Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior: The Scientific Study of Canis familiaris
Abstract
This book highlights the state of the field in the new, provocative line of research into the cognition and behavior of the domestic dog. Eleven chapters from leading researchers describe innovative methods from comparative psychology, ethology and behavioral biology, which are combined to create a more comprehensive picture of the behavior of Canis familiaris than ever before. Each of the book's three parts highlights one of the perspectives relevant to providing a full understanding of the dog. Part I covers the perceptual abilities of dogs and the effect of interbreeding. Part II includes observational and experimental results from studies of social cognition - such as learning and social referencing - and physical cognition in canids, while Part III summarizes the work in the field to date, reviewing various conceptual and methodological approaches and testing anthropomorphisms with regard to dogs. The final chapter discusses the practical application of behavioral and cognitive results to promote animal welfare. This volume reflects a modern shift in science toward considering and studying domestic dogs for their own sake, not only insofar as they reflect back on human beings. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
Chapters (11)
Canine olfaction is a rich field of study for the behavioural sciences and neurosciences, and it is rich in interdisciplinary connections. This chapter will explore the neurocognitive and neuroconative bases of olfaction (the neurophysi-ological foundations of cognition and motivation), and discuss the behavioural, psychological, and semiotic dimensions of scent processing. It will cover the basic psychophysics of olfaction and the methodologies allowing us to explore this sensory modality, as well as the complex cognitive and motivational dimensions of scent. This chapter will open with an overview of the different disciplines involved in the study of canine olfaction. Some basic anatomy and neuroscience will be reviewed, mostly with direct reference to behaviour and associated psychological processes (e.g., cognitive, motivational, and affective systems). For the behavioural aspect of olfaction, a discussion of the contrasting, yet complementary methods of ethology and experimental psychology will be examined. The importance of both field and laboratory research will be highlighted. Olfaction ''in context'' will also be discussed in reference to zoosemiotics and in order to understand the canine olfactory psychoethology in its most meaningful and functional dimension: processing ''signs'' (including symptoms as with dogs trained for biomedical applications such as symptom detection). We will conclude with a short commentary on the human-canine sensory symbiosis with sniffer dogs.
Domestic dogs display an extraordinary level of phenotypic diversity in morphology and behavior. Furthermore, due to breeding practices introduced during the nineteenth century, these phenotypic traits have become relatively 'fixed' within breeds, allowing biologists to obtain unique insights regarding the genetic bases of behavioral diversity, and the effects of domestication and artificial selection on temperament. Here we explore differences in behavior among the 30 most popular dog breeds registered with the American Kennel Club based on owner responses to a standardized and validated behavioral questionnaire (C-BARQ). The findings indicate that some breed-associated temperament traits (e.g. fear/anxiety) may be linked to specific gene mutations, while others may represent more general behavioral legacies of 'ancient' ancestry, physical deformity, and/or human selection for specific functional abilities. They also suggest that previous efforts to relate dog breed popularity to behavior may have failed due to the confounding effects of body size.
The ease of observing and reliably identifying dogs makes them prime candidates for ethological and observational studies of a wide variety of behaviors including social play, social dominance, social organization, and urination patterns. In this chapter I discuss research on social play behavior and urination/scent-marking patterns. Through long-term observational studies, we have catalogued the behaviors of play, including play requests, communication of intentions, and arbitration and negotiation of fair play. Using this behavioral category as a model, we can discuss questions of the evolution of morality and social justice. Similarly, by detailed study of scent-marking behavior, we can deduce the evolutionary history of different patterns of elimination. Finally, a systematic ethological approach is contrasted with the casual-observational approach of popular literature on dogs. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
The question of social learning in dogs is characterized by dispute. Ever since Thorndike more than a century ago, researchers believed that domestic dogs have poor social learning skills. However, recently it has been proposed that dogs have enhanced social cognitive skills due to their selection to live in the human environment and cooperative with humans. Thus, dogs might not just be able to learn through observation from conspecifics but also from humans. The most convincing argument for the latter assumption would be experimental evidence of true imitation, since imitation is considered to be the most complex and also most rare social learning mechanism in the animal kingdom. In this chapter, we will report recent evidence first of social facilitation and social influences on individual learning and then of true social learning in dogs. The latter includes three hallmarks of imitation: faithful copying (of both a human and a conspecific model), deferred imitation, and selective imitation. In the final part we address the potential origins of these remarkable skills of dogs. We propose imitation has been inherited from their ancestors, wolves, which are well known for their advanced social system, including cooperative breeding and hunting. This hypothesis has recently been supported by experimental evidence with wolves outperforming dogs in a manipulative problem-solving task after observation of a skilled conspecific. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
The study of dog social cognition is relatively recent and is rapidly
developing, providing an interesting and multi-faceted picture of our ‘‘best
friend’s’’ sociocognitive abilities. In particular, since Miklósi et al.’s (2003)
seminal work ‘‘A simple reason for a big difference: wolves do not look back at
humans, but dogs do’’, there has been a surge of interest in the area of dog–human
communication. In the current chapter we focus on dogs’ comprehension of the
human gaze and their ability to use human-directed-gazing as a communicative
tool. We first review studies on the social significance of human eye contact for
dogs, their understanding of eyes as indicators of attention, and their ability to take
another’s visual perspective into account. We also consider dogs’ understanding of
human eye-gaze as a communicative act, in terms of its potentially referential
nature and as an ostensive cue signalling the communicative intent of the actor.
We then move on to review studies on dogs’ human-directed gazing behaviour,
discussing whether it may be considered part of an intentional and referential
communicative act, what the underlying motivations and contexts in which this
behaviour is exhibited may be, and what variables affect its occurrence. Where
open questions remains, we outline current debates and highlight potential
directions for future research.
The common history of Homo sapiens and Canis lupus familiaris dates back to between 11,000 and 32,000 years ago, when some wolves (Canis lupus) started living closely with humans. Although we cannot reach back into the past to measure the relative roles of wolves and humans in the ensuing domestication process, it was perhaps the first involving humans and another animal species. Yet its consequences for both species' history are not completely understood. One of the puzzling aspects yet to be understood about the human-dog dyad is how dogs so readily engage in communication in the context of a social interactions with humans. To be sensitive to the meaning of human speech and gestures, dogs need to attend to various visual and vocal cues, in order to reconstruct the messages from patterns of human behavior that remain stable over time, while also generalizing to unfamiliar, novel contexts. This chapter will discuss this topic in light of some of the recent findings about dogs' perceptual capacities for social cues. We describe some of the new technologies that are being used to better describe these perceptual processes, and present the results of a preliminary experiment using a portable eye-tracking system to gather data about dogs' visual attention in a social interaction with humans, ending with a discussion of the possible cognitive mechanisms underlying dogs' use of human social cues. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
In this chapter, we explore whether domestic dogs and gray wolves share a similar cognitive development with regards to how they represent physical and/or social objects. To reach this objective, we examine two key components of the Piagetian theory of cognitive development in the gray wolf: object permanence and sensorimotor intelligence. We detail how the capacity to search and locate disappearing objects develops in wolves and compare these data with those observed in previous studies with dogs. We then further describe an observational study of sensorimotor intelligence with these wolves. Overall, the results suggest that the development of object permanence is similar in dogs and wolves, both species reaching Stage 5b of object permanence by the age of 11 weeks. In terms of sensorimotor intelligence, Stage 4 was the upper limit of sensorimotor intelli- gence we observed in wolves. Moreover, up to 6 weeks of age, the behaviors of wolf puppies are directed predominantly towards their conspecifics, and by Week 8, wolves’ interest in inanimate object increases significantly. In discussion, we explore the factors affecting the development of object permanence and sensori- motor intelligence in canines.
