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Owners as a secure base for their dogs
Abstract
A modified version of the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test was used to analyse 40 dog–owner
pairs in order to assess whether owners can represent a secure base for their dogs. The Wilcoxon
test revealed significant differences between owner and stranger for protest at separation (whining),
contact maintenance effect (proximity, attention seeking and physical contact) and secure base
effect (exploration, individual play and social play). The results suggest that dogs behave similarly
to children towards the mothers and to chimpanzees towards human caretakers in the Ainsworth
Strange Situation Test: owners are the preferred recipient of affiliative behaviours and, in their
absence, dogs show behaviours indicative of distress. After reunion with the owner, dogs show
an increase in social behaviours towards him/her. Dogs did not show fear of the stranger, and it
was regarded as a normal behaviour for adult well-socialized dogs. Until now whether owners
represented a secure base for their dogs was debated, due to controversial results. This study found
that dogs play and explore more when owners were present, suggesting that owners can represent
a secure base for their dogs. Therefore, according to Bowlby’s definition, dogs are linked to their
owners by an attachment bond.
... As mentioned before, one of the central features of the attachment bond is the secure base effect (Waters & Cummings, 2000). When tested with the strange situation procedure, pet dogs, like infants, showed more exploration and play in the presence of the owner (compared to the stranger) and proximity-seeking behaviour towards the owner when the owner re-entered the room (Mariti et al., 2013;Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Top al et al., 1998). They also stood by the door more when the owner was outside than when the stranger was outside the room (Mariti et al., 2013;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Top al et al., 1998) and played less with the stranger when the owner was gone (Mariti et al., 2013;Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003). ...
... When tested with the strange situation procedure, pet dogs, like infants, showed more exploration and play in the presence of the owner (compared to the stranger) and proximity-seeking behaviour towards the owner when the owner re-entered the room (Mariti et al., 2013;Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Top al et al., 1998). They also stood by the door more when the owner was outside than when the stranger was outside the room (Mariti et al., 2013;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Top al et al., 1998) and played less with the stranger when the owner was gone (Mariti et al., 2013;Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003). Some studies argued that order effects could account for dogs' presumed secure base effect (Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Rehn et al., 2013): the dogs were first alone with their owner and might have engaged more in exploration because the room was new to them. ...
... When tested with the strange situation procedure, pet dogs, like infants, showed more exploration and play in the presence of the owner (compared to the stranger) and proximity-seeking behaviour towards the owner when the owner re-entered the room (Mariti et al., 2013;Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Top al et al., 1998). They also stood by the door more when the owner was outside than when the stranger was outside the room (Mariti et al., 2013;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Top al et al., 1998) and played less with the stranger when the owner was gone (Mariti et al., 2013;Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008;Prato-Previde et al., 2003). Some studies argued that order effects could account for dogs' presumed secure base effect (Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Rehn et al., 2013): the dogs were first alone with their owner and might have engaged more in exploration because the room was new to them. ...
Machine-learning-based behavioural tracking is a rapidly growing method in the behavioural sciences providing data with high spatial and temporal resolution while reducing the risk of observer bias. Nevertheless, only a few canine behaviour studies have applied this method. In the current study, we used three-dimensional (3D) tracking of the dogs’ bodies to study how separation from the caregiver affected the dogs’ behaviour in a novel environment. During the study, the dogs could move freely in a room equipped with trial-unique objects. We manipulated across trials whether the owner and/or a stranger was present in the room to evaluate the secure base effect, the tendency to explore and play more in the presence of the caregiver compared to another person. This secure base effect is considered a key characteristic of human attachment bonds and has also been described for the dog–caregiver relationship. The tracking data were internally consistent and highly correlated with human scorings and measurements. The results show that both the owner and stranger significantly increased the dogs’ exploration; the dogs also spent more time in the proximity of the owner and stranger location when they were present. Even though the presence of both owner and stranger had a significant effect on the dogs’ behaviour, the effect of the owner was more pronounced. Moreover, in the presence of the stranger the dogs spent more time close to their owner and showed a reduced tail-wagging asymmetry to the right side further supporting the distinct effect of owner and stranger on the dogs’ behaviour. We conclude that machine-driven 3D tracking provides an efficient and reliable access for detailed behavioural analyses of dogs’ exploration and attachment-related behaviours.
... More recently, the attachment construct has been applied to relationships between individuals of other mammal species, such as canids [5][6][7][8] and primates [9], as well as to those between members of two different species, such as dogs and their owners [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. This is because the dog-owner relationship appears to show similar features with the child-caregiver bond. ...
... The experimental setting was a relatively bare room within the Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pisa, Italy. The room (4.50 × 4.30 m) was unfamiliar to all the dogs tested and was prepared to meet the description of the original SSP setting [3], as well as the modified setting later used to specifically test dogs [9,10,14]. The room was equipped with two chairs, one for the owner and one for the stranger; three different toys (a rope, a stuffed animal, and an empty Kong ® (Golden, CO, USA)) placed on the floor in the middle of the room, a table to lay the leash on; a single entrance/exit door; and two video cameras to record the whole test, placed at the two opposite corners of the room. ...
... This role was always played by a person of the same gender as the owner. Previous studies have used either female and male strangers, regardless of the owner's gender [10,44,45]. Although no effect of the stranger's gender on dog attachment behaviour was observed by Parthasarathy and Crowell-Davies [46] in the context of the SSP, there is some evidence that the owner's gender may affect how dogs react towards strangers of different genders [47]. ...
The quality of the attachment bond towards the caregiver may affect the dog’s physiological responses to stressful stimuli. This study aimed to measure chronic and acute physiological parameters of stress in ten securely and ten insecurely attached dogs. The twenty experimental subjects were selected from a sample of dogs that participated with their owners in the Strange Situation Procedure. Saliva samples were collected before (T0) and after (T1) the test. Blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature were measured after the test, only. At this time, a hair sample was also collected. RM ANOVA was used to analyse cortisol concentrations between secure and insecure dogs at T0 and T1. Mann–Whitney U test or T test were used for other physiological parameters. Insecure dogs had significant higher salivary cortisol concentrations than secure dogs at T1 (p = 0.024), but only a non-significant trend towards higher cortisol concentrations at T0 (p = 0.099). Post-test heart rate also tended to be higher in insecure compared to secure dogs (p = 0.077). No significant differences in hair cortisol concentration were found. The quality of attachment may affect the dog’s physiological response to acute stress, at least when related to separation from the caregiver. The effect of attachment on chronic stress requires further investigation.
... The parent-child attachment bond can be described with four behavioral components [54] which are found also in dogs: (1) A safe haven: in a frightening situation, the owners presence alleviates dog's stress responses [14]. (2) A secure base effect: in the presence of the owners, dogs are less hesitant to explore a new environment and acts more actively in challenging situations [55,56]. (3) Separation distress: dogs show signs of distress when isolated from the owner. ...
... (4) Proximity seeking: dogs stay close distance to owner and show attention-seeking behaviors toward the owner when they are uncertain or distressed. Proximity seeking is also related to affiliative behavior during, for example, reunion after separation [52,55]. Secure attachment, strong emotional bond and positive interactions between the dog and the owner are associated with reduced level of stress in dogs [57][58][59]. ...
... In human attachment relationships, the caregiver can be seen to provide a secure base for the child, which alleviates the anxiety of the child in novel situations [54]. Similarly in dogs, secure attachment enhances independence of dogs in novel and challenging situations [51,52,55], which appears for example as enhanced exploration of a novel environment and persistence in object manipulation tasks [56]. In the current study, dogs whose owners reported high MDORS-EC stayed longer close to their owners during manipulation of a feeding toy (KONG ® ). ...
We evaluated the effect of the dog–owner relationship on dogs’ emotional reactivity, quantified with heart rate variability (HRV), behavioral changes, physical activity and dog owner interpretations. Twenty nine adult dogs encountered five different emotional situations (i.e., stroking, a feeding toy, separation from the owner, reunion with the owner, a sudden appearance of a novel object). The results showed that both negative and positive situations provoked signs of heightened arousal in dogs. During negative situations, owners’ ratings about the heightened emotional arousal correlated with lower HRV, higher physical activity and more behaviors that typically index arousal and fear. The three factors of The Monash Dog–Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS) were reflected in the dogs’ heart rate variability and behaviors: the Emotional Closeness factor was related to increased HRV (p = 0.009), suggesting this aspect is associated with the secure base effect, and the Shared Activities factor showed a trend toward lower HRV (p = 0.067) along with more owner-directed behaviors reflecting attachment related arousal. In contrast, the Perceived Costs factor was related to higher HRV (p = 0.009) along with less fear and less owner-directed behaviors, which may reflect the dog’s more independent personality. In conclusion, dogs’ emotional reactivity and the dog–owner relationship modulate each other, depending on the aspect of the relationship and dogs’ individual responsivity.
... The close relationship that dogs have with humans and the effects of domestication [19] has led domestic canines to develop the ability to detect, distinguish and respond to conspecific gestures [20][21][22]. Likewise, it has contributed to developing communication skills and interpreting their emotions, where emotions describe an internal state modulated by the central nervous system, in which physiological, behavioral, and cognitive mechanisms develop in response to a stimulus or event. ...
... Therefore, facial expression is an effective non-verbal information tool [95] to promote, create and facilitate social interactions between animals [96]. Consequently, facial expressions are one of the principal elements that allow individuals to identify the emotions expressed by others in a social group [19,97] and are the main pathway for transmitting the affective information that leads them to act in any given situation involving an emitter and a receiver of facial signals [98]. Even though it is still controversial to state that dogs use facial gestures to communicate their mental state, in a study conducted by Karl et al. [99], the response of 12 domestic dogs to positive social and non-social neutral stimuli was assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging. ...
... For these reasons, facial expressions that reflect different emotional states may well prove to be an effective tool for (i) achieving non-verbal communication [95]; (ii) creating, fomenting, and facilitating social interaction among animals; (iii) constructing or improving successful social groups, as mentioned by Brudzynski [96], and the affiliative function of expressions that promotes contact and closeness of members to each other [84]; and (iv) providing relevant information that, together with other gestural signs, may modify the interpretation and evaluation of such communications [19,97]. In this regard, fear and anxiety refer to what we consider emotional responses to aversive stimuli. ...
Animals’ facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially dogs. This review aims to analyze and discuss the advances in identifying the facial expressions of domestic dogs and their clinical utility in recognizing pain as a method to improve daily practice and, in an accessible and effective way, assess the health outcome of dogs. This study focuses on aspects related to the anatomy and physiology of facial expressions in dogs, their emotions, and evaluations of their eyebrows, eyes, lips, and ear positions as changes that reflect pain or nociception. In this regard, research has found that dogs have anatomical configurations that allow them to generate changes in their expressions that similar canids—wolves, for example—cannot produce. Additionally, dogs can perceive emotions similar to those of their human tutors due to close human-animal interaction. This phenomenon—called “emotional contagion”—is triggered precisely by the dog’s capacity to identify their owners’ gestures and then react by emitting responses with either similar or opposed expressions that correspond to positive or negative stimuli, respectively. In conclusion, facial expressions are essential to maintaining social interaction between dogs and other species, as in their bond with humans. Moreover, this provides valuable information on emotions and the perception of pain, so in dogs, they can serve as valuable elements for recognizing and evaluating pain in clinical settings.
... They also provided statistical evidence that dog attachment behavior during the SSP could be divided into different categories, although they would not match the attachment patterns found in human infants. Since then, many researchers developed their own adaptation of the original SSP in order to test specific hypotheses about the attachment bond in dog-owner dyads and simultaneously avoid methodological issues arisen by the use of SSP on a different species than that for which it was originally developed [10][11][12][13]. Despite using different protocols, ethograms, sampling methods, statistical analysis, or even different laboratory procedures than the SSP, the great majority of these studies reached the conclusion that dog-owner relationship shares the same fundamental characteristics of the child-caregiver attachment bond (contact maintenance: [11][12][13]; separation distress: [11,[14][15][16]; secure base effect: [11,12,17]; safe haven effect: [18]). ...
... Since then, many researchers developed their own adaptation of the original SSP in order to test specific hypotheses about the attachment bond in dog-owner dyads and simultaneously avoid methodological issues arisen by the use of SSP on a different species than that for which it was originally developed [10][11][12][13]. Despite using different protocols, ethograms, sampling methods, statistical analysis, or even different laboratory procedures than the SSP, the great majority of these studies reached the conclusion that dog-owner relationship shares the same fundamental characteristics of the child-caregiver attachment bond (contact maintenance: [11][12][13]; separation distress: [11,[14][15][16]; secure base effect: [11,12,17]; safe haven effect: [18]). ...
... Since then, many researchers developed their own adaptation of the original SSP in order to test specific hypotheses about the attachment bond in dog-owner dyads and simultaneously avoid methodological issues arisen by the use of SSP on a different species than that for which it was originally developed [10][11][12][13]. Despite using different protocols, ethograms, sampling methods, statistical analysis, or even different laboratory procedures than the SSP, the great majority of these studies reached the conclusion that dog-owner relationship shares the same fundamental characteristics of the child-caregiver attachment bond (contact maintenance: [11][12][13]; separation distress: [11,[14][15][16]; secure base effect: [11,12,17]; safe haven effect: [18]). ...
