Don'ts for First Encounters With a New Pet Problem Prevention Through Education Conclusion
Underpinning Principles Relating to Stress in Companion Animals The Effects of Persistent Stress, or ‘Why Stress can be so Stressful’ Other Considerations for Assessing Welfare Stress Auditing Conclusion
Introduction Behaviour-Management Options: Strategies and Techniques Implementation of a Management Strategy and its Welfare Implications Management Options Sheet Bringing About Behavioural Change in the Client Conclusion Review Activities Reference
Introduction The Nature of Travel-Related Problems Treatment of Travel-Related Problems Travel-Related Problems in Cats Conclusion Review Activities References
Introduction The Nature Of Sound Sensitivity Evaluation Of Noise Fears Differential Diagnosis Management Of Noise Fears Prognosis Conclusion Review Activities References
Barking/whining/howling;Cowering and restlessness / pacing;Drooling saliva and self-harm;“Freezing to the spot”;Lincoln sound-sensitivity scale;Owner-seeking behaviour;Running around and bolts;Shaking or trembling;Vomiting, defecating, urinating and/ or diarrhoea
Centrifugal behaviour;Centripetal behaviour;Emotional disorders;Evaluation of a dog's emotional disorder (EDED)
WE INVESTIGATED THE PRESENCE OF A KEY FEATURE OF HUMAN WORD COMPREHENSION IN A FIVE YEAR OLD BORDER COLLIE: the generalization of a word referring to an object to other objects of the same shape, also known as shape bias. Our first experiment confirmed a solid history of word learning in the dog, thus making it possible for certain object features...
GNARK trials. This clip shows two trials in which Gable was asked to retrieve the GNARK (as in experiment 3). In the break between two trials Gable is reminded of the name for the GNARK object.
(MP4)
DAX trials. This clip shows two trials in which Gable was asked to retrieve the DAX (as in experiments 2 and 4). In the break between two trials Gable is reminded of the name for the DAX object.
(MP4)
familiarization. This clip shows Gable being familiarized with the dax name for the standard DAX object.
(MP4)
A 30 month old Labrador Retriever bitch with a history of atopy presented for acute onset tail biting which was leading to self mutilation. The problem began eight months prior to the consultation. It resolved after two months, but recurred three months later and continued for three months until the time of consultation. The current episode was dif...
The attribution of human-like traits to non-human animals, termed anthropomorphism, can lead to misunderstandings of animal behaviour, which can result in risks to both human and animal well being and welfare. In this paper, we, during an inter-disciplinary collaboration between social computing and animal behaviour researchers, investigated whethe...
WE have recently received funding from the National Lifelong Learning Network for Veterinary and Allied Professionals (VETNET LLN) to take forward the development of a virtual animal learning site, and would appreciate the profession's support for this …