What are 'dog cognition' studies actually studying? What role does the dog play in behaviour research? In this essay we consider how to study this species from the ethologist's perspective by providing a critical summary of the various approaches and explaining how these can answer questions on function, evolution, mechanism, and development and by highlighting the potential pitfalls in methodology. It is impossible to claim that one dog is more dog-like than others and it is now evident that even the concept of breed per se presents some problematic issues from the canid ethologist's perspective. Thus for any sampling it is fundamental to keep in mind what is the research question and to choose the subjects according to what aspects are expected to be relevant. In general the researcher should include a wide range of purebred dogs and mongrels living in human families in a representative sample. When sampling for investigations comparing wolves and dogs, we must bear in mind that dogs present a mosaic pattern of wolf-like traits and cannot be ranked along a strict continuum when assessing their differences from wolves. Therefore for comparative studies and also when the research question regards general dog abilities, a mixed sample of purebred dogs and mongrels is advisable. It is probably even more important to ensure that all animals have had similar past experience, especially with regard to humans. It should be noted that those dog owners that participate on a voluntary basis in a research program are already a specific sub-sample because it is very likely that those owners are particularly interested and take special care of their dogs. Thus it is also likely that these owners want to be part of the experiment and these dogs may actually also 'need' the presence of the owner. If the experiment is designed carefully the presence of the owner should not interfere with the outcome. The lack of a generally accepted ethogram is hindering behaviour research on dogs. The scientific community should aim for developing a categorical list of behaviour units that forms the basis of behavioural observations and experimental work. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
As a companion to humans, the domestic dog is naturally interpreted from a human-centered (anthropocentric) perspective. Indeed, dog behavior and actions are often explained by using anthropomorphisms: attributions to the dog that would hold if the actor were human. While sometimes useful, anthropomorphisms also have the potential to be misleading or incorrect. In this chapter we describe work to replace an anthropocentric perspective with a more dog-centered research program. First we detail research systematically testing anthropomorphisms of emotional complexity-the appearance of guilt and jealousy-that are made of dogs, by testing the context of appearance of the guilty look and by testing advantageous and disadvantageous inequity aversion. Relatedly, we describe research looking at the contribution of specific dog physical attributes to human preference and anthropomorphizing. Finally, we identify anthropocentric and canid-centric elements of our own and others' research, and suggest ways that research can be more sensitive to the dog's umwelt. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
In this chapter we attempt to put the dog back at the heart of dog cognition studies. We identify that the majority of dogs are not first-world pets, dependent on their owners for the fulfillment of all essential needs, and acting as their ‘‘best friends.’’ Rather most dogs are scavengers on the periphery of people’s lives. These dogs are more likely to avoid human contact than seek it. The sen- sitivity of pet dogs to human actions and intentions that has been a major focus of recent research is unlikely to be a special adaptation or case of co-evolution, but rather is the expression of basic processes of conditioning as well as social and biological traits that domesticated and wild canids share. In individuals that have been socialized to humans and rendered completely dependent on them these processes lead to high levels of sensitivity to human actions. The fundamental differences between dog and wolf behavior lie at more basic levels: in the pro- cesses of socialization, in foraging, and in reproduction. Small but crucial inter- twined changes led to an animal that is (1) more promiscuous than any other canid, (2) can reproduce more rapidly, and (3) is a much less effective hunter but (4) more efficient scavenger than other canids. The indirect consequences of these changes include the fact that we have dogs and not wolves resting at our feet. Though it may be a little less flattering to the human species, we believe this perspective on dogs is at least as fascinating and closer to the historical truth than the story that humans created dogs.
Our understanding of the welfare of companion animals is both incomplete and fragmentary. For domestic dogs, most research has focused on animals that do not have stable relationships with people, such as dogs in laboratories and rehoming kennels. The welfare of pet dogs has received limited attention, presumably due to an assumption that owners have their best interests at heart. However, owners' conceptions of their companion's needs can be inconsistent or even contradictory. Dogs are, on the one hand, sentimentalised via anthropomorphic interpretations, but on the other, mythologized as the descendants of savage wolves requiring harsh correction before they will conform to the demands of living alongside people. Canine welfare science attempts to replace such mythos with objective norms that have proved effective when applied to other domesticated species. However, animal welfare science is rarely value-free or unambiguous, since it has variously been defined in terms of physical health, psychological well-being, and the freedom to perform 'natural' behaviour. Here we attempt to strike a balance between each of these approaches while addressing a wide variety of current issues in canine welfare, including: concerns arising from the breeding of pedigree dogs; inappropriate training methods; and the widespread occurrence of behavioural disorders. We finish by describing some barriers to improvement in dog welfare, including owners' anthropomorphisms, the challenges of finding reliable indicators of well-being, and the effects of applying erroneous conceptual frameworks to the dog-owner relationship. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
... Equipped with unmatched social cognition capabilities [28,51,75], domestic dogs play a variety of vital roles in modern society: pet dogs relieve stress and improve emotional welfare, guard dogs protect their companions from harm, and seeing-eye dogs assist those with impaired vision; they also protect livestock, remove pests, help their companions hunt, and find lost people [5,32,41,64,72,84]. The study of dog cognition is therefore of interest to researchers working in numerous areas [5,7,18,34,84]. From a scientific standpoint, the investigation of canine cognitive mechanisms can promote a series of dog-related studies, such as Human-Dog Interaction [5,34,34,34,58,62,79], dog's social/non-social cognition [3,5], and Animal-Computer Interaction [31,33]. It can also improve our knowledge of human cognition and brains, e.g., the theory of how early humans formulate their social awareness can benefit from the study on canine cognition [26], while our understanding of human cognitive dysfunctions like Alzheimer's disease can also be deepened from the observations of the development of mental deficiencies in dogs [30]. ...
... The study of dog cognition is therefore of interest to researchers working in numerous areas [5,7,18,34,84]. From a scientific standpoint, the investigation of canine cognitive mechanisms can promote a series of dog-related studies, such as Human-Dog Interaction [5,34,34,34,58,62,79], dog's social/non-social cognition [3,5], and Animal-Computer Interaction [31,33]. It can also improve our knowledge of human cognition and brains, e.g., the theory of how early humans formulate their social awareness can benefit from the study on canine cognition [26], while our understanding of human cognitive dysfunctions like Alzheimer's disease can also be deepened from the observations of the development of mental deficiencies in dogs [30]. ...
... The study of dog cognition is therefore of interest to researchers working in numerous areas [5,7,18,34,84]. From a scientific standpoint, the investigation of canine cognitive mechanisms can promote a series of dog-related studies, such as Human-Dog Interaction [5,34,34,34,58,62,79], dog's social/non-social cognition [3,5], and Animal-Computer Interaction [31,33]. It can also improve our knowledge of human cognition and brains, e.g., the theory of how early humans formulate their social awareness can benefit from the study on canine cognition [26], while our understanding of human cognitive dysfunctions like Alzheimer's disease can also be deepened from the observations of the development of mental deficiencies in dogs [30]. ...
Our goals are to better understand dog cognition, and to support others who share this interest. Existing investigation methods predominantly rely on human-manipulated experiments to examine dogs' behavioral responses to visual stimuli such as human gestures. As a result, existing experimental paradigms are usually constrained to in-lab environments and may not reveal the dog's responses to real-world visual scenes. Moreover, visual signals pertaining to dog behavioral responses are empirically derived from observational evidence, which can be prone to subjective bias and may lead to controversies. We aim to overcome or reduce the existing limitations of dog cognition studies by investigating a challenging issue: identifying the visual signal(s) from dog eye motion that can be utilized to infer causal explanations of its behaviors, namely estimating causal attention. To this end, we design a deep learning framework named Causal AtteNtIon NEtwork (CANINE) to unveil the dogs' causal attention mechanism, inspired by the recent advance in causality analysis with deep learning. Equipped with CANINE, we developed the first eyewear device to enable inference on the vision-related behavioral causality of canine wearers. We demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed CANINE glasses through their application in multiple representative experimental scenarios of dog cognitive study. Various in-field trials are also performed to demonstrate the generality of the CANINE eyewear in real-world scenarios. With the proposed CANINE glasses, we collect the first large-scale dataset, named DogsView, which consists of automatically generated annotations on the canine wearer's causal attention across a wide range of representative scenarios. The DogsView dataset is available online to facilitate research.