Since several modified Strange Situation Procedures (SSP) have been used to investigate dog-to-owner attachment, in this study two different samples of dog-owner dyads underwent two modified versions of the SSP. Dogs’ attachment style to the owner was assessed based on a novel adaptation of the attachment pattern classification used for infant-caregivers. Dogs’ behavioral data were collected using continuous sampling and, in the second protocol, also with a scoring system for greeting and social play. In both studies, secure and avoidant dogs’ behavior was compared using the Mann Whitney test, while differences within each group across episodes were analyzed using the Wilcoxon paired sample test. The classification seemed to be effective at identifying both avoidant and secure attachment patterns in dogs. As expected, differences in key attachment behaviors, such as proximity/contact seeking toward the caregiver, between secure and avoidant dogs were more evident in the final episodes of the test. Differently from secure dogs, avoidant dogs did not show an increase in proximity/contact seeking behavior with the caregiver in any of the procedures. Further studies with larger samples are needed to support the effectiveness of this classification and investigate on the remaining attachment styles.
... Attachment can be defined as a bond that forms between two individuals, often a dependent individual (child or animal) and their caregiver, that promotes contact-and proximity-seeking, as well as stress reduction and facilitation of independent behavior in the case of secure attachments (Bowlby, 1958;Harlow, 1958). Research has demonstrated that dogs can form attachment bonds to their human caregivers (Topál et al., 1998;Palmer and Custance, 2008;Mariti et al., 2013) and humans can form attachment bonds to their dogs (Barker and Barker, 1988;Cohen, 2002;Kurdek, 2009). Once established, these bonds have the potential to benefit both the animal (Serpell and Barrett, 1995) and human with the strength and quality of attachment (e.g., attachment style) serving as predictive variables for health and welfare outcomes (Garrity et al., 1989;Rooney and Bradshaw, 2002;Bennett and Rohlf, 2007;Meyer and Forkman, 2014;. ...
... However, currently, little research exists on dog attachment bonds to children . While it has been established that dogs can form attachment to one or more human caregivers (Topál et al., 1998;Gácsi et al., 2001;Parthasarathy and Crowell-Davis, 2006;Mariti et al., 2011Mariti et al., , 2013, dogs do not form an attachment, much less a secure attachment, to every human they interact with (Thielke and Udell, 2020). While it is possible that a child in the same household may serve as an attachment figure for a family dog , other (non-caregiver attachment) bond types may also be possible. ...
... Research indicates that the bonds between dogs and adult owners can fulfill the criteria of an attachment bond (Topál et al., 1998;Palmer and Custance, 2008;Mariti et al., 2013), and some studies have gone on to categorize dogs into formal attachment styles (Schöberl et al., 2016;Thielke et al., 2017). The current findings demonstrate that, in at least some cases, dogs can also form a secure attachment bond to a child in the household. ...
Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) have become more prevalent in recent years, with dog-assisted interventions among the most popular. The literature suggests that a variety of dog-human interventions have the potential for beneficial outcomes for human participants and owners, however, critical gaps in knowledge still exist. Research addressing intervention outcomes for dogs, and the impact of AAI on the dog-human bond, has lagged behind. Even less is known about how dogs perceive child partners in AAI settings. The current study, which involved AAI for youth with developmental disabilities and their family dog, aimed to determine if the dog’s style of attachment to a primary adult caretaker in the home was predictive of dog-child attachment style pre-and post-intervention. Using a Secure Base Test (SBT), the attachment style of the family dog toward an adult owner/parent was evaluated, and the attachment style of the dog toward the participating child was assessed before and after the dog-assisted interventions. The dog’s attachment style to the child was then compared to the dog-parent attachment style. The findings show that all dogs with a secure attachment to the child at the initial assessment also had a secure attachment to the parent. It was also demonstrated that AAI has the potential to change the attachment style between a family dog and child to a more secure attachment, and that the dog-parent attachment style is a significant predictor of which dogs were able to develop a secure attachment to the child over the course of the AAI.
... Based on the current knowledge, i.e. adult dogs are able to establish an attachment bond towards their owners (Mariti et al., 2013) and puppies are able to establish an attachment bond towards their mothers (Previde et al., 2009), it can be hypothesized that puppies establish an attachment bond towards their owners. Consequently, the aim of the current study was to assess whether dog attachment to people already exists in puppies. ...
... The list of analyzed behaviors is reported in table 2 and 3; they correspond to behaviors commonly used for the analysis of dog behavior in the ASST (see e.g. Mariti et al., 2013;Topál et al., 1998). ...
... Indeed, the findings of episode 2 (dog-owner-stranger) for seeking attention towards the stranger, social exploration and visual orientation suggest that puppies were not wary of the stranger, rather they sought more attention from the stranger than from the breeder. In other terms, in the current study puppies behave similarly to adult dogs, and differently from children (Mariti et al., 2013;Mariti et al., 2017), interacting with the stranger since her entrance. Social exploration and visual orientation suggest curiosity towards the stranger, compatible with neophilia (Kaulfuss & Mills, 2008), and it can hinder the expected difference in proximity seeking with the breeder over a stranger. ...
Based on the current knowledge, adult dogs are able to establish an attachment bond towards their owners and puppies are able to establish an attachment bond towards their mother. The aim of the current study was to assess whether dog attachment to people already exists in puppies. Fourteen 2 months old puppies were tested in the Ainsworth Strange Situation test in which the role of the human caregiver was played by the person with whom puppies had interacted more in their first weeks of life, i.e. their breeder. As expected, puppies displayed more protest at separation (whining, behaviors against the door, close to the door etc.) when involuntarily separated from the breeder. They also increased the seeking of proximity after separation, but they did not show a clear preference for the breeder over a human stranger. The duration of exploration, play and resting seem to be related to the order of episodes more than to a secure base effect. The findings of this preliminary study do not fully support the hypothesis that dogs establish an attachment bond towards their human caregivers since puppies, provided that they are raised by their mother. It is likely that a longer time spent together is needed for this peculiar kind of bond to be formed.
... Owners were told that the study intended to investigate the exploratory behaviors of dogs in an unfamiliar environment (Mariti et al., 2013b). Before entering the room, each owner was given a detailed set of instructions by ACVC. ...
... Hence, using a standard and well-validated method for the assessment of dog-owner attachment (see Rodriguez et al., 2018), the present study points to a relationship between training methods and dog-owner attachment. Former studies that addressed the effects of training on dog-owner attachment using the ASST failed to find any significant differences in attachment behaviors (Fallani et al., 2006;Mariti et al., 2013b;Scandurra et al., 2016). Importantly, dogs tended to display a secure attachment regardless of training. ...
... However, these studies compared formally trained (working) and untrained (companion) dogs rather than different training methods. Both Mariti et al. (2013b) and Scandurra et al. (2016) report that the dogs in their studies were trained using reward-based methods, but still they failed to find differences in relation to untrained dogs. Together with our results, this suggests it is not the reward-based training in itself that generates a secure attachment, but rather the aversive-based training that may be related to the absence of a secure-base effect. ...
The use of aversive-based training methods has been suggested to negatively affect dog-human attachment. However, the scientific evidence for this claim is relatively limited. Previous studies relied upon owner reports of training methods or on potentially confounded measures of attachment (e.g., eye gaze). The aim of the present study was to comprehensively and objectively investigate the relationship between aversive- and reward-based training methods and dog-owner attachment. Companion dogs (n = 34) recruited from 6 different dog training schools (3 reward-based and 3 aversive-based) were given a counterbalanced version of the Ainsworth Strange Situation Test. The presence and absence of the owner and a stranger in a room with the dog was manipulated over different episodes. Dogs’ behavior was then analyzed for attachment-related behaviors: contact-maintenance, separation-distress and secure-base effect, as well as following upon separation and greeting upon reunion. Results showed no significant differences between groups for contact-maintenance and separation distress behaviors. However, dogs trained with reward-based methods, but not dogs trained with aversive-based methods, played more in the presence of the owner than in the presence of the stranger, and they also followed and greeted the owner more than the stranger, although these differences were found for only one procedure order. Our study is the first to investigate the relationship between training methods and attachment using a standard and well-validated method for the assessment of dog-owner attachment.
... A behavioural repertoire was adapted from the literature to record the stress-related behaviours of dogs (Beerda et al., 1998;Mills et al., 2006;Mariti et al., 2013;Deldalle and Gaunet, 2014;Savalli et al., 2016;Csoltova et al., 2017; see Table 2). However, individuals express their emotional states in different ways (Koolhaas et al., 1999), sometimes by an association of subtle signs which cannot be assessed by the behavioural repertoire. ...
... We assessed the dogs' behaviours towards their owner by observing gazes at the owner, proximity with the owner, and contact with the owner (see Table 2), as dogs display these behaviours to communicate with humans (Miklósi et al., 2000(Miklósi et al., , 2003Gaunet and Deputte, 2011;Gaunet and El Massioui, 2014;Savalli et al., 2014Savalli et al., , 2016 or when stressed (Mariti et al., 2013;Prato-Previde et al., 2003;Palmer and Custance, 2008). The percentages of time spent on each of these behaviours were combined into a single index called Behaviours towards owner (Table 3). ...
Dogs synchronise their behaviour with those of their owners when confronted with an unfamiliar situation and interactions with their owners have been shown to decrease the dog’s stress levels in some instances. However, whether owners may help manage dog anxiety during veterinary consultations remains unclear. In Part I, we compared the behaviour of dogs in the presence or absence of their owners during consultations, which consisted in three phases: exploration, examination, and greeting. Our findings suggest that allowing owners to attend consultations may be beneficial for dogs. In Part II, we investigated the direct relationship between owners’ actions and their dog’s behaviour. Using the videos from Part I, we examined whether: (1) dogs interact more when their owner is more interactive; (2) owners’ stress scores are related to canine stress-related behaviour and emotional state; (3) owners’ actions influence canine stress-related behaviours, emotional state and tolerance to manipulations; (4) canine stress-related behaviours and emotional state are associated with increased eye contact with their owners. We analysed the recordings of 29 dog-owner dyads submitted to a veterinary consultation in Part I. The behaviours of the dogs and their owners were analysed, and their emotional states were scored. The ease of manipulations was also scored.
Despite limitations (e.g. no physical contact during examinations, no invasive procedures, aggressive dogs excluded, no male owners, limited sample size), our study showed a link between dog and owner behaviours: when owners attended an examination, their negative behaviours intensified the signs of anxiety in their dogs. Additionally, visual and verbal attempts to comfort their dog had no significant effect. However, we observed that the more dogs displayed stress-related behaviours, the more they established eye contact with their owners, suggesting that dogs seek information (through social referencing) or reassurance from their owners.
... Dogs have shared their life and story with human beings for several thousands of years [1] and today are considered, by most of their owners, family members. The process of domestication facilitated the development of a strong interspecific attachment bond, for many aspects mirroring the child-caregiver relationship [2,3]. Consequently, much more attention is paid to dog welfare, both from a physical and from a psychological point of view, by owners as well as by service providers (veterinary surgeons, nutritionists, etc.). ...
... Finally, concerning dog behavior, C-BARQ comparison between the first visit and the follow-up visit showed higher scores for separation-related behaviors and contact/attention behaviors in the former. These results are in agreement with the secure-base role that owners can play for their dogs [2] and the complex bond dogs establish with their owners [31], thus increasing the search for proximity in the times the dog feels ill. In addition, dogs with a chronic enteropathy might increase the number of times they evacuate and therefore they might increase the attention paid to the owners to satisfy their need. ...
This research was aimed at evaluating the impact of canine chronic enteropathies on dogs’ quality of life (QoL), their behavior, and owner–dog relationship. Forty-four dogs suffering from primary chronic enteropathies were assessed on the first visit with a veterinary gastroenterologist and on the first follow-up visit using a 1–10 visual scale to evaluate five features of QoL, the Canine Chronic Enteropathy Clinical Activity Index, the Lexington Attachment to Pet Scale, and the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire. They were compared to a control group of 49 healthy dogs and to a group of 50 dogs suffering from cancer. QoL and severity of enteropathy were negatively associated; enteropathic dogs on the first visit had a lower QoL than healthy dogs for all features and a lower general QoL than cancer patients; enteropathic dogs on the follow-up visit improved significantly for general QoL, health QoL, and interaction QoL. Higher levels of attachment between the owner and the dog were obtained for dogs affected by chronic enteropathies. Finally, dogs showed higher scores for separation-related behaviors and contact/attention behaviors on the first visit than on the subsequent follow-up. As in human medicine, chronic enteropathies have a strong negative impact on dogs.
... However, Prato Previde et al. (2003) argued that the results obtained only reflected a preference for the caregiver compared with the stranger and, in some cases, the order in which the SSP episodes were presented rather than a real secure base effect. Since then, several researchers developed their own counterbalanced version of the SSP, or even used different procedures, to finally arrive to the conclusion that the dog-owner relationship shares the same distinctive features with the child-caregiver attachment bond: contact maintenance (Palmer & Custance, 2008;Mariti et al., 2013), separation distress (Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008); secure base effect (Palmer & Custance, 2008;Horn et al., 2013;Mariti et al., 2013), safe haven effect (Gacsi et al., 2013). ...