... With this skill, owners can call their dogs away from livestock, wildlife, or any dangerous or inappropriate situation and release them when it is safe to do so. In this scenario, the response "coming when called" could be considered a behavioral cusp [129], as it is a requisite skill for being safely off leash, affording access to new environments, new opportunities to engage in species-typical behaviors associated with "feeling good" [130], and contact with new reinforcers, including but not limited to access to variable scents. Additional examples of enrichment include food puzzles from which animals must manipulate an object to obtain food [131], chews and toys meant for gnawing and dissecting [132], sniffing, which induces positive judgment bias [133][134][135], and play with humans or conspecifics [136]. ...
... Enrichment strategies are purported to be most effective when targeting the primary sensory abilities of the species concerned [137]. Dogs rely on olfaction as their primary sense [130], and olfactory enrichment modifies the behavior of both pet and shelter dogs [133,134]. After exposure to cloths scented with ginger, coconut, vanilla, and valerian, dogs displayed reduced levels of vocalization and movement, with coconut and ginger also causing an increase in sleeping behavior [133]. ...
Simple Summary
Pet dogs are more prone to exhibit challenging behaviors than ever before. Dog trainers are increasingly tasked with helping pet owners resolve behavior issues, not just teach their charges good manners. The interventions used by professionals to help ameliorate behavior complaints must be evidence-based and include the effectiveness of the intervention, how the intervention is perceived by the learner, and how the intervention affects the learner’s quality of life before, during, and after behavior intervention procedures. The objective of this paper is to review literature from multiple scientific disciplines and demonstrate how concepts from applied behavior analysis and the animal welfare sciences can be used together to ensure that the animal undergoing intervention experiences good welfare during the training process.
Abstract
Social validity refers to the social significance and acceptability of intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes. Animal practitioners, who are often guided by the principles of ABA, lack the benefit of verbal participants (at least with respect to target animals) with which to assess a client’s needs and preferences. The study of a learner’s welfare is useful for determining areas where intervention is needed or how the learner feels about an intervention that is underway. Three tenets of animal welfare measurement include physiological function, naturalistic behavior, and affect, where affect refers to private events, including emotions, which are a function of the same variables and contingencies responsible for controlling public behavior. The development of new technologies allows us to look “under the skin” and account for subjective experiences that can now be observed objectively. We introduce the reader to tools available from the animal welfare sciences for the objective measurement of social validity from the learner’s perspective.
... It contains 14 dimensions of which Energy is one. It is described by two items which are described as "playful, puppyish, boisterous" and "active, energetic, always on the go" [62]. Energy was used to differentiate between the level of activity of the dog breeds in each size category. ...
... Energy was used to differentiate between the level of activity of the dog breeds in each size category. This dimension has been shown to differ between dog breeds [62] and breed groups [63]. Significant differences between the dog breed groups exist within each size category used in this study, as previously shown by Hielscher-Zdzieblik et al. [48]. ...
Dog ownership has been associated with increased levels of physical activity (PA), including increases in total PA and walking time in some but not in all studies. These earlier studies did not consider puppy acquisition, in particular, and were limited to a maximum of 10 months duration. The purpose of the current pilot study was, therefore, to analyze long-term changes in participants’ PA behavior after puppy acquisition. Participants who acquired a puppy from one of nine preselected breeds differing in size and energy level were included. PA was assessed at baseline and 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after puppy acquisition using an online questionnaire. Participants, who were initially included, did not differ in their PA at baseline (n = 38). In the group that completed the trial (n = 11) total PA, leisure time walking, total dog-related PA, and total dog walking increased within the first two years and decreased while remaining above baseline values during the last year, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-dog-related PA did not change over time. We conclude that the acquisition of a puppy increases PA and thus, could have a long-lasting positive effect on physical health.
... And yet, in the last several decades, the proliferation of research tools and methodologies in ethology and the natural sciences on the one hand (Diamond 1993), and the nonhuman turn in the humanities on the other (Grusin 2015), has launched a research program fundamentally reconceptualizing the field of animal ethics and beyond. Ample documentation of nonhuman ethics has been demonstrated within species by primatologists, ethologists, and botanists in the last decades (Baluška 2013;Bartal et al. 2011;Bekoff 2007;Burghardt 1997;Horowitz 2014;Waal et al. 2006;Waal 2017Waal , 2010Waal , 2007Witzany & Baluška 2012). That these scientists derive their conclusions of ethical capacities based on the methods and patterns of species and interspecies signaling suggests that biosemiotics has much to add to this debate. ...
... The classic example on the macro scale is dog marking of territory. Through such markings, other dogs can determine the sex of spraying dog, whether that dog is pregnant or in heat, etc. (Horowitz 2014). Scents and olfactory traces are the most common forms of stigmergy among plant and insect populations. ...
The conviviality of sharing habitat can lead species to learn and benefit from other species’ signals, even if those communications are not intended for them. Purposeful interspecific signaling is also common. Forms of symbiotic semiosis, intentional and unintentional, result from repeated interactions between cohabitating species. Attunement to neighboring species’ dispositions through sharing habitat carves overlapping grooves in the semiosphere predictable for organisms to make some sense of their overlapping Umwelten . Interspecies semiosis may be less generalizable than conspecific signaling, yet these interactions nonetheless can be interpreted as a form of modus vivendi ethics.
... For more details about data acquisition and preprocessing of the human data, please refer to previous publications [51]. To establish connectivity fingerprints for each subject, we predefined 19 "targets" which were ROIs covering most of the cortical regions as well as several subcortical regions ( Figure S1, Table S2) that are known to play a crucial role in guiding canine behavior as borne out by previous literature [52]. Detailed analysis is available in the Supplementary Materials. ...
Functional brain connectivity based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been shown to be correlated with human personality and behavior. In this study, we sought to know whether capabilities and traits in dogs can be predicted from their resting-state connectivity, as in humans. We trained awake dogs to keep their head still inside a 3T MRI scanner while resting-state fMRI data was acquired. Canine behavior was characterized by an integrated behavioral score capturing their hunting, retrieving, and environmental soundness. Functional scans and behavioral measures were acquired at three different time points across detector dog training. The first time point (TP1) was prior to the dogs entering formal working detector dog training. The second time point (TP2) was soon after formal detector dog training. The third time point (TP3) was three months’ post detector dog training while the dogs were engaged in a program of maintenance training for detection work. We hypothesized that the correlation between resting-state FC in the dog brain and behavior measures would significantly change during their detection training process (from TP1 to TP2) and would maintain for the subsequent several months of detection work (from TP2 to TP3). To further study the resting-state FC features that can predict the success of training, dogs at TP1 were divided into a successful group and a non-successful group. We observed a core brain network which showed relatively stable (with respect to time) patterns of interaction that were significantly stronger in successful detector dogs compared to failures and whose connectivity strength at the first time point predicted whether a given dog was eventually successful in becoming a detector dog. A second ontologically based flexible peripheral network was observed whose changes in connectivity strength with detection training tracked corresponding changes in behavior over the training program. Comparing dog and human brains, the functional connectivity between the brain stem and the frontal cortex in dogs corresponded to that between the locus coeruleus and left middle frontal gyrus in humans, suggestive of a shared mechanism for learning and retrieval of odors. Overall, the findings point toward the influence of phylogeny and ontogeny in dogs producing two dissociable functional neural networks.
... Cognition includes perception, learning, memory and decision making; it describes all the ways in which animals obtain information about the world through their senses, and how they process, retain and decide to act on it (Shettleworth, 2001). Cognition has been studied in many animal species like dolphins, primates, or dogs (Schusterman et al., 1986;Tomasello & Call, 1997;Horowitz, 2014), and insects (Giurfa et al., 2020). In birds, cognition has been studied for the past 40 years both in captivity and in the wild (Russell, 1990), and many studies have examined food provisioning, innovation and tool use (Davies et al., 2012). ...
... As cats are facultatively social, and descendants of solitary hunters [51], social cognitive skills might be less evolved in cats than in group-living animals such as humans and dogs, for whom social skills are necessary for survival. Moreover, dogs were among the first domesticated animals [52], partly due to their social nature, but also because of their ancestors' willingness (or ability) to change behavior in response to human behavior [53]. Cats had a much shorter and less function-driven domestication history with humans [54] than dogs, and humans had less control in shaping 'social communication skills' in cats. ...
Simple Summary
People can develop meaningful relationships with companion animals, and they behave towards them in specific ways. For example, they spend time together in close proximity, apologize or talk to them as if they are human, and experience social support from their pets. This study aims to explain these types of interactions in a sample of cat owners and dog owners in the Netherlands. The more pet owners rated the mental abilities of their pet to be similar to those of humans (anthropomorphization), the more they displayed making-up behavior towards their pet, and the stronger they experienced social support from their pet. However, to engage in communication behavior (e.g., petting, kissing, talking) it is not necessary to anthropomorphize the pet. Dog owners anthropomorphize more than cat owners; this might be due to a higher symmetry in social behaviors between humans and dogs. Lastly, the social role of the pet (partly) mediates the association between anthropomorphization and owner behaviors and experience of social support. This mediation effect is more pronounced in cat owners compared to dog owners.
Abstract
Background: For sustainable and healthy relationships with pets, attributing some degree of human abilities to the pet (anthropomorphization) might be necessary. We hypothesize that the tendency to anthropomorphize pet animals is related to relationship behaviors (communication and making up) and the experience of social support. Perceiving the pet in a human social role (e.g., family member or friend) might mediate this relationship. Method: Associations were tested in a mixed sample of cat and dog owners by means of multiple linear regression, moderation, and (moderated) mediation analyses. The differences between cat and dog owners were examined with pet type as the moderator in a moderated mediation analysis. Results: Dog owners anthropomorphize their pets more than cat owners. The social role of the pet mediates the association between anthropomorphization and relationship behavior and social support. The mediation effects were stronger for cat owners than for dog owners. Moreover, our newly developed comparative anthropomorphism measure was a better predictor than the commonly used general anthropomorphism measure (IDAQ).
... Historically, greyhounds that race have been identified as having relatively poor socialization practices (103,104). This can be related to isolated rearing occurring in rural locations and limited resourcing for active practices to adequately compensate. ...
Animal welfare denotes how an animal experiences their life. It represents the overall mental experiences of an animal and is a subjective concept that cannot be directly measured. Instead, welfare indicators are used to cautiously infer mental experiences from resource provisions, management factors, and animal-based measures. The Five Domains Model is a holistic and structured framework for collating these indicators and assessing animal welfare. Contemporary approaches to animal welfare management consider how animals can be given opportunities to have positive experiences. However, the uncertainty surrounding positive mental experiences that can be inferred has resulted in risk-averse animal welfare scientists returning to the relative safety of positivism. This has meant that aspects of positive welfare are often referred to as animal ‘wants’. Agency is a concept that straddles the positivist-affective divide and represents a way forward for discussions about positive welfare. Agency is the capacity of individual animals to engage in voluntary, self-generated, and goal-directed behavior that they are motivated to perform. Discrete positive emotions are cautiously inferred from these agentic experiences based on available knowledge about the animal’s motivation for engaging in the behavior. Competence-building agency can be used to evaluate the potential for positive welfare and is represented by the Behavioral Interactions domain of the Five Domains Model. In 2020, The Model was updated to, amongst other things, include consideration of human-animal interactions. The most important aspect of this update was the renaming of Domain 4 from “Behavior” to “Behavioral Interactions” and the additional detail added to allow this domain’s purpose to be clearly understood to represent an animal’s opportunities to exercise agency. We illustrate how the Behavioral Interactions domain of The Model can be used to assess animals’ competence-building agency and positive welfare. In this article, we use the examples of sugar gliders housed in captivity and greyhounds that race to illustrate how the agentic qualities of choice, control, and challenge can be used to assess opportunities for animals to exercise agency and experience positive affective engagement.
... Canine may have evolved to fully utilize its sniffing ability, i.e., a voluntary, explicit, and effortful behavior to assimilate the odor into its neural or learning function. It codes and allows the canine to accurately discriminate specific odor since its physiologic function is designed as "one-way" airflow dynamic via active sniffing, thus incorporating the ability through training is mandatory before the canine can be considered eligible to human assistance role [1,3,5]. The first recorded evidence of medical detection canine (MDC) was reported back in 1989, when Williams et al excised a malignant melanoma (MM) after the patient (a 44-yearold woman) became aware when her canine (a female Border Collie-Doberman crossbreed) constantly sniffed at a particular skin lesion on the left thigh for several months. ...
Background
To date, early cancer detection is considered vital to reduce the global cancer burden through low-cost, but accurate screening modalities. The anatomical positioning of prostate cancer (PCa) created a potentially distinctive diagnostic method through the identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urine, which might be detectable not by humans but by canine species. This review aimed to capture the potential of the medical detection canine (MDC) to detect PCa by providing its diagnostic accuracy estimation on urine odor testing.
Methods
Databases, e.g., MEDLINE, Cochrane, ScienceDirect, and ProQuest, were searched to identify the studies. We focused on accessible original research, comparing the diagnostic utility of trained female MDC and histopathology examination as the gold standard for PCa diagnosis. The statistical analysis was performed in Meta-DiSc 1.4 and presented in diagnostic values, i.e., sensitivity (Sn), specificity (Sp), positive or negative likelihood ratio (LR+ or LR-), diagnostic odd ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) value, to conclude the Sn-Sp in a single outcome.
Results
Female German Shepherds were the most commonly utilized MDC from the five studies included in the final analysis. We estimate the pooled diagnostic value of eight different MDCs, with the findings as follows: Sn (0.95 (0.94 - 0.97)), Sp (0.92 (0.90 - 0.93)), LR+ (4.48 (1.90 - 10.58)), LR- (0.12 (0.01 - 1.42)), DOR (35.39 (2.90 - 432.53)), and an AUC value of 0.9232.
Conclusions
MDC’s olfaction ability holds considerable potential on its diagnostic accuracies to distinguish the urine of PCa individuals by identifying its volatilome property.
... Although we lacked the power to determine what the significant breed group differences were, it is unsurprising that they should exist. Given the dramatically different working and companionship roles of the dogs included in the groups, it is reasonable that their facial communication strategies would differ [54][55][56][57]. For example, while sporting breeds have historically been bred to work alongside hunters in the field, pointing and retrieving (mostly without auditory signaling so as not to alert their prey), non-sporting dogs breed more diverse social/working backgrounds, and toy breeds are those that have been selected strictly as companion animals. ...
Facial phenotypes are significant in communication with conspecifics among social primates. Less is understood about the impact of such markers in heterospecific encounters. Through behavioral and physical phenotype analyses of domesticated dogs living in human households, this study aims to evaluate the potential impact of superficial facial markings on dogs’ production of human-directed facial expressions. That is, this study explores how facial markings, such as eyebrows, patches, and widow’s peaks, are related to expressivity toward humans. We used the Dog Facial Action Coding System (DogFACS) as an objective measure of expressivity, and we developed an original schematic for a standardized coding of facial patterns and coloration on a sample of more than 100 male and female dogs (N = 103), aged from 6 months to 12 years, representing eight breed groups. The present study found a statistically significant, though weak, correlation between expression rate and facial complexity, with dogs with plainer faces tending to be more expressive (r = −0.326, p ≤ 0.001). Interestingly, for adult dogs, human companions characterized dogs’ rates of facial expressivity with more accuracy for dogs with plainer faces. Especially relevant to interspecies communication and cooperation, within-subject analyses revealed that dogs’ muscle movements were distributed more evenly across their facial regions in a highly social test condition compared to conditions in which they received ambiguous cues from their owners. On the whole, this study provides an original evaluation of how facial features may impact communication in human–dog interactions.
... Although dog research has a long history, with the studies of Darwin, Lubbock, and Pavlov as famous historical examples, cognitive and behavioral studies with dogs became commonplace only after the 1990s (for a historical review, see Feuerbacher & Wynne, 2011). The canine research that has unfolded since this time has demonstrated that dogs are an ideal study system not only for cognitive and behavioral research but also for evolutionary, health, and applied questions (Horowitz, 2014;Kaminski & Marshall-Pescini, 2014;Miklósi, 2015). ...