... However, Prato Previde et al. (2003) argued that the results obtained only reflected a preference for the caregiver compared with the stranger and, in some cases, the order in which the SSP episodes were presented rather than a real secure base effect. Since then, several researchers developed their own counterbalanced version of the SSP, or even used different procedures, to finally arrive to the conclusion that the dog-owner relationship shares the same distinctive features with the child-caregiver attachment bond: contact maintenance (Palmer & Custance, 2008;Mariti et al., 2013), separation distress (Palestrini et al., 2005;Palmer & Custance, 2008); secure base effect (Palmer & Custance, 2008;Horn et al., 2013;Mariti et al., 2013), safe haven effect (Gacsi et al., 2013). ...
The dog-owner relationship seems to share several features with the child-mother attachment bond. In this review, we will first briefly explain the attachment theory in the context of the child-caregiver relationship in order to provide a background to the dog-owner attachment bond research. Then, we will retrace the steps that led to the current view of the dog-owner relationship as an attachment bond, with a specific focus on those studies that investigated the dog's attachment behavior towards the owner. We will briefly examine the implications of this theory in the field of veterinary clinical ethology and finally discuss its critical points and future directions.
... Dogs with larger home ranges and roaming distances to their homes also greeted their caregivers more intensively than the stranger (see also Mariti et al., 2013;Schöberl et al., 2016). Following Bowlby (1969), the evolutive explanation of a greeting is the re-establishment of bonds after reunion with the attachment figure; in social mammals, greeting ceremonies are performed to reconciliate among pack members (Smith et al., 2011). ...
... There might be a trend in dogs with caregivers reporting lower scores of emotional closeness to move farther from home, but this needs further investigation. Additionally, the MDORS has been developed (Dwyer et al., 2006) for and mostly used in industrialized countries (Mariti et al., 2013;Rehn et al., 2014;Schöberl et al., 2016). Therefore, questions might not match Latin American and/or free-ranging dog culture. ...
Domestic dogs have a close and mutualistic relationship with humans. When unconfined, they usually stay close to the owner’s home, but some undertake intensive forays in nature with negative impacts on wildlife. Predictors for such problematic dogs in previous research concentrated on dog characteristics and husbandry. Here we additionally explored which aspects of the dog-human bond influenced the movements of free-ranging village dogs in southern Chile. Using an interdisciplinary framework, we assessed the strength of this relationship through (i) attachment behaviours performed during the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP, dog’s perception of the relationship) and (ii) the Monash Dog-Owner Relationship Scale questionnaire (MDORS, owner’s perception) in 41 dog-owner dyads while remotely monitoring the dogs’ movements using GPS tracking (n = 36394 locations). We found that 39% of dogs had > 5% of their locations in natural areas, but only three individuals exhibited overnight excursions. Home range size (1.8 – 4227 ha) and mean distances to the owner’s home (0 – 28.4 km) varied greatly among individuals. Through generalized linear models we identified that dogs had larger home ranges, moved farther away from home or accessed nature more (i.e., they exhibited more intensive forays) when they explored more, greeted their owners intensively, and expressed more passive behaviours in the presence of their owners (SSP). However, the MDORS questionnaire was a poor predictor of home range, distance to home and access to nature. When considering the dogs’ background, older dogs, males, and dogs that got missing more frequently exhibited more intensive forays. Compared to SSP results in confined dogs, we suggest that owners of free-ranging dogs do not play an important role as an attachment figure. We conclude that the dog-owner bond indeed influences roaming behaviour in dogs. This highlights the necessity of wildlife management strategies considering the cultural context. In specific terms, we recommend to foster the knowledge of the importance of bonds between dogs and their owners in educational campaigns on responsible dog ownership, along with biological (age, sex) and behavioural characteristics (exploration, getting missing). That way, awareness campaigns can focus on owners of possible problematic dogs.
... Dogs show attachment behaviour towards their caregivers, which shows parallels with the attachment between infants and their parents [84][85][86]. The presence of the owner can reduce the extent of the stress response in new situations ("secure base effect", [84]) or when the dog is frightened and seeks out the owner ("safe haven effect", [87]). ...
... Dogs show attachment behaviour towards their caregivers, which shows parallels with the attachment between infants and their parents [84][85][86]. The presence of the owner can reduce the extent of the stress response in new situations ("secure base effect", [84]) or when the dog is frightened and seeks out the owner ("safe haven effect", [87]). One study compared physiological parameters in dogs that were either kennelled at a clinic for 12 h or were brought in immediately prior to gonadectomy. ...
A high proportion of dogs and cats are fearful during veterinary visits, which in some cases may escalate into aggression. Here, we discuss factors that contribute to negative emotions in a veteri-nary setting and how these can be addressed. We briefly summarise the available evidence for the interventions discussed. The set-up of the waiting area (e.g., spatial dividers; elevated places for cat carriers), tailoring the examination and the treatment to the individual, considerate handling (minimal restraint when possible, avoiding leaning over or cornering animals) and offering high-value food or toys throughout the visit can promote security and, ideally, positive associa-tions. Desensitisation and counterconditioning are highly recommended, both to prevent and ad-dress existing negative emotions. Short-term pain from injections can be minimised by using tactile and cognitive distractions and topical analgesics, which are also indicated for painful procedures such as ear cleanings. Recommendations for handling fearful animals to minimise aggressive re-sponses are discussed. However, anxiolytics or sedation should be used whenever there is a risk of traumatising an animal or for safety reasons. Stress-reducing measures can decrease fear and stress in patients and consequently their owners, thus strengthening the relationship with the cli-ents as well as increasing the professional satisfaction of veterinary staff.
... Dogs show attachment behaviour towards their caregivers, which shows parallels with the attachment between infants and their parents [84][85][86]. The presence of the owner can reduce the extent of the stress response in new situations ("secure base effect", [84]) or when the dog is frightened and seeks out the owner ("safe haven effect", [87]). ...
... Dogs show attachment behaviour towards their caregivers, which shows parallels with the attachment between infants and their parents [84][85][86]. The presence of the owner can reduce the extent of the stress response in new situations ("secure base effect", [84]) or when the dog is frightened and seeks out the owner ("safe haven effect", [87]). One study compared physiological parameters in dogs that were either kennelled at a clinic for 12 h or were brought in immediately prior to gonadectomy. ...
A high proportion of dogs and cats are fearful during veterinary visits, which in some cases may escalate into aggression. Here, we discuss factors that contribute to negative emotions in a veterinary setting and how these can be addressed. The set-up of the waiting area (e.g. spatial dividers; elevated places for cat carriers), tailoring the examination and the treatment to the individual, considerate handling (minimal restraint when possible, avoiding leaning over or cornering animals) and offering high-value food or toys throughout the visit can promote security and, ideally, positive associations. Desensitisation and counterconditioning are highly recommended both to prevent and address existing negative emotions. Some negative experiences such as short-term pain from injections can be minimised by using tactile and cognitive distractions. Preemptive analgesia is recommended for known painful procedures. Recommendations for handling fearful animals to minimise aggressive responses are discussed. However, anxiolytics or sedation should be used whenever there is a risk of traumatising an animal or for safety reasons. Stress-reducing measures can decrease stress and fear in patients and consequently their owners – thus strengthening the relationship with the clients as well as increasing the professional satisfaction of veterinary staff.
... The potential buffering effects of dog owners in stressful situations are further supported by research that suggests owners act as a secure base for their dogs. During a modified Ainsworth Strange Situation Test, dogs in 1 study 19 were more likely to display social play and exploration behavior in the presence (vs absence) of their owners, where there was more whining and orientation toward the door when left alone. Thus, previous research suggests that owner presence can alleviate signs of fear in dogs during common aversive situations. ...
... We considered 2 possible explanations for the described associations between owner presence and dogs' responses during examinations in the present study: first, owners might have reduced the degree of fear experienced by their dog during the examination through social buffering, 19 and second, owners leaving the examination room might have elicited fear and separationrelated behaviors in some dogs. Regardless of the reason, these results suggested that owner presence during the examination was beneficial. ...
Objective:
To evaluate the influence of owner presence on behavioral and physiologic indicators of fear in dogs during routine physical examinations.
Animals:
32 client-owned dogs.
Procedures:
Dogs underwent a standardized, video-recorded examination consisting of 6 phases (examination of the head, lymph node palpation, body palpation, axillary temperature measurement, heart rate assessment, and respiratory rate assessment) with or without their owner present in a randomized, controlled study. Behaviors reported to be indicative of fear, including reduced posture, avoidance, escape, lip licking, body shaking, yawning, and vocalizing, were assessed during each phase, and physiologic measurements were assessed during relevant phases by the investigator. Owner presence and sex and age of dogs were investigated for associations with behavioral signs of fear; behavioral and physiologic measurements were compared between groups (owner present vs owner absent).
Results:
Dogs in the owner-present group had a lower rate of vocalizations, lower mean axillary temperature, and higher rate of yawning than dogs in the owner-absent group. Female dogs in the owner-absent group had a higher heart rate than females and males in the owner-present group and males in the owner-absent group, and the rate of lip licking decreased as age increased in the owner-present group. The presence of reduced body posture and rates of lip licking, avoidance behavior, and escape behavior were associated with examination phase.
Conclusions and clinical relevance:
Results suggested that, when practical, owners should be encouraged to remain with their dog during routine veterinary examinations. However, effects of owner presence during procedures require further investigation. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2020;257:1031-1040).
... Nonetheless, the ameliorative effect was almost identical when the stranger was compared to the canine mother . The bond between adult dogs does not seem to fit all the characteristics of an attachment bond as intended in a child-caregiver or in a dog-human bond (Mariti et al., 2013). However, results should not be regarded as conclusive, considering the small number of studies on this topic and the peculiar appeal that human beings have to dogs. ...
... The ASST adapted to study the bond developed by the dog toward the tutor has been widely used and has repeatedly shown that dogs behave similarly to children in a stressful situation, seeking for the proximity of their tutors, preferring them to an unfamiliar person and exploring their surroundings more when tutors are present (e.g., see Topál et al., 1998;Palmer and Custance, 2008;Mongillo et al., 2013;Mariti et al., 2018;Carlone et al., 2019). Both the secure base (Mariti et al., 2013) and the safe haven effect (Gácsi et al., 2013) have been observed in the dog-tutor bond. Preliminary data also suggest that dogs tested in the ASST with their tutors present similar attachment styles as children (Solomon et al., 2019). ...
Among all relationships that a human life comprises, there is often the development of interspecific relationships, especially with dogs (Julius et al., 2013). Dogs can cooperate in various scenarios, as they can guide blind people, herd sheep, rescue people, work in animal assisted therapy, among other activities (Serpell, 2017); and beyond all operational interactions, most tutors and dogs become attached to each other (we are using the term tutor as a synonym of guardian, the one who takes care of the dog). What do people search for in an affectionate relationship with dogs? Are people searching for a new experience of caring for someone who depends on them for basic needs? For an emotional support in difficult times? For a long-term and consistent relationship, a strong connection, a mutually enjoyable contact? In other words, are people searching for a child, for a best friend or both? And how does it work from the dog’s perspective? The Bowlby’s theory (Bowlby, 1969) focused on child-caregiver attachment is being used to explain dog-tutor attachment. However, we argue that this approach should be integrated with the human friendship attachment theory and the intraspecific dog attachment. Therefore, it is important to revisit the approach to the dog-tutor attachment.
... Furthermore, emotional contagion 33 and owner-felt Emotional closeness with their dogs are stronger in dog-owner dyads with longer history together, addressing the role of time spent together and accumulated positive experiences in forming close emotional bonds. Taken together, the dogs who had a longer history with their owners may have more secure bonds and, as a result, greater confidence to explore the surroundings 8,62 . This increased explorative behavior is likely reflected in higher activity and lower HRV levels in these dogs. ...
Behavioral and physiological synchrony facilitate emotional closeness in attachment relationships. The aim of this pseudorandomized cross-over study was to investigate the emotional and physiological link, designated as co-modulation, between dogs and their owners. We measured the heart rate variability (HRV) and physical activity of dogs belonging to co-operative breeds (n = 29) and their owners during resting baselines and positive interaction tasks (Stroking, Training, Sniffing, Playing) and collected survey data on owner temperament and dog–owner relationship. Although overall HRV and activity correlated between dogs and their owners across tasks, task-specific analyses showed that HRV of dogs and owners correlated during free behaving (Pre- and Post-Baseline), whereas the activity of dogs and owners correlated during predefined interaction tasks (Stroking and Playing). Dog overall HRV was the only predictive factor for owner overall HRV, while dog height, ownership duration, owner negative affectivity, and dog–owner interaction scale predicted dog overall HRV. Thus, the characteristics of dog, owner, and the relationship modified the HRV responses in dog–owner dyads. The physiology and behavior of dogs belonging to co-operative breeds and their owners were therefore co-modulated, demonstrating physiological and emotional connection comparable to those found in attachment relationships between humans.