... Unlike what happens in nature, the presence of roaming dogs in cities is mainly influenced by decisions of pet owners or holders and, possibly, by the history of the neighborhood development and consolidation, as well as other socioeconomic variables (Bögel et al. 1990). In addition, dogs are territorial animals that group in response to the differential availability of resources and may present different behaviors towards people (Horowitz 2014). Also, as dogs move along the streets they may pass undetected by a surveyor on a particular occasion. ...
Free-roaming dogs (FRD) in cities represent an increasing problem. Authorities need numbers of FRD to evaluate policies implemented and to monitor the dog population.
We estimated the number of FRD in Ushuaia city, Argentina, using a photographic capture-recapture methodology. We estimated an abundance index, the power to detect changes in the index, and modeled factors that may explain the spatial distribution of FRD and their welfare status. We also infer whether if they are represented by partially supervised or unsupervised dogs, using a health and welfare index based on body fat coverage and skin condition, as well as on the presence of collars or accessories as a proxy of evidence for tenure.
During three surveys, covering 72 transects along streets (9.9% of the street layout of Ushuaia), we recorded 539 different FRD. A model with individual heterogeneity in capture-recapture probability gave 12,797 FRD (95% CI 10,979—15,323), reflecting a dog:human relation of 1:6, higher than the relation recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The abundance index was similar between surveys (8.13 ± 1.36, 8.38 ± 1.46 and 9.55 ± 1.28 dogs/km). The difference needed to detect changes in the index is about twice the standard error of estimates.
The best model explaining dogs’ abundance included only geographical location, although two neighbourhoods with 9 transects stand out with 181 different FRD identified. Together with the good overall dogs’ welfare status, modeling suggests that the behavior of owners is the main driver for the presence of FRD.
We recommend the use of photographic capture-recapture methodologies instead of simple index estimation, due to the small additional effort required and the improved accuracy and precision obtained. We also recommend a permanent systematic design for future surveys, increase the number of survey occasions, and improve the survey process.
... Dogs also have demonstrated the ability to perform a wide array of tasks in response to various cues and have taken part in several cognitive studies (Bensky et al., 2013;Berns et al., 2015;Bray et al., 2021;Cook et al., 2018;Craig et al., 2012;Dilks et al., 2015;Fiset, 2007;Fiset et al., 2007;Fiset & Malenfant, 2013;Fugazza et al., 2019;Horowitz, 2014;Lo & Roberts, 2019). Early studies sought to examine whether dogs can recognize when two auditory tones match (Brown & Sołtysik, 1971a, 1971bChora-_ zyna, 1959;Chora_ zyna, 1967;Pietrzykowska & Sołtysik, 1975). ...
concept formation was once thought to be a uniquely human ability. An increasing variety of nonhuman species have demonstrated aspects of this ability, however, suggesting that conceptualization is a widely shared aspect of cognition. The capacity to form a concept of same-different, in particular, has now been shown in pigeons, primates, bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, and more. Traditional methods of studying abstract concept formation include matching-to-sample (MTS), same/different (S/D), and relational-matching-to-sample tasks, tasks that typically require animals to discriminate sets of planar images. Some of these methods may actually test familiarity, memory, associative learning, or other phenomena rather than a concept of same-different. In the current study, we tested same-different concept formation in domestic dogs using a variation on the S/D task that required subjects to discriminate sets of three-dimensional objects. This method avoids some pitfalls of matching-to-sample and S/D tasks that use two-dimensional images and thousands of training trials. Dogs were able to learn to classify sets of objects as "same" and "different" and proved to be able to immediately transfer this ability to novel sets, including sets of only two objects. Domestic dogs are promising subjects for future studies of same-different conceptualization due to their widespread availability and willingness to work cooperatively with humans. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... In general, the olfactory bulb and its projection structures, including the olfactory tract and striae, are larger in dogs than in humans in absolute terms and relative to brain size (Kavoi and Jameela 2011), suggesting higher olfactory functionality (Haehner et al. 2008). In numbers, olfactory receptors are 30 times more in dogs ( ≈ 200 million) compared to humans ( ≈ 6 million) (Horowitz 2014;Lindsay 2013). In particular, however, the actual size of the olfactory epithelium varies largely across breeds (Quignon et al. 2003), paralled by inter-breed differences in behavioural outcome: Dog breeds selected for olfactory tasks (scenting breeds) and wolves performed better in detecting one of four pots baited with a food reward than short-nosed and non-scent breeds (Polgár et al. 2016). ...
The extraordinary olfactory capabilities in detection and rescue dogs are well-known. However, the olfactory performance varies by breed and search environment (Jezierski et al. in Forensic Sci Int 237:112–118, 2014), as well as by the quantity of training (Horowitz et al. in Learn Motivation 44(4):207–217, 2013). While detection of an olfactory cue inherently demands a judgment regarding the presence or absence of a cue at a given location, olfactory discrimination requires an assessment of quantity, a task demanding more attention and, hence, decreasing reliability as an informational source (Horowitz et al. 2013). This study aims at gaining more clarity on detection and discrimination of olfactory cues in untrained dogs and in a variety of dog breeds. Using a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) paradigm, we assessed olfactory detection scores by presenting a varied quantity of food reward under one or the other hidden cup, and discrimination scores by presenting two varied quantities of food reward under both hidden cups. We found relatively reliable detection performances across all breeds and limited discrimination abilities, modulated by breed. We discuss our findings in relation to the cognitive demands imposed by the tasks and the cephalic index of the dog breeds.
... Especially, owners of ROTT and BSD might perform these activities because they might be afraid that their dogs are strong enough to harm other people and need to be "under the control" of the owner. On the other hand, ROTT do not show increased stranger-directed, dog-directed and owner-directed aggression or dog rivalry as compared to other dog breeds [37]. This could indicate that ROTT owners either successfully take part in activities like (rally)obedience or dog school training. ...
Dog ownership contributes positively to physical activity (PA). The impact of different dog breeds and age on PA is less investigated in longitudinal studies. This study aimed to evaluate PA changes in dog owners as their dogs' ages increased and to explore whether there are differences in PA between owners of different breeds over a three-year period. Owners of different dog breeds were categorized into nine groups according to the perceived energy level and size of the breed. PA was monitored using an online questionnaire for three consecutive years. Linear mixed models (LMM) showed a small, but significant decrease in total PA, leisure time walking, dog-related PA and dog walking over three years. No decreases were found if only participants who attended at all time points were included. In all LMM analyses, a significant relationship between the dog breed and the outcomes of PA were shown. At baseline, dog owners performed different types of activities depending on their dog breed. In conclusion, owners of different dog breeds differ in their types of PA. The study emphasizes that age, size and energy level of the dog does not per se have an impact on dog owners PA. Citation: Hielscher-Zdzieblik, B.; Froboese, I.; Serpell, J.; Gansloßer, U. Impact of Dog's Age and Breed on Dog Owner's Physical Activity: A German Longitudinal Study.
... Dogs also have been trained to perform a variety of memory tasks (Craig et al., 2012;Fiset, 2007;Fiset et al., 2007;Lo et al., 2020;Lo & Roberts, 2019). Some studies suggest that dogs may also be capable of imitating actions (Fugazza et al., 2016a(Fugazza et al., , 2016b(Fugazza et al., , 2019Horowitz, 2014), indicating that dogs can flexibly represent others' past behavior and can use memories of observed actions to influence their own actions. The flexibility with which dogs can be trained to perform, monitor, and recall both self-performed actions and the actions of others (including the actions of humans) provides new opportunities for exploring mechanisms of learning and memory that would be difficult or impossible to study in other species. ...