... Importantly, all these above operational criteria must be present in an attachment relationship. While various special bonds are reported between individuals of different species (e.g., 28 ) and even towards inanimate objects (e.g., human children 29 , adults 30 , non-human primates 31 )-some characterised by behaviours also crucial in the attachment system-, the dog-owner relationship stands out as the only non-intraspecific bond that is proven to simultaneously fulfil all criteria of attachment in accordance with the definition described above 2,4,[32][33][34] . Companion dog-owner attachment is also unique 8 in terms of the fact that dogs can form attachment towards their owners both in their natural environment (within the human social niche) and during adulthood 2 . ...
Dogs exhibit human-analogue attachment to their owners, with similar function and mechanisms to that of infant-mother bond, but its origin is unclear. Comparative studies on socialised wolves and dogs emphasise genetic influence in dogs' preparedness for attachment to humans. We aimed to reveal if this genetic effect stems from general domestication or artificial selection that increased dogs' dependence on humans. We assessed and compared behavioural patterns of young companion pigs and dogs using a Strange Situation Test. Dogs but not pigs exhibited distinct behaviours towards their owner and a stranger along attachment-specific variables, so only dogs’ relevant behaviours fulfilled attachment criteria. From the observed behaviours, three factors were formed: Attachment (to the owner), Anxiety (in a strange situation), and Acceptance (of a stranger). Results indicate (1) higher Attachment scores in dogs than pigs, (2) greater Acceptance scores in pigs, (3) positive correlation of Attachment and Anxiety in both, (4) similar time tendency of pigs' Attachment and Acceptance scores. These suggest that in pigs, domestication and early exposure to human social stimuli did not trigger attachment to humans. Thus, along with species predispositions, the unique dog-owner attachment can be facilitated by artificial selection that increased dogs' dependence on humans.
... Dog-human attachment relationships have successfully been evaluated using both the eightepisode SSP (e.g., Topál et al., 1998, based on Ainsworth, 1969 and the three-episode Secure Base Test (SBT) (e.g., Udell et al., 2021, based on Harlow,1958. Dogs have been reported to benefit from a secure base relationship with humans, where the presence of a familiar caretaker has been shown to reduce fear responses of some dogs towards novel stimuli (Nagasawa et al., 2009;Gácsi et al., 2013;Stellato et al., 2020;Mariti et al., 2013). Mostly studied in pet populations, attachment styles in dogs have been found to be related to separation anxiety or exploration behavior (Parthasarathy, Crowell-Davis, 2006;Konok et al., 2019). ...
Much of the demand for purebred dogs in the USA is met by commercial breeding kennels (CBKs). In CBKs, adult dogs have been reported to exhibit signs of fear towards strangers. Social fear is a particular welfare concern as it may lead to acute and chronic stress in the kennel, and later, after dogs are retired and rehomed. Studies on pet and shelter dogs have shown that the type of attachment style dogs have with their caretakers is associated with their social behavior towards strangers. Thus, the aims of this study were to characterize the attachment styles of dogs from CBKs to their caretakers, and investigate relationships between the types of attachment styles observed and social fear behaviors in the dogs. Forty-eight adult dogs were tested from three CBKs in Indiana, USA. Twenty (41.67%) dogs were classified as secure, 16 (33.33%) as insecure ambivalent, 9 (18.75%) as insecure avoidant, and 3 (6.25%) as insecure disorganized. Generalized linear mixed-effects models showed that secure and ambivalent dogs approached the stranger more frequently (X2 = 24.636, p < 0.001), and solicited contact more frequently (X2 = 13.092, p = 0.004) than did avoidant dogs. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests showed that secure, ambivalent, and avoidant dogs all initially approached the stranger more quickly in the Paired-Effect test (when the caretaker was present) than in the Stranger Arena test (p < 0.05). Secure and ambivalent dogs also spent more time in proximity to (p < 0.001) and solicited more contact from (p < 0.01) the stranger in the Paired-Effect test than in the Stranger Arena test. These results suggest that there is an association between type of attachment style and fear behaviors towards a stranger in this sample of dogs. Understanding connections between attachment style and social fear, and their implications for stress and welfare in dogs from CBKs may help inform breeders’ socialization, social interactions, and related management practices. This in turn may help to reduce dogs’ social fear and enhance their long-term welfare outcomes in the kennel. These insights may also aid rehoming efforts, as breeders could potentially inform new owners about behaviors they might expect from their dogs, which might help avoid mismatches in expectations, and in so doing, help keep dogs in their homes.
... Normally, the theory is used to describe a child's level of attachment to an adult caregiver (Lowenstein, 2010), however in human-dog studies, attachment has been measured bi-directionally, both as a measure of human attachment to dogs, and as a measure of dog attachment to humans (Amiot & Bastian, 2015). Demonstrating this dual application, first in the context of the owner as 'caregiver', owners have been shown to represent a 'secure base' and 'safe haven' for their dogs (Mariti, Ricci, Zilocchi, & Gazzano, 2013). Meanwhile, dogs have been shown to demonstrate proximity seeking (Fallani et al., 2006(Fallani et al., , 2007Mariti, Ricci, Carlone, et al., 2013) and separation anxiety (Mariti, Ricci, Carlone, et al., 2013). ...
The relationship formed between a human and a dog can be transformative. Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) research aims to understand why these relationships are so important. Within this field, human-dog relationships have been explained through various theoretical constructs, of which the ‘biophilia hypothesis’, ‘attachment theory’ and ‘social support’ are the most common. However, none of these constructs completely explain the benefits that human-dog relationships can provide. In this paper, a new theory, the Thriving Through Relationships (TTR) theory, is applied to human-dog relationships, in order to ascertain its capacity to further explain the benefits that dogs can provide to humans. The TTR theory proposes mechanisms for immediate and long-term indicators of thriving, which may add new insight into how human-dog relationships are beneficial. Multiple dimensions of thriving are used to explain how a supportive other could assist an individual to thrive, both in the face of adversity and during times of relative normalcy. The TTR theory may, therefore, enhance understanding of the transformative potential of human-dog relationships.
... The mismatch between attachment styles in the interspecific and intraspecific test (Cohen's k= -0.089) suggests that in dogs, as in humans, the style of attachment can differ according to the individual it is directed to, regardless of the species, with the same dog being attached in a different manner to both heterospecifics and conspecifics (Sipple et al., 2021). As previously mentioned, it may as well be possible that the bond between two adult dogs is characterized by relational dynamics that cannot be interpreted within the parent-child attachment construct (Mariti et al., 2013;Riggio, 2020;Savalli and Mariti, 2020). However, we must point out that, in the current study, the dog who played the attachment figure during the intraspecific test was never the experimental subject's mother. ...
There is scientific evidence that adult dogs establish attachment bonds towards their owners that share similar features with the child-mother bond. On the contrary, the nature of the bond between two adult dogs is still unclear. The aim of the study was to compare the interspecific and intraspecific attachment bond with a particular focus on the attachment style classification.
The Ainsworth Strange Situation Test was used to analyse the behaviour of 14 dogs (8 females and 6 males) tested twice: once with the owner and once with a cohabitant dog, in a counterbalanced order. Frequency and duration of 22 behaviours were measured and compared using the Wilcoxon test (p<0.05). Dogs were also classified as either securely or insecurely attached.
When tested with the conspecific, dogs spent more time in “vocalizations” (p=0.001) and “proximity to door” (p=0.001), while, on the contrary, they spent more time in “contact” (p=0.016) during the interspecific procedure, suggesting a higher level of stress for dogs tested without their owners.
As for the attachment style towards the cohabitant dog, 57.1% of dogs were classified as securely and 42.8% as insecurely attached. No agreement was found in the classification of attachment style between the intraspecific and interspecific tests (Cohen’s kappa =-0.089).
The results on attachment style classification suggests that, in dogs as in infant-caregiver dyads, the secure attachment is the most represented, both for the interspecific and intraspecific procedures, and that dogs can show different styles towards different individuals. Nevertheless, further research is needed, especially for the intraspecific procedure.
... While adult dog's capability to form attachment bonds with humans has been extensively studied in recent years (Mariti et al., 2013;Payne et al., 2015;Rehn et al., 2014Rehn et al., , 2013Topál et al., 1998), dog intraspecific attachment has received scant attention. Contrary to the findings on puppy attachment to adult conspecifics (Prato-Previde et al., 2009), the few studies conducted on adult dog intraspecific attachment could not clearly observe those behavioural dimensions that unequivocally identify the dog-human relationship as an attachment bond (Mariti et al., 2017Sipple et al., 2021). ...
Previous studies on the dog intraspecific attachment carried out with the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) have not been able to clarify the nature of this bond. Several factors may affect the behaviour of the dog dyads involved the procedure. In the current study, fifty-five dyads of adult dogs living in the same household participated in a SSP. The duration of fifteen behaviours was measured. Data were analysed using Generalised Linear Mixed Models considering single behaviours as dependent variables. The predictors were episodes (1, 4, and 7), type of relationship (mother-offspring pairs, non-related cohabitant pairs), sex (female-female, male-female, and male-male), and age difference. Bonferroni Holmes post hoc tests were performed to allow pairwise comparison. Dog dyads spent significantly more time trying to escape from the experimental room in episodes 1 (p=0.008) and 4 (p=0.029) than episode 7, in passive behaviours in episode 7 compared to episode 1 (p=0.001), in environmental exploration in episode 1 compared to both episode 4 (p=0.001) and 7 (p=0.001), in proximity to each other in episode 4 and 7 compared to episode 1 (4 vs 1: p=0.001, 7 vs 1: p=0.001), and in locomotion in episode 1 than episodes 4 (p=0.009) and 7 (p=0.001), and in episode 4 compared to 7 (p=0.007). Mother-offspring pairs spent more time in passive behaviours (p=0.028) compared to unrelated cohabitant pairs. Male-male pairs spent more time oriented to the door/window compared to female-male (p=0.030) and female-female pairs (p=0.030). Finally, proximity to the conspecific decreased (p=0.040), while locomotion increased (p=0.027) with age difference. According to our findings, dogs involved in an intraspecific SSP seem to be primarily distressed by the initial separation from the owner. However, they may be able to use the conspecific as a buffer against stress as the test progresses. Other factors related to the subjects involved in the procedure, such as the type of relationship, sex and age difference may also affect their behaviour. Future studies should take these factors into account if they use the SSP to explore dog intraspecific attachment.
... In line with the above mentioned reports, it has been suggested that pet dogs may be a promising model species to investigate jealousy in non-human animals [6][7][8][9]. Given that pet dogs closely cohabit with humans, form strong and stable attachment bonds with them which highly resemble the human mother-child bond [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], and typically have plenty of opportunities to observe their caregiver engaging in positive social interactions with others, there are many occasions to witness them in situations that typically evoke jealous reactions in human children [19][20][21]. ...
Pet dogs are promising candidates to study attachment-related and potentially jealousy-like behaviours in non-human animals, as they form a strong and stable bond with their human caregivers who often engage in affiliative interactions with diverse social partners. Nevertheless, it is still debated whether non-human animals are capable of experiencing such complex emotions. Even though caregivers frequently report observations of jealousy-like behaviours in dogs, behavioural studies in dogs have thus far led to contradictory results. Adding to this complexity, dogs appear extraordinarily skilled in understanding humans’ communicative behaviour and can flexibly and diversely interact with them in social contexts. Here, we aimed at investigating (1) whether dogs indeed respond in a jealousy-consistent manner when seeing their caregiver interact in an affiliative way with a remotely controlled, realistic-looking fake dog, or (2) whether they would rather synchronize their reaction to the fake dog with the caregiver’s behaviour, or (3) whether they respond directly to the caregiver without paying much attention to the third party. To address what drives the dogs’ behaviours in this triadic situation, we compared four groups of dogs who first observed and then joined the interaction of either the caregiver or a stranger greeting or medically examining the fake dog. We found that the dogs initially responded negatively or neutrally when the fake dog entered the room but changed to more positive reactions when the caregiver approached the fake dog, especially if initiating a positive interaction. When being released, more dogs showed friendly behaviours towards the fake dog when the caregiver—rather than the stranger—was interacting with it. At the same time, however, the dogs tried to block the interaction of the caregiver with the fake dog more often than the one of the stranger. In conclusion, we did not find clear evidence for jealousy-like behaviours in dogs during the human–fake dog interactions, but we observed indicators of behavioural synchronization with the caregivers, suggesting that the caregivers’ affiliative behaviours directed at a third party may more often facilitate positive than negative interactions in dogs.
... The breeder, after weaning, becomes a 'safe base' for the puppy (Riggio et al., 2021;Mariti et al., 2013;2018;2020;Carlone et al., 2019) who can explore the environment, interact with other individuals and learn new social skills (Tidu et al., 2002). ...
Military dogs, besides being exposed to stressful events during operations (loud noises, transport, exposure to high and low temperatures, etc.), can be involved in explosions and/or gunshot wounds. Breeding, selection and management of working dogs are specific activities that involve a deep knowledge of different disciplines such as genetics, animal husbandry, internal medicine and applied ethology. This study aimed to provide specific guidelines on the breeding and behavioral management of German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois military dogs, from birth to the seventh month of age. The deep knowledge of the dog from the point of view of applied ethology and the psychology of learning, beyond a natural predisposition to interact correctly with the dog, are the most important topics for a good canine trainer; education and dog training are only a direct and natural consequence of this.