Previous studies of memory have focused heavily on recognition of environmental stimuli such as objects, images, or spatial cues. Less is understood about animals' abilities to flexibly retrieve memories of recently performed actions and to use such memories to guide their responses. Training individuals to repeat actions on cue potentially can reveal what they remember about recent actions, how long they retain those memories, and how flexibly they can form and use mental representations of actions. This project examined memories for recently performed actions in domestic dogs. We tested dogs' abilities to reproduce actions on cue immediately after performing those actions and after a delay. All dogs learned to repeat recent actions when cued to do so. Dogs also proved to be able to repeat actions after short delays, to repeat actions multiple times without additional training, and to repeat actions that they were not explicitly trained to repeat, including untrained actions that they innovated on cue. Collectively, these findings suggest that dogs can flexibly access memories of their actions and can form an abstract concept of repeating that generalizes across many different actions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... In general, the olfactory bulb and its projection 38 structures, including the olfactory tract and striae, are larger in dogs than in humans in absolute terms 39 and relative to brain size (Kavoi and Jameela, 2011), suggesting higher olfactory functionality (Haehner 40 et al., 2008). In numbers, olfactory receptors are 30 times more in dogs (≈ 200 million) compared 41 to humans (≈ 6 million) (Horowitz, 2014;Lindsay, 2013). In particular, however, the actual size of the 42 olfactory epithelium varies largely across breeds (Quignon et al., 2003), paralled by inter-breed differences 43 in behavioural outcome: Dog breeds selected for olfactory tasks (scenting breeds) and wolves performed 44 better in detecting one of four pots baited with a food reward than short-nosed and non-scent breeds 45 (Polgár et al., 2016). ...
The extraordinary olfactory capabilities in detection and rescue dogs are well-known. However, the olfactory performance varies by breed and search environment (Jezierski et al., 2014), as well as by the quantity of training (Horowitz et al., 2013). While detection of an olfactory cue inherently demands a judgment regarding the presence or absence of a cue at a given location, olfactory discrimination requires an assessment of quantity, a task demanding more attention and, hence, decreasing reliability as an informational source (Horowitz et al., 2013). This study aims at gaining more clarity on detection and discrimination of olfactory cues in untrained dogs and in a variety of dog breeds. Using a two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) paradigm, we assessed olfactory detection scores by presenting a varied quantity of food reward under one or the other hidden cup, and discrimination scores by presenting two varied quantities of food reward under both hidden cups. We found relatively reliable detection performances across all breeds and limited discrimination abilities, modulated by breed. We discuss our findings in relation to the cognitive demands imposed by the tasks and the cephalic index of the dog breeds.
... A long history of co-habiting with humans have made them interesting subjects of study for the understanding of social cognitive abilities. There are plenty of exhaustive reports supporting the presence of high degree of socio-cognitive skills in dogs (Hare and Tomasello, 2005;Horowitz, 2014;Kaminski and Marshall-Pescini, 2014). Such skills have made them successful in establishing social bonds with humans. ...
Co-habiting with humans in an urban ecological space requires adequate variation in a
species’ behavioural repertoire. The eco-ethology of many urban species have been shown to be modified due to human activities leading to urban adaptations. Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are the first species to have been domesticated and have a long evolutionary history of co-habitation with humans. In the last two decades, scientists have investigated various questions on dogs pertaining to its domestication. In fact, no other species belonging to the family Canidae has received such attention in the scientific world. Unfortunately, majority of the work was confined to pet dogs in the western countries. Pet dogs are the result of artificial breeding based on desirable traits and their activities are typically determined by their owners. Free-ranging dogs found in most of the developing countries, on the other hand, represent a naturally breeding population without direct human supervision. Studying free-ranging dogs can thus provide us with crucial insights on the ecology and evolution of dogs in greater detail.
Close to 80% of the world’s dog population is free-ranging, yet scientific studies on them
are almost non-existent. Scientists have realised the importance and need of studying these dogs very recently to address various facets of the much debated domestication event. Free-ranging dogs are a highly successful urban-adapted species living in all possible human habitats in the developing countries. The dog-human relationship is highly complex and possess multiple trajectories. For example, these dogs depend on human subsidized food, choose dens near human households, yet receive a range of negative stimuli from humans; mortality of these dogs is mostly influenced by humans. In this thesis, we tried to answer questions relating to the dog-human relationship on Indian streets. My thesis involved an interdisciplinary approach where behavioural, cognitive, and ecological
aspects are discussed to shed light on the evolution of the dog-human relationship.
We began the work by looking at the natural history of free-ranging dogs in India. We
collected data on the abundance of dogs and the distribution of their potential food
resources, across India. Moreover, we recorded the sex ratio, group size, and behaviours
of dogs at different study locations. We characterized study areas with regard to human
activity levels by estimating human flux or movement and categorised them into low,
intermediate and high flux zones. Our findings clearly suggested varying distribution of
dogs and their food resources across different microhabitats in India. While a direct effect
of food resource was not found, human flux significantly predicted the distribution of
dogs. Moreover, we found a strong impact of changing human flux on the abundance and
behavioural activity of free-ranging dogs.
In the next section, we investigated the intra-group dynamics of dogs from the perspective of long-debated dominance-rank relationships. We looked at the steepness and linearity of agonistic and formal dominance hierarchies of groups of dogs from intermediate and high human flux zones. Our study did not reveal any clear dominance hierarchy among the free-ranging dogs, either in the intermediate or high human flux zones. The overall frequencies of interactions between the group members were found to be quite low, with many unknown interactions between for several dyads. We also proposed the use of subtle behavioural cues to maintain hierarchy rather than showing frequent behavioural exchanges in dogs. Findings from the study further led us to test free-ranging dogs’ interactions with humans. We found that these dogs interact with humans more compared to their conspecifics. Interestingly, we noticed that dogs rarely initiated behaviours towards humans, while humans played the predominant role in initiating both positive and negative behaviours towards dogs. We concluded that humans are a predominant part of the interaction network of the Indian free-ranging dogs. This opened up a window of testing dogs’ physical and social cognitive abilities.
We found that free-ranging dogs lack the ability to persist on physical cognitive tasks and
are poor performers like pet dogs. A higher dependence on humans is thought to be a key
factor restricting dogs from persisting on an unfamiliar task. Interestingly, free-ranging
dogs, as scavengers, showed competence while solving a familiar task, though task
difficulty remained a factor that could not be disentangled. A partial dependence on
humans was assumed to be the outcome of their long-history of co-evolution which resulted in a reduced problem-solving capacity in dogs. Surprisingly, a role of social facilitation was observed which predicted improved performances in both familiar and unfamiliar tasks.
Free-ranging dogs like any other urban species are typically found to be aversive towards
making direct physical contact with unfamiliar humans. The sociability of dogs was
found to correlate with human flux, suggesting a role of life experience in shaping the
personalities of these dogs. Dogs were shown to understand different human social cues
and respond accordingly. The dogs in groups were bolder while responding to threatening
cues from humans than in the solitary condition. Using two studies, we showed their
ability to understand human pointing gestures, both simple and complex. The behavioural
states of the dogs were heavily found to influence their responses towards humans.
Dogs were found to be anxious or fearful while encountering an unfamiliar human.
Interestingly, we found a crucial role of positive socialization in the form of petting in modifying
such behavioural states of dogs and further building a strong dog-human relationship.
In summary, this thesis provides unprecedented inputs into the current understanding
of the evolution of dog-human relationship. The findings are not only restricted to
the scientific advancement but may also be helpful in mitigating the growing doghuman
conflict on the streets in India, by enhancing an understanding of the dynamics
of the relationship between the two species, that might enable better management strategies.
... Thus, at least initially, the domestication process of wolves into dogs was not deliberate or conceived by human hunters and gatherers, but based on natural selection, a process called the selfdomestication hypothesis (22). It is hypothesized, however, that that humans in the beginning inadvertently selected the most adjustable wolves by dispelling or dispatching wolves that did not conform to human societal rules (21,23). The Russian geneticist Dmitry Belyaev even wrote that "[i]t is obvious that selection for behavior has been unconsciously carried out by man since the earliest stages of animal domestication" based on the fact that contact with humans as well as obeying them and reproducing in their care are prerequisites for domestication (24). ...
... Search dogs are thus emerging as an experimental paradigm, important both for their invaluable contributions to society and advancing theoretical questions in behavior and cognition. Despite the emergent field of dog cognitive psychology (Horowitz 2014), there is a remarkable paucity of studies on the cognition underlying olfactory search in dogs. The present study demonstrated that small changes in ambient meteorological conditions can shape the search strategy of a large mammal orienting to an odor trail. ...