... Previous studies have demonstrated that dogs can form an attachment bond with their owners [1]. Taking into account the asymmetry that characterizes the roles of the two parties involved in this relationship, as well as the owner's perception of their own caregiving role towards their dogs, it was hypothesized that the dog-owner bond may share similar features with that between a child and his caregiver [2]. ...
To date, the Strange Situation Procedure is the only tool available to investigate the quality of the dog’s attachment bond towards the owner. This study aimed to adapt a parent-report scale, named the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (AISI) 6–12, originally designed to assess 6- to 12-year-old children’s attachment insecurity, to dog–owner dyads and assess measures of consistency and validity. The online questionnaire was completed by 524 female dog owners. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed five components named, respectively, “physical contact”, “control”, “separation anxiety”, “owner as emotional support”, and “owner as a source of positive emotion”. Because of the three-factor structure of the original AISI, a PCA with a pre-fixed set of three factors was also performed. The resulting subscales mirrored the ones found for the original scale (i.e., ambivalent, avoidant, and disorganized), although four items did not fit the model. Internal reliability appeared to be satisfying for the ambivalent and the disorganized subscales, and good for the avoidant subscale. The theoretical background and the results of this study suggest that the three-dimensional model represents a better solution for the interpretation of the Dog Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (D-AISI). Although promising, this scale requires refinement and assessment of additional validity measures.
... Adult dogs also show separation-related distress when they are separated from other household dogs in similar circumstances. 50,51 In a study 52 of 45 dogs (15 with SA and 30 without SA), the behaviors of dogs during a brief separation from their owners and the quality of their reunions were assessed. Dogs without SA spent more time near their owners' chairs after the owners left the room, whereas those with SA spent more time at the door through which the owners exited and remained active for longer, suggesting that an owner may not be a secure base for affected dogs. ...
... Indeed, this vicious circle may have detrimental effects on the dog-owner relationship and on the quality of the dog attachment bond to the owner, which is mainly determined by the ability of the latter to provide safety in conditions of emotional distress [89][90][91]. The owner's failure to be a source of safety to their dog may result in the development of an insecure attachment style [90][91][92], which, in the human psychiatric literature, has been linked to a variety of psychopathological disorders, such as anxiety [93,94], depression [95], panic [96], aggressiveness [97], and obsessive-compulsive disorders [98]. ...
Anthropomorphic practices are increasing worldwide. Anthropomorphism is defined as the tendency to attribute human forms, behaviors, and emotions to non-human animals or objects. Anthropomorphism is particularly relevant for companion animals. Some anthropomorphic practices can be beneficial to them, whilst others can be very detrimental. Some anthropomorphic behaviors compromise the welfare and physiology of animals by interfering with thermoregulation, while others can produce dehydration due to the loss of body water, a condition that brings undesirable consequences such as high compensatory blood pressure and heat shock, even death, depending on the intensity and frequency of an animal’s exposure to these stressors. Malnutrition is a factor observed due to consumption of junk food or an imbalance in caloric proportions. This can cause obesity in pets that may have repercussions on their locomotor apparatus. Intense human–animal interaction can also lead to the establishment of attachment that impacts the mental state and behavior of animals, making them prone to develop aggression, fear, or anxiety separation syndrome. Another aspect is applying cosmetics to pets, though scientific studies have not yet determined whether cosmetic products such as coat dyes, nail polish, and lotions are beneficial or harmful for the animals, or to what extent. The cohabitation of animals in people’s homes can also constitute a public health risk due to infectious and zoonotic diseases. In this context, this paper aims to analyze the adverse effects of anthropomorphism on the welfare of companion animals from several angles—physiological, sanitary, and behavioral—based on a discussion of current scientific findings.
... These can be thought of as high-quality HARs, which occur dyadically and reciprocally (i.e., they occur between just two interactants, both of whom contribute positively to the relationship), and which confer feelings of well-being in both parties (Hosey & Melfi, 2019a;Russow, 2002). While these characteristics are likely to occur with domesticated dogs (Konok et al., 2011;Mariti et al., 2013a;Preto-Previde et al., 2003), HABs have rarely been studied, or demonstrated with other animals, and certainly not with ZA. This raises questions about whether the KARs in zoos are equivalent to the HARs in other human-animal contexts, in particular, increments to welfare and well-being for both animals and keepers. ...
Keeper-animal relationships (KARs) appear to be important in zoos, since they can enhance the well-being of both the animals and the keepers, can make animal husbandry easier, but conversely might risk inappropriate habituation of animals and possible risks to the safety of keepers. It is, therefore, important to know more about the variables involved in relationship formation. Here we use a modified version of the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) to measure the strength of KARs between keepers and animals in their care, both in the zoo and in the home. LAPS questionnaires were completed by 187 keepers in 19 different collections across three countries. LAPS scores for attachment to zoo animals (ZA) were significantly lower than for pet animals (PA). There was no significant difference in ZA scores between different taxa, but there were significant taxon differences between PA scores. There were significant differences in both ZA and PA scores between different collections. Female respondents scored more highly than males for both ZA and PA. Multiple regression revealed that location, gender, and time spent with animals were significant predictors for ZA, while only gender and taxon were significant predictors for PA. It was concluded that PA scores were comparable with those for the general public, and reflected strong attachment of keepers to their pets, while ZA scores, although also reflecting attachment, were influenced by differences in institutional culture.
... Furthermore, dogs living in a human family tend to form a stronger attachment bond to a specific member and the preferred person was who cared more about the dog (Carlone et al. 2019). The ability to establish an attachment bond seems to be unaffected by ontogenesis in adult dogs since no clear differences with pet dogs were found in dogs for search and rescue (Mariti et al. 2013b), guide for visually impaired people , and water rescue training experiences, although in the latter study water rescue training affected some of the behavior recorded in the SST (i.e., individual play). Finally, attachment bonds can develop rapidly also in socially deprived dogs (Gácsi et al. 2001). ...
Sex differences in the behavioral responses of Labrador Retriever dogs in the Strange Situation Test were explored. Behaviors expressed by dogs during seven 3-min episodes were analyzed through a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The scores of factors obtained were analyzed with a Generalized Linear Mixed Model to reveal the effects of the dog’s sex and age and the owner’s sex. In Episode 1 (dog and owner) and 5 (dog alone), the PCA identified three and two factors, respectively, which overall explained 68.7% and 59.8% of the variance, with no effect of sex. In Episodes 2 (dog, owner, and stranger), 3 and 6 (dog and stranger), and 4 and 7 (dog and owner), the PCA identified four factors, which overall explained 51.0% of the variance. Effects of sex were found on: Factor 1 (distress), with lower scores obtained by females in Episode 2 and higher in Episode 3; Factor 2 (sociability), which was overall higher in females; Factor 3 (separation-distress), with females, but not males, obtaining higher scores when left with the stranger than when with the owner. Therefore, females were overall more social but seemed more affected than males by the owner’s absence. Parallels can be traced between our results and sex differences found in adult human romantic attachment, suggesting that the dog-owner bond has characteristics that are not found in the infant-mother relationship.
... www.nature.com/scientificreports/ researchers found clear evidence of all four attachment criteria in dogs 2,3,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] . Even more striking, the secure base effect in dogs is specific and tuned to the bond with the caregiver 25,26 . ...
Behavioural studies revealed that the dog–human relationship resembles the human mother–child bond, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report the results of a multi-method approach combining fMRI (N = 17), eye-tracking (N = 15), and behavioural preference tests (N = 24) to explore the engagement of an attachment-like system in dogs seeing human faces. We presented morph videos of the caregiver, a familiar person, and a stranger showing either happy or angry facial expressions. Regardless of emotion, viewing the caregiver activated brain regions associated with emotion and attachment processing in humans. In contrast, the stranger elicited activation mainly in brain regions related to visual and motor processing, and the familiar person relatively weak activations overall. While the majority of happy stimuli led to increased activation of the caudate nucleus associated with reward processing, angry stimuli led to activations in limbic regions. Both the eye-tracking and preference test data supported the superior role of the caregiver’s face and were in line with the findings from the fMRI experiment. While preliminary, these findings indicate that cutting across different levels, from brain to behaviour, can provide novel and converging insights into the engagement of the putative attachment system when dogs interact with humans.
... There is a remarkable similarity in the attachment bond that dogs establish toward their owners and that human children establish toward their caregivers. In the dog-owner bond, both a secure base and a safe haven effect have been found [22]. Gacsi and colleagues [23] highlighted the importance of a human analog safe haven effect of the owner in a potentially dangerous situation. ...
KEY POINTS
- Aggression problems have a causation, triggers for showing behavior in a specific situation, and a system of reinforcers that helped to develop the problem and keep the behavior alive.
- For development of a sufficient prognosis and treatment plan, a thorough analysis of these causations and triggers is important.
- Treatment must focus on management to avoid critical situations, curing any underlying health problems when possible; studying the social interaction between dog and owner; using psychoactive drugs when necessary; and administering special training, including desensitization, teaching alternative behavior, and aiming at changing the emotional state of the dog.
- Training must focus on positive techniques. Aversive methods are to be avoided.
... They proposed that the domestication per se has not necessarily changed the dog's capacity to form social relationships, but it has extended the period of socialization, giving dogs more opportunities to form successful relations compared to other species [19]. In addition, it is well recognized that dogs can use their owner as a secure base [44] and form interspecific attachment bonds even in adulthood [45,46]. ...
Although popular culture describes them as mortal enemies, more and more often, dogs and cats live under the same roof. Does this make them best friends? Can sharing the same social and physical environment make them similar? This study compares the approaches of dogs and cats living in the same household have towards humans and other pets as perceived by the owner. Questionnaires collected from 1270 people owning both dog(s) and cat(s) were analysed. Most dogs and cats living together are playful with familiar humans (76.2%) but dogs have a more sociable approach towards strangers and conspecifics than cats (P<0.001). Moreover, the percentage of dogs that have a playful relationship with the owner (84.0%) was higher than cats (49.2%; P<0.001). Dogs and cats living together eat in different places and show different mutual interactions: more dogs lick the cat (42.8%) and more cats ignore the dog (41.8%) than vice versa (P<0.001). However, most dogs and cats sleep at least occasionally (68.5%) and play together (62.4%; P<0.001). Although some body postures, such as the tail’s position, are interpreted differently by the two species, the greater proportions of dogs and cats show a relaxed response to several kinds of approaches of their roommate. Our questionnaire confirms the common beliefs about the sociability of the dog and the privacy of the cat, but this does not result in continuous internal struggles. Most cohabitations are peaceful. Moreover, it is true that they speak different languages, but they seem to understand each other well and interpret each other's approaches in the right way. Thus, aspiring owners should not blindly believe popular assumptions, but both knowledge and respect for species-specific pet behaviours are essential to establish a balance in the household.
... communication with humans, dogs primarily use barks and whines (Pongrá cz et al. 2010;Faragó et al. 2014;Taylor et al. 2014;Westgarth et al. 2016;Parsons et al. 2019). With whines, dogs can protest at separation (Mariti et al. 2013;Huber et al. 2017) and manipulate their owners (Volodina et al. 2006a) in a manner similar to the excessive manipulative meowing of domestic cats Felis catus (Nicastro 2004;McComb et al. 2009). ...
In domestic dogs Canis familiaris, vocal traits have been investigated for barks and growls, and the relationship between individual body size and vocal traits investigated for growls, with less corresponding information for whines. In this study, we examined frequency and temporal traits of whines of 20 adult companion dogs (9 males, 11 females), ranging in body weight from 3.5 to 70.0 kg and belonging to 16 breeds. Dog whines (26–71 per individual, 824 in total) were recorded in conditioned begging contexts modeled by dog owners. Whines had three independent fundamental frequencies: the low, the high and the ultra-high that occurred singly as monophonic calls or simultaneously as two-voice biphonic or three-voice polyphonic calls. From the smallest to largest dog, the upper frequency limit varied from 0.24 to 2.13 kHz for the low fundamental frequency, from 2.95 to 10.46 kHz for the high fundamental frequency and from 9.99 to 23.26 kHz for the ultra-high fundamental frequency. Within individuals, the low fundamental frequency was lower in monophonic than in biphonic whines, whereas the high fundamental frequency did not differ between those whine types. All frequency variables of the low, high and ultra-high fundamental frequencies correlated negatively with dog body mass. For duration, no correlation with body mass was found. We discuss potential production mechanisms and sound sources for each fundamental frequency; point to the acoustic similarity between high-frequency dog whines and rodent ultrasonic calls and hypothesize that ultra-high fundamental frequencies function to allow private, “tete-a-tete” communication between members of social groups.
... Since the late 1990s, when the landmark study of attachment behavior in dogs was published (Topál et al., 1998), several canine-related studies have replicated and extended the application of attachment theory, in general, and the Strange Situation test, in particular (e.g., Mariti et al., 2013bMariti et al., , 2013aPrato-Previde et al., 2003;Rehn et al., 2013;Topál et al., 2005;Valsecchi et al., 2010;White et al., 2017). Overall, attachment theory and the Strange Situation test have been used to study human-dog relationships across different canine occupations (e.g., pet dogs and search and rescue dogs; Mariti et al., 2013b) and caregivers (e.g., puppy walker, trainer and blind owner; Valsecchi et al., 2010). ...