Under natural conditions, an animal orienting to an air-borne odor plume must contend with the shifting influence of meteorological variables, such as air temperature, humidity and wind speed, on the location and the detectability of the plume. Despite their importance, the natural statistics of such variables are difficult to reproduce in the laboratory and hence few studies have investigated strategies of olfactory orientation by mobile animals under different meteorological conditions. Using trained search and rescue dogs, we quantified the olfactory orientation behaviors of dogs searching for a trail (aged 1-3 hours) of a hidden human subject in a natural landscape, under a range of meteorological conditions. Dogs were highly successful in locating the human target hidden 800 m from the start location (93% success). Humidity and air temperature had a significant effect on search strategy: as air conditions became cooler and more humid, dogs searched significantly closer to the original trail. Dogs also modified their speed and head position according to their search location distance from the original trail. When close to the trail, dogs searched with their head up and ran quickly but when their search took them farther from the trail, they were more likely to search with their nose to the ground, moving more slowly. To our knowledge, this is the first study of a mammalian species responding to localized shifts in ambient conditions and it lays the foundation for future studies of olfactory orientation, and the development of a highly tractable mammalian species for such research.
... For all elephants, correct and incorrect responses were calculated for target sample per position in the scent line-up (position 1-9). Positions were categorised into close (position 1-3), near (position 4-6), and far (position 7-9) as declines in performance towards the end of forensic scent line-ups have been recorded in working dogs (Horowitz, 2014). Cumulatively, the elephants responded correctly with a mean of above 80% per category, and elephant accuracy did not decline towards the end of the line-up with performance differences between categories highly insignificant at p = 0.829, 0.95 Confidence Interval (Fig. 3). ...
... Sin embargo, desde fines de los años 90, el estudio comparado de la cognición social del perro doméstico se convirtió en un área de investigación sumamente fructífera (Miklósi et al., 2004). Este hecho continúa hasta la actualidad (e.g., Beurms & Miller, 2016;Horowitz, 2014). Se sostiene firmemente que el estudio de la cognición social en el perro resulta particularmente interesante, no sólo debido a las limitaciones de los modelos clásicos en primates, sino también a las ventajas que ofrece (para una revisión ver Miklósi et al., 2004y Topál et al., 2009b. ...
El control inhibitorio es una habilidad que permite a los individuos bloquear una respuesta impulsiva y tomar decisiones sobre recompensas a largo plazo. Desde la Psicología Comparada se exponen numerosas razones que justifican al perro como un excelente modelo para estudiar esta capacidad. Sin embargo, este no ha sido ampliamente abordado y los protocolos para evaluarlo en su entorno natural, es decir el compartido con las personas, son escasos. Existe una discusión acerca de las posibles variables que podrían afectar facilitando u obstaculizando el desempeño. Se ha propuesto que un aspecto potencialmente influyente en especies sociales es la naturaleza social o no social del contexto. Asimismo, varias evidencias en humanos demuestran que uno de los factores moduladores de mayor impacto son los aprendizajes y experiencias previas de los sujetos (ontogenia). Por otra parte, se han diseñado diversos paradigmas de evaluación del control de impulsos pero sólo un número limitado de estudios analizaron la convergencia entre los mismos, arrojando resultados contradictorios. En esta Tesis se llevaron a cabo varios experimentos a fin de atender a los problemas presentados. En primer lugar, se diseñaron diferentes protocolos para poder explorar diversos aspectos del control inhibitorio de los perros en situaciones de interacción con los humanos. Los resultados demostraron que estos animales pueden discriminar y seguir claves humanas asociadas a reforzadores con distintas demoras en la entrega, muestran interés por las recompensas a largo plazo y son capaces de inhibir respuestas prepotentes. También se observó una considerable variabilidad entre individuos, lo cual indicaría un impacto notable de las diferencias individuales en el comportamiento. En segundo lugar, se comparó el desempeño en entornos sociales con el rendimiento en ambientes no sociales, a fin de evaluar la influencia del contexto social sobre el control inhibitorio. Se encontró que los perros cometieron significativamente más errores y extinciones de repuesta y menos respuestas correctas en las pruebas no sociales. No obstante, no hubo diferencias significativas entre las condiciones sociales y no sociales considerando los indicadores más relevantes de impulsividad. Estos datos sugieren que, al menos en estos protocolos, el contexto social no tendría un impacto sustancial o no facilitaría el desempeño de los perros. En tercer lugar, se comparó la ejecución de perros de refugio y de familia con el propósito de observar si diferentes niveles de interacción con los humanos durante la ontogenia influyen en esta capacidad. Los perros de refugio mostraron comportamientos significativamente más impulsivos que los de familia en uno de los protocolos sociales. Esto sugiere que la ontogenia afectaría las habilidades inhibitorias. El contacto social restringido de los perros de refugio con las personas limitaría las posibilidades de aprender a controlar impulsos a partir de la interacción con las mismas. Por último, se analizaron las correlaciones entre diversas pruebas con el objetivo de evaluar la convergencia entre diferentes medidas de control inhibitorio. Los resultados no arrojaron asociaciones significativas entre las mismas, lo cual podría indicar que las metodologías no miden el mismo mecanismo subyacente. Esto es compatible con los supuestos de que la impulsividad es multidimensional y el desempeño inhibitorio es dependiente del contexto metodológico específico en el que un sujeto es evaluado. En conjunto, los hallazgos de la Tesis sugieren que los perros son capaces de controlar sus impulsos en situaciones de interacción con las personas. Asimismo, indican que la habilidad podría ser estable a través de los contextos sociales y no sociales. Además, demuestran que la ontogenia desempeña un rol importante en la inhibición comportamental y que las respuestas están afectadas por los distintos métodos de evaluación. Finalmente, los datos en estos animales presentan algunos paralelismos con las evidencias halladas en humanos, aunque los mecanismos podrían diferir entre las especies.
... Perceptivelmente a antropomorfização influencia, em larga medida, nosso oferecimento de alimento, abrigo e conforto aos cães (com sua inserção no contexto social humano e familiar) (Serpell, 2003). No entanto, idealmente, ela não pode influenciar em demasia a visão dos pesquisadores, que devem prezar pelo delineamento de estudos mais próximos da realidade canina (Horowitz & Hecht, 2014), que não utilizem aparatos complexos ou objetos de pouca relevância ecológica ao animal. Os cães possuem sua própria "visão de mundo" 6 e modo de agir sobre ele. ...
Resumo Neste artigo são discutidos aspectos concernentes ao início do convívio entre cães e humanos e às diferenças culturais que afetam as relações entre as duas espécies. O estudo das interações entre humanos e cães precisa trazer à tona a pluralidade de fenômenos interconectados: o processo de domesticação iniciado há milhares de anos, os efeitos evolutivos da relação entre as duas espécies e os aspectos culturais que influenciam a convivência entre nós. Considerando essa visão holística, enxergamos de maneira ampla o cenário interacionista, estabelecendo paralelos muitas vezes ignorados por estudos pontuais e/ou enviesados por paradigmas experimentais de baixa relevância ecológica para os animais.
Shaking in domestic dogs—a rapid side-to-side movement of the body or head—is a commonly observed behavior, yet its function remains minimally researched. The present study aimed to investigate the use of shaking behavior in naturalistic social contexts, with the hypothesis that shaking functions as a marker of transition between behaviors or activities. In addition, as the prior literature has suggested that shaking more frequently occurred in postures or conditions of stress, either to signal stress or to mitigate it, we looked at postures related to affect before and after shaking. We observed 96 New York City dogs in two contexts: a public dog run and a private daycare. Over 120 episodes, shaking behavior was most often observed between two different activities or behavioral categories, supporting the hypothesis that shaking functions as a marker of transition between behaviors and activities. We also found neither a significant change in postures related to affect nor in the number of dogs in the subject’s vicinity after shaking. While there may be other functions of canine shaking behavior, this observational research adds to our understanding of a common and understudied dog behavior.