Mounting interest in the evolutionary and contemporary aspects of human-dog association has resulted in growing research efforts from different disciplines with differing methodologies and areas of emphasis. Despite its potential to contribute to the understanding of human-dog interactions, behavior-analytic research efforts are scarce. We are illustrating how the behavior-analytic three-level selection by consequences framework could be applied to inform research on human-dog interactions. Therefore, the notions of interlocking behavioral contingencies and metacontingencies are applied to interpret specific interactions and suggest potential lines of research. We first analyze the development of cooperative hunting of prehistoric humans and dogs, and its implications for interspecific social-communicative skills. Second, we discuss contemporary family practices that involve the interactions between parents, children and family dogs via an analysis of a prototypic social episode. Lastly, we provide an overview of the main approaches that have contributed to the understanding of the human-dog interactions (e.g., anthrozoological), and show how their findings can be placed within the behavior-analytic framework. We conclude that the coherence of the selectionist framework is a major strength that not only can contribute to synthesize a large amount of scattered research on human-dog relationships conducted across various fields, but can also inform further research and applications.
... Another factor to keep in mind is the presence or absence of the owner. There are studies showing that the owner can act as a secure base for the dog (Mariti et al. 2013;Topal et al. 1998). In those cases, the presence of the owner increased both explorative and play behaviours during testing. ...
... This can partly be explained by the idea that a more avoidant attachment style to pets might influence the owner's behavior toward their dog as they distance themselves from the dog, being ignorant and not providing enough affection, intimate contact and availability, as seen in adult attachment [56]. As a result, the dog may perceive a lack of consistent responsiveness to its needs as an indication that it cannot use its owner as a secure base, as it was previously suggested that owners can represent a secure base for their dogs [57], especially in a threatening situation [36,58]. This might evoke fear in dogs, which is one of the most common motivations for aggressive behavior [10]. ...
Abstract: A dog's aggressive behavior is influenced by external and internal factors, including its psychological profile. In this study, dogs' and owners' personalities and the owners' attachment style to their dogs were identified and associated with owner-reported dog aggression towards humans and animals. Forty Slovenian owners participated with their dogs, of different breeds and aggression history, sorted into three groups (non-aggressive dogs, dogs aggressive towards humans, and dogs aggressive towards animals). The owners filled out three separate questionnaires that assessed dog aggression history towards different targets, owner's personality and degree of insecure attachment styles to dogs; namely anxious and avoidant attachment. Dog personality was characterized using a standardized dog mentality assessment test, during which the dog was exposed to nine tasks, performed outside, and dogs were scored based on behaviors they exhibited. The results indicated that dogs which were aggressive towards humans were less sociable than non-aggressive dogs and this was associated with the higher neuroticism scores of their owners. We also found that dogs which were aggressive towards strangers had owners with lower scores for anxious attachment and that dogs which were aggressive towards owners had owners with higher scores for avoidant attachment. These results imply that the psychological profiles of both a dog and its owner influence dog aggression towards humans.
... More recently, Rothgerber & Mican, (2014) found that children with pets displayed greater connection to living animals, expressing more empathy toward animals, and perceiving greater human-animal similarity for both primary and secondary emotions. These findings may be explained by the strong bond that is usually established between dogs or cats and their owners (Mariti, Ricci, Zilocchi, & Gazzano, 2013), or because closely taking care of an animal, such as a cat or a dog, might change people's perceptions of animal issues (Mariti et al., 2012;Mariti et al., 2017). ...
Adult attitudes toward animals have received extensive research attention. By contrast, despite the importance of child–animal interactions for children’s development and animal welfare, children’s attitudes toward animals have not been fully explored. The aim of this study was, therefore, to examine Spanish children’s attitudes toward animals. A 12-item scale, the Brief Attitudes Towards Animals scale for Children (BATAC), was designed and completed by 416 Spanish primary school children aged between 6 and 13 years. Analyses revealed that the attitude scale had very good internal consistency (Cronbach’s a = 0.75; Revelle’s omega = 0.75; Sijtsma’s glb = 0.84) and three factors labelled “Compassion,” “Friendship,” and “Opinion on Ownership” explained 56.47% of the variance. The subscales were used in subsequent analyses alongside the total score. Demographic variables, such as age, school year group, ownership of a companion animal, and children’s beliefs about animal mind, were shown to be associated with children’s attitudes toward animals. Being older, in a higher school year, having a dog or a small mammal at home, and scoring animals higher on sentience capabilities were associated with higher pro-animal attitudes. Other pet types (i.e., cats, birds, reptiles or fish) and children’s gender were not associated with attitudes to animals. This study is the first to explore attitudes toward animals among Spanish primary school children, and it highlights attitudinal differences regarding animal species and child demographic variables.
This chapter first describes the causes and consequences of care.
It also explains the mechanisms of the appearance of the healthcare phobia in the dog. It then proposes a series of environmental, behavioral, and medical tools to manage this phobia or to avoid its appearance. Finally, an ideal care pathway is proposed, from which each practitioner and each structure will be able to draw elements that can be applied or adapted to their own practice.
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 serve as indicators of short-term emotional states in dogs. Using a cross-over design, 60 dogs living at a research facility were exposed to six different 10-min scenarios expected to elicit responses varying in emotional valence and arousal. A range of behavioural and physiological parameters were collected and their relationship to anticipated emotional valence and arousal was analysed using linear and logistic mixed models. Cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone, heart rate variability, panting, whining, and body shake all demonstrated significant differences based on arousal levels, but only within negative valence scenarios. Scores from a qualitative behavioural assessment (QBA) were associated with both emotional valence and arousal and were considered the best indicator of positive valence. Activity, ear temperature, and sitting were associated with positive high arousal, although this may have been influenced by differing levels of movement induced during these scenarios. Meanwhile, heart rate, secretory immunoglobulin A, standing and lying all showed similar changes associated with arousal for both positive and negative valence scenarios. This study provides a critical first step towards identifying evidence-based indicators of short-term emotional states in dogs, while highlighting considerations that should be made when employing these parameters, including the influence of coder bias, food provision, exercise, and external temperature. Overall, it is recommended future dog emotion and welfare research use a combination of parameters including indicators of both emotional valence and arousal.
Early life deprivation and stress can contribute to life‐long, problematic consequences, including epigenetic variations related to behavior and health. Domestic dogs share human environments and social–cognitive traits, making them a promising comparative model to examine developmental plasticity. We examined 47 owner–dog dyads, including dogs rescued from abusive or neglectful environments, and matched control dogs for changes in DNA methylation of glucocorticoid ( NR3C1 ) and oxytocin ( OXTR ) receptor genes previously shown to be affected by early life stress in other species including humans. We used an attachment paradigm, which included a separation event to examine cortisol levels and owner–dog attachment styles. Overall, dogs with adverse histories had different NR3C1 methylation patterns as a function of age and less OXTR methylation than comparison dogs. Dogs with adverse histories did not differ in their cortisol change from baseline to poststressor from comparison dogs, but the change in cortisol was associated with NR3C1 methylation. In addition, dogs with a history of early life stress had more insecure attachment styles; for every unit increase of OXTR methylation, the odds increased for insecure attachment style. This study demonstrates that adverse life histories lead to methylation differences, resulting in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis's dysregulation and differences in behavioral phenotypes.
The bond between humans and dogs is quite noticeable in our daily lives and has variable characteristics depending on the cultural and socioeconomic context. Also, it varies according to the costs and benefits perceived by the owners in their everyday lives. The relationships established with such companion animals are being increasingly studied with the aim of characterizing the affective bonds created and how they differ between individuals and cultures. Scales that accurately assess the dog-owner relationship are important for the description of the bond and for possible attempts to maintain the well-being of both dog and owner. The Dog–Owner Relationship Scale (DORS) is a questionnaire that can help researchers achieve these goals and has never been validated for Brazilian culture and language. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to translate the DORS into Brazilian Portuguese and test its validity and reliability on a sample of Brazilian dog-owners. The same three-factor structure from the original English version of the scale was revealed by an Exploratory Factor Analysis: Pet–Owner Interaction (POI), Perceived Emotional Closeness (PEC) and Perceived Costs (PC). Due to low-or cross-loadings, some items had to be removed from our version and the validity of the construct was confirmed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Cronbach’s α values for each subscale were acceptable. In addition, we found through regression analysis that owners with higher education had a lower chance of being in the group with the highest Perceived Emotional Closeness (PEC) score when compared to owners with low education. And, when analyzing the Perceived Cost (PC) subscale, we noticed that the older the dog, the greater the chances of the owner perceiving the ownership as less costly. The Brazilian Portuguese DORS showed satisfactory evidence of validity, and its use is advised to assess dog-owner relationships.
Objectives:
This study aims to describe a perioperative protocol for dogs recovered from anaesthesia with the owners and discharged from the hospital on the same day after surgical management of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome and to determine whether implementation of this protocol was associated with reduced incidence of complications compared with standard anaesthesia recovery and 24 hours hospitalisation.
Materials and methods:
Medical records of dogs that underwent brachycephalic obstructive airway surgery over two consecutive years (June 2017 to May 2019) were reviewed retrospectively. Signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic findings, surgical procedures and postoperative respiratory complications were recorded. Data were compared using the chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests.
Results:
Sixty-three dogs met the inclusion criteria for the study. Forty-two dogs underwent owner-assisted recovery and 21 dogs standard recovery. No statistical difference was found between groups in age, breed, gender, severity of respiratory or gastrointestinal clinical signs and surgical techniques employed. The incidence of postoperative complications was higher in dogs that received standard recovery (28%) compared to dogs recovered with the owners (2%). None of the dogs recovered with the owners and discharged the same day required veterinary assistance after discharge from the hospital.
Clinical significance:
Corrective surgery for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome was associated with lower postoperative respiratory complications when dogs were discharged on the same day after recovery with the owners. Owner-assisted recovery and early discharge are possible and safe and may decrease the incidence of postoperative complications. However, other unmeasured factors may have contributed to the lower complication rate in dogs recovered with the owners during the course of this study.
Behavioural reactions towards a dead conspecific have been observed rarely in wild canids and there is no documented scientific evidence of grief in pet dogs. A quantitative analysis of grief-related responses in both dogs and owners was conducted, using the validated online Mourning Dog Questionnaire. The survey was completed by 426 Italian adults who had owned at least two dogs, one of whom died while the other was still alive. This research aims to explore whether, how and what a dog may experience over the loss of a companion dog. Multiple logistic regression indicates that both a friendly or parental relationship between two dogs but also the fact that dogs used to share food and the owner’s grief and anger are principal predictors of negative behavioural changes. According to dog owners’ answers, the surviving dog after the death of the companion dog changed both in terms of activities (“playing”, “sleeping”, and “eating”) and emotions (fearfulness), which occurred as a function of the quality of the relationship between the two animals. By contrast, the time the two dogs had spent together had no effect on the behaviours of surviving dog. Owner perceptions about their dog’s reactions and emotions were not related to the memory or suffering of the event that tended to diminish over time. These findings indicate that a dog may show grief-related behavioural and emotional patterns when a close conspecific dies, with aspects of the latter possibly related to the owner’s emotional status.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether and to what extent human attachment theory explains
the bond between humans and animals. We examined whether the five main dimensions, outlined by Bowlby also
exist in human-dog and human-horse relationships. A sample of 592 Italian adult dog and/or horse owners were
tested using the Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire (RAQ) to analyze their intra-specific relationships, while two
adapted versions of the RAQ were used to investigate human-dog (RAQ-HD) and human-horse (RAQ-HH) bonds.
The results indicate that the construct of the human-dog and human-horse relationship appears to be based only on
three of the five main dimensions of Bowlby’s attachment theory: namely, proximity seeking, separation protest and
feared loss. These findings suggest that the bond between adult humans and animals, although long-lasting, intense
and psychologically and emotionally important, can be viewed as a bond of affection and not as a real attachment
bond.
The Secure Base Effect (SBE) refers to a human or non-human animal’s ability to use the presence of a bonded caretaker, or other familiar stimulus, as a source of comfort that facilitates stress reduction and exploration in novel or stressful contexts. Recent research has shown that some pet domestic cats (Felis catus) display SBE in the presence of their human owner, a finding that could be utilized to improve cat welfare. In applied settings, cat owners are often encouraged to leave behind items holding their scent when leaving their cat in a novel location (e.g. boarding facility), so that these items can be provided to the cat if they show signs of separation distress. While this practice has not be studied scientifically in cats, scent objects have been found to produce SBE in human research under similar conditions. Olfaction is thought to play an important role in the social behavior of domesticated cats, even in early life, as exposure to nest scent has been found to reduce stress in kittens. Thus, the possibility that owner scent might be sufficient to elicit SBE in cats is an important empirical question with applied implications. In the current study we asked whether owner scent would reduce cat anxiety when in an unfamiliar environment, and to what extent this might be related to whether the cat showed evidence of using their owner as a Secure Base. Forty-two adult cats underwent a counterbalanced Secure Base Test that examined the cat’s behavior with the owner present, without the owner present, and with a scent object present. On average, cats displayed a lower frequency of stress-related behaviors when the owner was present, providing support for the presence of SBE. However, this effect was not seen when the cat was alone with the scent object. The results of this research can be used to deepen our understanding of feline social behavior and welfare. These findings also highlight the importance of using evidence based practices to address cat anxiety in applied settings.
Dogs’ dysfunctional attachment relationships with their owners are assumed to be the underlying cause of separation anxiety. Thirty-two dogs with and 43 dogs without owner-reported separation anxiety (SA) participated in a formal attachment test (AT). After the AT, the dogs were videotaped for 30 minutes while alone at home. Dogs left free in the house were scored on how long they were in proximity to the owners’ exit doors. Dogs who were crated or closely confined were scored on several anxiety-related behaviors, which were then compared to those dogs’ behaviors during the attachment test. Dogs with SA spent no more time in contact with or proximity to their owners during the attachment test than dogs without SA (P>0.05). Instead, they tended to jump up on the door after the strangers left the room and remain stationary when alone with their owners (P0.05) between SA and non-SA dogs in the amount of time spent in proximity to the owners’ exit doors when left alone at home. Dogs crated at home showed no relationship between the amount of anxiety-related behaviors during the AT or at home (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the type of proximity-seeking behaviors exhibited by dogs with and without SA in the home (P>0.02). These finding suggest that separation anxiety is not based on “hyperattachment” of the dog to the owner, but that a different attachment style may be present between dogs with and without SA.
Developmentalists have often conceptualized infant-adult ties in terms of an implicit trait construct evolved from the study of dependency. The major dimension of individual differences has been conceptualized in terms of quantitative differences in the "strength" of attachments, and a variety of discrete behaviors (touch, look, smile, approach, cling, cry) have been assumed to be valid "indices" of this dimension. These behaviors have been assumed to be significantly intercorrelated and stable across situations and over time. Critics have argued strongly that these assumptions cannot be defended empirically. It has further been argued that the study of individual differences in infant-adult ties is unlikely to he a productive research strategy and that attachment (as implying anything more than infant-adult interaction) has outlived its usefulness as a developmental construct. When, however, trait models are abandoned and greater attention is paid to the functions, outcomes, and context sensitivity of attachment behavior and to the underlying behavioral control systems that organize it, the apparent conflict between situational influences and stable individual differences can be resolved. The study of changes in the organization of behavior during development provides a framework for productive individual differences research. When greater emphasis is placed on the organization of behavior, both the stability and the flexibility of attachment behavior can be comprehended, and the attachment construct can continue to play an important integrative role in developmental theory.
The concept of social competence presents problems for conceptualization and assessment. At times researchers have tried to circumvent these problems by defining competence in terms of specific capacities or skills, with the consequence that the integrative potential of the concept is lost. On the other hand, more molar definitions (e.g., “effectiveness”), while being true to the integrative nature of the construct, provide little guidance for assessment. In this paper a developmental perspective on competence is presented which is congruent with a molar definition of competence while still guiding assessment efforts. In addition to this developmental viewpoint, certain practical guidelines are presented for assessment of competence across ages. These include the use of broadband assessments, which are tied to real-life adaptational problems, call for the coordination of affect, cognition, and behavior, and tax the integrative capacities of the child. Initial validation of the developmental competence construct and this approach to assessment is presented.
Removal of 1 member of a long-standing pair of adult domestic dog (Canis familiaris) kennel mates from the home run for 4 hr had no effect on the behavior or plasma glucocorticoid levels of the remaining dog. When tested in a novel environment, dogs showed increased activity and elevated glucocorticoid levels at the end of the session, but these responses were as large when the dogs were with their kennel mates as when they were alone. However, activity and glucocorticoid levels were not elevated if the dogs were exposed to the novel environment in the presence of their human caretaker. Dogs more often were observed in proximity with, and soliciting social behavior from, the human than the kennel mate. These results highlight the importance of human companionship for the domestic dog and point to a difference in the nature of the social relationships of dogs with humans and with conspecifics.
Fifty-one owner-dog pairs were observed in a modified version of M. D. S. Ainsworth's (1969) Strange Situation Test. The results demonstrate that adult dogs (Canis familiaris) show patterns of attachment behavior toward the owner. Although there was considerable variability in dogs' attachment behavior to humans, the authors did not find any effect of gender, age, living conditions, or breed on most of the behavioral variables. The human-dog relationship was described by means of a factor analysis in a 3-dimensional factor space: Anxiety, Acceptance, and Attachment. A cluster analysis revealed 5 substantially different classes of dogs, and dogs could be categorized along the secure-insecure attached dimensions of Ainsworth's original test. A dog's relationship to humans is analogous to child-parent and chimpanzee-human attachment behavior because the observed behavioral phenomena and the classification are similar to those described in mother-infant interactions.
In this study, 60 shelter dogs (Canis familiaris) were observed in the modified version of the Strange Situation Test, which has proved to be a useful method for studying dogs' attachment behavior toward humans (J. Topál, A. Miklósi, V. Csányi, & A. Dóka, 1998). Before testing, 40 dogs were handled 3 times for 10 min. In the test, handled dogs encountered 2 persons: the handler in the role of the "owner" (OW) and an unfamiliar person (UP), whereas the 20 nonhandled dogs encountered unfamiliar persons in both roles. Dogs in the handled group exhibited more contact seeking with the entering OW, less physical contact with the UP, less frequent following of the leaving UP, and less standing by the door in the presence of the OW. The specific response of the handled dogs toward the handler fulfilled the operational criteria of attachment. In shelter conditions, the remarkable demand for social contact with humans may result in rather fast forming of attachment even in adult dogs.
Observation of 2 mother-child pairs of Macaca nemestrina led to the conclusions: "1. Infant-directed behavior of mothers appears to be generally own-infant-specific. 2. Infants are not absolutely mother-specific, but they learn to be so after repeated separation and interaction with a strange mother. 3. Separation serves to increase the infant-directed behavior of the mother toward her own infant and the mother-seeking behavior of the infant for an initial period after they are reunited." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
The aim of this study was to analyze the behavioral and physiological reactions of guide dogs in a distressing situation which promotes attachment behaviors towards their blind owners, and to compare such reactions with those of untrained or trainee dogs. The subjects were 57 adult Labrador and Golden retriever dogs (14 males, 43 females) belonging to four different groups: 19 Custody dogs, 13 Apprentice dogs, 10 Guide dogs and 15 Pet dogs. Dogs were tested using the Strange Situation Test, consisting in seven 3-minute episodes in which the dogs were placed in an unfamiliar environment, introduced to an unfamiliar woman and subjected to separation from their human companion. Tests were video-recorded and behaviors were scored using a 5-second point sampling method. Polar Vantage telemetric system was used to record cardiac activity. ANOVAs for repeated measures with groups and breeds as independent variables, showed a more anxious reaction in pet dogs, which revealed a high degree of proximity seeking behavior. Cardiac activity increased during episodes characterized by the exclusive presence of the stranger, but this increase was more conspicuous in guide dogs than in custody and apprentice dogs. Golden retrievers showed more behaviors suggesting distress compared to Labrador retrievers. This study showed that guide dogs, when separated from their blind owner, reveal a controlled behavioral reaction that is however accompanied by a stronger cardiac activation.
This study examined novel-object preference in dogs. In a free choice test 17 dogs were presented with a novel toy in a line up with two familiar toys. The unfamiliar object was chosen first in 38 out 50 tests suggesting a strong preference for novel over familiar items. Neophilia may be an adaptive trait for domestic dogs that has helped their adaptation towards man.
Abstract
The possibility of linking physiology and observable behaviour is of great importance in gaining a better understanding of the dog's reactions to environmental changes and potential stressors. Many studies of human-dog interactions explored the issues concerning attachment of people to their pets, whereas only few studies investigated the nature of the dog-human relationship or the dog's level of attachment to its owner. The aim of this study was to investigate dog’s reactions to different emotional situations integrating physiological (heart rate) and behavioural measures. 17 adult dogs were tested in a "strange" environment using a modified version of Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test. The procedure consisted of an introductory episode followed by 8 consecutive experimental episodes in which the dogs were placed in an unfamiliar environment, introduced to an adult stranger and subjected to separations from the owner. During each observational session the behaviour of each dog was videorecorded and heart rate was measured in order to allow a comparison between heart rate and behaviour. The level of activity of each dog in each experimental episode was assessed recording 12 different behavioural categories. The heart rate values during the first experimental episode were analysed to obtain a baseline for each subject and the dogs’ heart rate across episodes was assessed and compared to the baseline values. Furthermore, the effect of specific events (stranger’s entrance and owner’s return) on dogs’ heart rate was evaluated.
The results of the present pilot study show that socioemotional conditions induce changes in both behaviour and heart rate in adult dogs and that these changes, especially those at the behavioural level, indicate emotional stress.
Keywords: dogs; behaviour; heart-rate; attachment; stress
Consensus decisions about the nature and timing of group activities allow animals to maintain group cohesiveness, but also entail costs because individuals often differ with respect to their optimal activity budgets. Two mechanisms whereby animals reach a consensus include ‘consistent leadership’, in which a single dominant individual makes the decision, and ‘variable leadership’ in which several group members contribute to the decision outcome. Sharing of consensus decisions is expected to reduce consensus costs to most group members. Both patterns are thought to emerge from the complexity of social relationships of group members. We investigated the distribution of leadership during group departures in two packs of free-ranging dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, and tested how its distribution between individuals was affected by dominance rank-related affiliative and agonistic relationships. Although leadership was not entirely concentrated on a single group member, both packs had a limited number of habitual leaders. In the largest pack, the pattern of leadership changed from ‘variable’ to nearly ‘consistent’ after its size had shrunk. Habitual leaders were usually old and high-ranking individuals. However, high-ranking dogs that received affiliative submissions in greeting ceremonies were more likely to lead than dominant dogs receiving submissions only in agonistic contexts. During resting times, habitual followers associated more closely with habitual leaders than with other followers. These results suggest that in social species collective movements may arise from the effort of subordinates to maintain close proximity with specific valuable social partners.
Separation-related behaviors are described as problematic behaviors that occur exclusively in the owner's absence or virtual absence. Diagnosis is generally based on indirect evidence such as elimination or destruction that occurs during owner absence. Questionnaire studies are based on owner perception and might therefore underestimate the actual proportion of dogs with separation problems. The aim of this study was to film dogs with separation-related problems when left home alone and compile objective information on behaviors exhibited. Twenty-three dogs, ranging in age from 5 months to 13 years (2.9±22.7 years), were filmed home alone for 20–60min (49.87±12.9min) after owner departure.Analysis of behaviors on tape showed that dogs spent most of their time vocalizing (22.95±12.3% of total observed time) and being oriented to the environment (21±20%). Dogs also exhibited panting (14±18%), were passive (12±27%) and were destroying (6±6%) during owner absence. Most dogs displayed signs within less than 10min after owner departure, such as vocalizing (mean latency 3.25min) and/or destroying (mean latency 7.13min). Barking and oriented to the environment tended to decrease (respectively p=0.08 and p=0.07) and conversely panting tended to increase over time (p=0.07).Diagnosis of separation-related problems is traditionally dependant on owner reports. Although owner observation may be informative, direct observation and standardized behavioral measurement of dogs with separation-related problems, before and after treatment, would be the best way to diagnose and to measure behavioral improvement.
It has been proposed that the dog–human relationship constitutes an infantile-like attachment. However, previous empirical support based on Ainsworth's Strange Situation test has proved inconclusive due to order effects inherent in the original procedure. In particular, these order effects compromise the ability to establish an essential facet of attachment: whether or not owners function as a secure base for their pet dogs. Order effects were counteracted in the present study by including a second condition in which the order of owner and stranger presence was counterbalanced. Hence, 38 adult dog-owner pairs were randomly placed in two conditions, both comprised of six 3-min episodes. In condition A, dogs entered an unfamiliar room with their owner; a stranger entered; the owner left the dog with the stranger; the dog was left alone in the room; the owner returned; and finally the dog was left with the stranger again. In condition B, the order in which owner and stranger were present was reversed. Secure-base effects were indicated in that the dogs explored, remained passive, played with the stranger and engaged in individual play more when in the presence of their owner than when left with the stranger or alone. Therefore, the dogs’ behaviour provides evidence consistent with the hypothesis that the dog–human bond constitutes an attachment. The possible role of attachment in canine separation anxiety is briefly discussed.
An analysis of video-recordings of 20 dogs with separation problems suggested that separation behaviour may be divided into: (1) exploratory behaviour, (2) object play including elements of predatory behaviour, (3) destructive behaviour, and (4) vocalization. Elimination behaviour reported by other authors was found in one case only. Separation behaviour was related to the level of arousal. A clear distinction between `destructive' dogs and `howlers' was not justified. Object play seemed to be closely related to destructive behaviour. A model for the time course of activity from the owner's departure was developed. The model includes two components: (1) a cyclic component having a period of 23–28 min and controlled by internal factors, and (2) a long-term exponential decrease, which may be influenced by external factors arousing the dog. The results supported the view that separation problems are caused by frustration related to the dependency on the owner, whereas they are not caused by disobedience or boredom. The frustration in turn may lead to arousal, increased fear and the disinhibition of play or predatory behaviour and leading to destructive behaviour. The results also indicated that barking was caused by arousal, whereas howling and whining may reflect the presence of fear.
Submission in the wolf and dog is defined on the basis ot its motivation: submission is the effort of the inferior to attain friendly or harmonic social integration.
Submission functions as an appeal or a contribution to social integration, but only if it meets a corresponding attitude in the superior. The form of submissive behavior in wolf and dog is ritualized and symbolized cub-behavior. Two main forms of submissive behavior occur in wolf and dog: active submission, derived from begging for milk or food, and passive submission, derived from the posture which the cub adopts when cleaned by its mother.
The definition of submission is generally applicable to vertebrates living in groups based on intimacy and a social hierarchical order. The concept of submission as the role of the defeated in the terminal phase of fight with the function to inhibit automatically aggression in the superior should be dismissed. In vertebrates at least three types of conflict with different terminal phases occur: (1). Severe fight based on intolerance; ends with flight by the inferior or with his death. (2). Ritualized fight over a privilege; ends with the “giving-up-the-claim ritual” of the inferior, which automatically blocks the aggression of the superior. (3). Minor conflict in closed groups; settled by submissive behavior of the inferior.
In closed vertebrate groups, intermediate forms between (1) and (3) occur, depending on the proportion between activated intimacy and intolerance.
Ainsworth's 'strange situation' procedure was used to investigate the dog (Canis familiaris) – human relationship. 38 adult dog-owner pairs were observed in an unfamiliar room, intro-duced to a human stranger and subjected to four short episodes of separation. The procedure and behavioural analyses were as similar as possible to those used in studying human infants, except for the inclusion of an extra separation period in which the dogs were left alone in the room with articles of clothing belonging to the owner and stranger. A secure base effect was suggested by the fact that the dogs accepted to play with the stranger more in the pres-ence of their owner than during his or her absence. They also explored more in the presence of their owner, but this appeared to be due to diminishing curiosity over time rather than a secure base effect. The dogs also exhibited a range of attachment behaviours, i.e. search and proximity seeking behaviours when separated from their owner, including following, scratch-ing and jumping up on the door, remaining oriented to the door or the owner's empty chair and vocalising. They also greeted their owner more enthusiastically and for longer durations compared to the stranger. Finally, they contacted the owner's clothing more often and for 3) Corresponding authors address: Prof. 4) This research was supported by funds from Università di Milano to Emanuela Prato-Previde. We are grateful to Marcello Cesa-Bianchi and Marco Poli for allowing us to carry out the work in the Psychology Institute of Università di Milano. We thank Barbara Rotta for her invaluable help in data collection and scoring, Clara Palestrini for helping in running the experiment, Marco Colombetti for reading and commenting on the preliminary draft of the paper. Finally, a special thank to Tipota, a female mongrel, for being our rst pilot subject and to all the owners and dogs that participated as volunteers.
mother–pup intraspecific attachment behavior in the domes-tic dog (Canis familiaris). One hundred forty-five puppy–mother pairs of different breeds were tested using the Strange Situation Test. Puppies were 45-55 days old at time of testing. The test consisted of 7 consecutive 3-minute episodes in which the pup was placed in an unfamiliar environment, introduced to an unfamiliar woman, and subjected to separation from the mother. The behavior of each dyad was videorecorded, and 22 mutually exclusive behaviors were scored using 5-second point sam-pling. Furthermore, proximity and physical contact between the mother and the pup were recorded, and bouts of vocal-izations were scored ad libitum. Factor analysis, with Eigen-values . 1, varimax rotation, and factor loading . 0.50, was carried out on the puppies' behavior. Factor analysis extracted 8 principal dimensions: (1) ''affil-iation toward humans'' (i.e., positive/playful interaction such as play, following and greeting behaviors); (2) ''human contact seeking'' (i.e., approaching, keeping contact, and licking the person); (3) ''self-confidence,'' which included playing alone with toys in opposition to being oriented toward the mother; (4) ''distress/protest,'' consisting of reactions such as remaining oriented toward and scratching the door; (5) ''affiliation toward the mother'' (i.e., positive/ playful interaction); 6) ''mother contact seeking'' (i.e., behaviors pertaining to nurturing demands: licking, follow-ing, suckling); (7) ''apprehension toward humans'' (i.e., approaching the mother, avoiding and orienting away from humans); and (8) ''exploration'' (i.e., visual and olfactory exploration of the room, and exploration of toys). Results demonstrated that, as with human infants, the SST is a valuable tool for studying attachment in pups. Pups showed a whole behavioral repertoire indicating a ''secure base'' effect (playing with toys and mother orientation in a single factor with opposite weightings), proximity seeking toward the mother, and distress upon separation.
Ten chimpanzees (Pan troglogytes), aged 18–24 months, housed without mothers as two dyads and two triads, were subjected to social separation. Two issues were addressed: the effects of peer separation in chimpanzees; and differential responses by subjects living in dyads compared with those living in triads. Chimpanzees that were alone during separation reacted with high levels of “protest” alternating with “despair” throughout the separation period. The continued presence of one cagemate, during separation from a third, was a strong mitigating factor. Even when the primary attachment was formed with the absent cagemate, the remaining chimpanzees clung to each other and the levels of protest and despair, when present, were low. Upon reunion, neither “detachment” nor heightened levels of clinging were conspicuous, but there was increased social interaction. The data on separation of chimpanzees are intermediate between those of humans and monkeys separated from mothers or peers. The increased social interactions during reunion, including looking, are comparable to the visual vigilance reported for humans.
The possibility of linking physiology and observable behaviour is of great importance in gaining a better understanding of the dog's reactions to environmental changes and potential stressors. Many studies of human–dog interactions explored the issues concerning attachment of people to their pets, whereas only few studies investigated the nature of the dog–human relationship or the dog's level of attachment to its owner. The aim of this study was to investigate dog's reactions to different emotional situations integrating physiological (heart rate) and behavioural measures. Seventeen adult dogs were tested in a 'strange' environment using a modified version of Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test. The procedure consisted of an introductory episode followed by eight consecutive experimental episodes in which the dogs were placed in an unfamiliar environment, introduced to an adult stranger and subjected to separations from the owner. During each observational session the behaviour of each dog was videorecorded and heart rate was measured in order to allow a comparison between heart rate and behaviour. The level of activity of each dog in each experimental episode was assessed recording 12 different behavioural categories. The heart rate values during the first experimental episode were analysed to obtain a baseline for each subject and the dogs' heart rate across episodes was assessed and compared to the baseline values. Furthermore, the effect of specific events (stranger's entrance and owner's return) on dogs' heart rate was evaluated.
The theory of attachment as a secure-base relationship integrates insights about affect, cognition, and behavior in close relationships across age and culture. Empirical successes based on this theory include important discoveries about the nature of infant–caregiver and adult–adult close relationships, the importance of early experience, and about stability and change in individual differences. The task now is to preserve these insights and successes and build on them. To accomplish this, we need to continually examine the logic and coherence of attachment theory and redress errors of emphasis and analysis. Views on attachment development, attachment representation, and attachment in family and cross-cultural perspective need to be updated in light of empirical research and advances in developmental theory, behavioral biology, and cognitive psychology. We also need to challenge the theory by formulating and testing hypotheses which, if not confirmed, would require significant changes to the theory. If we can accomplish these tasks, prospects for important developments in attachment theory and research are greater than ever, as are the prospects for integration with other disciplines.
Using the Strange Situation Test originally developed for testing the mother–infant relationship in humans, we compared the attachment behaviour of extensively socialized (hand-reared) dog, Canis familiaris, and wolf, Canis lupus, puppies towards their human caregiver with that of pet dog puppies of the same age. The experiment was designed to study whether (1) dog puppies as young as 16 weeks show attachment to a human caregiver, (2) extensive socialization by human caregivers affects attachment behaviour of dog puppies and (3) evolutionary changes (in the form of species-specific differences between wolf and dog pups) affect the emergence of dog–human attachment. We found a characteristic selective responsiveness to the owner in young dogs, similar to that observed in adults. This finding supports the view that puppies show patterns of attachment towards their owners. Extensive socialization had only a minor effect on the attachment behaviour in dog puppies, as the behaviour of pet dogs and hand-reared dogs was basically similar. However, we found a significant species-specific difference between wolves and dogs: both extensively socialized and pet dog puppies were more responsive to the owner than to an unfamiliar human participant, whereas extensively socialized wolves were not. Behavioural differences could be best explained by assuming that selective processes took place in the course of domestication (genetic changes) that are related to the attachment system of the dog.
The study investigated the affectional bond developed by dogs (Canis familiaris) towards their human companions during the selection process to become guide dogs and compared this bond with that formed by pet dogs with their owners. One hundred and nine dog-owner pairs were tested using a modified version of the Strange Situation Test: custody dogs-puppy walkers (n = 34), apprentice dogs-trainers (n = 26), guide dogs-blind owners (n = 25) and pet dogs-owners (n = 24). Twenty-six behaviours were scored using a 5 s point sampling method and two vocal behaviours were recorded as bouts. Factor analysis carried out on 24 mutually exclusive behaviours highlighted two different profiles of response. A relaxed reaction characterised by a high play activity was distinctive of custody and apprentice dogs, whereas an anxious reaction characterised by a high degree of proximity seeking behaviours was distinctive of pet dogs. Guide dogs were intermediate between these two extremes, expressing their attachment to the owners but showing a more controlled emotional reaction. This finding suggests that guide dogs can be viewed as "working pets". Furthermore, the experimental set-up, characterised by the presence of a frightening stimulus, revealed that untrained dogs (pets and custody dogs) were more fearful than trained dogs (guide dogs and apprentice dogs). Finally, differences in temperament emerged between retrievers: Golden retrievers showed a higher level of affection demand while Labrador retrievers were more playful. Overall, these findings show that in spite of separations from previous attachment figures, guide dogs established with their blind owner a rather good and secure affectional bond. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Twenty-four puppies (8 each of Shetland sheepdogs, Telomians, and beagles) served as subjects in this experiment which was designed to examine the effectiveness of 12 stimulus conditions (food, toys, canine contact, and human contact) on alleviation of separation-induced distress vocalization. Testing consisted of a prestimulus trial, stimulus trial, and post-stimulus trial each session 3 times a week from 4 to 8 weeks after birth. Overall results showed human contact to be the most effective, followed by canine contact, toys, and food. Breed differences were significant in only 2 of the stimulus conditions. In the typical case of effective treatment, the vocalization rate declined from the prestimulus trial to a low point in the stimulus trial and then increased again in the post-stimulus trial.
Earlier studies of responses of primate infants to strangers were frequently confounded with separation from the attachment figure and/or removal to an unfamiliar setting. In the present study, young chimpanzees were tested in a familiar setting with a human female caretaker who served as an attachment figure. Two strangers were introduced: a human female, approximately the size of the caretaker, who refrained from initiating interactions and a larger human male, who repeatedly approached and initiated contact with the subjects. A somewhat more intense response was elicited by the larger, more assertive male stranger, but neither stranger elicited severe distress. The behavior of the chimpanzees is better described as wary, rather than fearful. These results may be attributable to the continued presence of the caretaker in contrast to previous studies reporting severe distress to strangers when chimpanzees are tested alone. A wariness of strangers in nursery-reared chimpanzees may develop by 6 months of age and may diminish somewhat by 2 years of age under the conditions of this study.
Attachment theory is extended to pertain to developmental changes in the nature of children's attachments to parents and surrogate figures during the years beyond infancy, and to the nature of other affectional bonds throughout the life cycle. Various types of affectional bonds are examined in terms of the behavioral systems characteristic of each and the ways in which these systems interact. Specifically, the following are discussed: (a) the caregiving system that underlies parents' bonds to their children, and a comparison of these bonds with children's attachments to their parents; (b) sexual pair-bonds and their basic components entailing the reproductive, attachment, and caregiving systems; (c) friendships both in childhood and adulthood, the behavioral systems underlying them, and under what circumstances they may become enduring bonds; and (d) kinship bonds (other than those linking parents and their children) and why they may be especially enduring.
Behavioral responsiveness to a novel environment was documented in 22 chimpanzees grouped according to age; 6-months, 1-year, 2-years and 5-years. An attachment figure, a human caretaker, accompanied each subject during the 15-min test sessions so as to preclude confounding of responses to novelty with separation responses. Extreme distress reported previously for chimpanzees and human children when tested alone in a novel situation was rarely observed in these tests when an attachment figure was present. Stereotyped rocking, an indication of mild distress occurred more frequently in the younger animals. Younger animals engaged in distal visual exploration of the environment while remaining close to the attachment figure, whereas the older animals locomoted more frequently and explored the environment directly with their hands. Repeated exposure to the environment reduced the differences among the 6-month, 1-year and 2-year groups. The 6-month group, however, continued to locomote least and least frequently engaged in tactile exploration. These data on chimpanzees resemble data on human children which suggest that an attachment figure: attenuates the distress exhibited by young individuals of these species when exposed to novel stimuli, and thereby provides a secure base which supports the exploration of novel stimuli, a prerequisite to behavioral adaptation.