The representation of animals in cinema and television reflects and reinforces dominant ideologies and traditional stereotypes. While popular culture often legitimizes prevailing social norms and existing power relations, it can also reflect shifting cultural attitudes about traditional axes of inequality such as race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, and species. Representations of canine characters incidentally embedded in family life provide a unique lens through which to consider the evolving cultural and legal status of dogs and their place in multispecies families. This article introduces a Canine Characters Test, similar to the Bechdel Test used to measure the representation of women in movies, to critically evaluate the representation of dogs in film and television. Applying the test and its four criteria—Role in Narrative, Agency, Language, and Animality—to two examples, this article argues that portrayals that pass the test support a positive shift in social norms regarding dog–human relationships, which in turn bolsters efforts to elevate dogs’ status under the law. Benevolent speciesism, authenticity, and problematic tropes such as vanishing, ornamental, and miraculous canines are also discussed.
The AKC functions as the largest and most influential dog breed registry and breed standard information source in the United States. AKC breed standards describe the breed's overall appearance and behavior. Despite their popularity, the AKC behavioral descriptions and the traits used to quantify them have largely remained unexplored. In this study, we used eleven behavioral breed standard traits for 286 breeds collected for the official AKC source. Dog size and appearance were also evaluated. We employed pairwise correlation and factor analysis to define behavioral trait constructs and hierarchical clustering methods to evaluate the similarity of breed profiles. These methods revealed that although AKC data exhibit various individual correlations concurrent with known canine behavior, many breeds present behavioral trait constructs that do not align with the narratives presented in their standard and may be lacking crucial factors in dog behavior, as suggested by breed group clustering. Our dimensional analysis revealed three constructs, which we labeled as "Social Engagement", "Pet Demands", and "Vigilance", that are very important and relevant to pet ownership. These results emphasize the importance of standardized observations when quantifying behavior and provide an overarching context regarding the strengths and weaknesses of these descriptions, allowing readers to better understand and predict their pet's behavior.
Dog breeds are grouped based on scientific agreement, whether for traditional reasons or specific tasks during their domestication. Discrepancies may occur between public views of breed behaviour and actual evidence. This research aims to investigate differences in five behavioural traits (aggression towards people, aggression towards animals, fearfulness, responsiveness to training, and activity/excitability) by using the Dog Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) across six conventional groups/clusters of dog breeds (herding, hunting, guarding, companion dogs, potentially aggressive breeds, and mixed-breed dogs) and to assess hypotheses derived from common public presumptions. A cohort of 1309 dog owners sourced through diverse online platforms took part in the study. Contrary to stereotypes, the findings indicate that breeds labelled as “potentially aggressive” display lower levels of aggression compared to guarding breeds (χ2 (5) = 3.657, p = 0.041) and mixed-breeds (χ2 (5) = 3.870, p = 0.002). Additionally, mixed-breed dogs exhibited the highest levels of fearfulness among the six conventional clusters. In terms of aggression and gender, males demonstrated higher aggression levels towards both humans and animals compared to females (p = 0.001). These results challenge established assumptions and emphasise the necessity of evidence-based methodologies in the assessment of canine behaviour.
Simple Summary
Animal charities want to teach people about what animals need and often run campaigns to achieve this. These campaigns usually focus on different aspects of animal welfare. In March 2019, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) launched a campaign called #DogKind. It aimed to increase awareness of dog owners to identify separation-related behaviours in dogs and encourage owners to seek help from reliable sources. To evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness, we asked people a series of questions before and after the campaign. We also tested whether adding a video to the website’s information made any difference to the campaign’s effectiveness. This study found that the campaign successfully reached its target audience of 25–34-year-olds but did not help dog owners become more aware of separation-related behaviours or increase the number of owners intending to seek help from reliable sources. Additionally, showing a video as part of the campaign did not improve its effectiveness. This study shows that this campaign had limited success in achieving its targets and highlights the importance of thorough evaluations of campaigns as educational interventions.
Abstract
One of the main aims of companion animal welfare charities is to educate the public about the needs of animals. This is frequently performed through campaigns focusing on specific aspects of welfare. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), Britain’s biggest animal welfare charity, launched the nationwide #DogKind campaign in March 2019. Targeted mainly at 25–34-year-olds, the campaign aimed to increase awareness of separation-related behaviour (SRB) among dog owners and encourage them to seek help for SRB from reliable sources. This research involved a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design evaluating the campaign’s effectiveness. It was conducted through a series of online surveys at three different time points: before the launch of the campaign (n = 2002), six months after (n = 2423), and, again, two months later (n = 269), during which we asked the same questions regarding knowledge of SRB. An experimental trial of 269 participants tested whether accessing a video alongside the campaign web pages increased the effectiveness of the campaign objectives. Overall, the campaign appeared to be effective in reaching its target audience but not at raising awareness of SRB or increasing the number of owners intending to seek help. The inclusion of a video in the campaign made no difference to its effectiveness. This study shows that this campaign had limited success in achieving its targets and highlights the importance of thorough evaluations of education interventions that aim to improve the welfare of companion animals.
Simple Summary
This study investigated the level of knowledge and the current situation with regard to the welfare of farm animals during transportation and in beef, pork, and poultry slaughterhouses. For this purpose, a questionnaire was developed to obtain data on respondents’ understanding of their work, knowledge of legislation, training, and attitudes towards animal welfare. Slaughterhouse employees and professional animal livestock drivers participated in the study. Slaughterhouse employees showed more knowledge about animal welfare than livestock drivers, but both groups were not sufficiently familiar with animal welfare legislation and regulations. All respondents agreed that animals are sentient beings and almost all respondents were unfamiliar with the concept of biosecurity. This study found that the results of the veterinary experts’ observations were generally lower than the results of the employees’ and livestock drivers’ self-assessments. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that there is a need to improve the awareness and knowledge of slaughterhouse employees and livestock drivers regarding animal handling and welfare regulations. This would include providing better hands-on training, better knowledge of legislation, and raising awareness of the benefits of certain procedures and standards in slaughterhouses and during transportation.
Abstract
Animal welfare is a multidimensional concept that includes several physical and psychological parameters of the animal. The aim of this study was to assess animal welfare during transportation and in Slovenian beef, pork, and poultry slaughterhouses. A questionnaire was used for this study. Several parameters of animal welfare were rated on a 5-point scale, such as health status, animal behavior, lairage or transport vehicle conditions, and driver regulation compliance. The scale was also used for the second part of the study. This consisted of two studies: (1) self-assessment by slaughterhouse employees and livestock transport drivers and (2) animal welfare observational assessment performed by two veterinarians. The results were compared with each other. Ten large slaughterhouses and nine livestock drivers took part in the survey. The results showed that slaughterhouse employees knew more about animal welfare than livestock truck drivers, but both groups were not sufficiently familiar with animal welfare laws and regulations. This study found that the experts’ assessments were generally lower than the self-assessments of employees and livestock drivers. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that there is a need to improve the awareness and knowledge of slaughterhouse employees and livestock drivers regarding animal handling and animal welfare regulations.
This report describes a case of search and rescue of a missing person using a dog specialized in the search method by specific odor. The work of the dog and his partner, a military firefighter, was carried out in 2021. The Dutch Shepherd, female, four years old, medium-sized and muscular, short and hard coat, brindle coloration, with a black mask and erect ears, weighed 25 kg and had an intelligent and shrewd expression. During training, the dog must learn to work free, using the senses of smell, sight and hearing, have good obedience control, have good socialization with people and animals and work in different environments. This type of operation is official and several government entities participate in it. The dog succeeded in the mission.
Evidências indicam que os cães exibem comunicação referencial e intencional em situações que exigem cooperação conosco. O sinal comunicativo que ocorre com maior frequência nessas interações é a alternância de olhares entre o receptor (humano) e o referente (alimento de interesse). Nesta pesquisa, além de discutirmos aspectos relativos à relação entre humanos e cães, examinamos a produção comunicativa canina (frequência, duração e tipos de sinais manifestados) em situações nas quais um petisco esteve inacessível em cima de uma mesa de altura regulável e dentro de recipiente apropriado. Variações foram aplicadas, visando a analisar os efeitos da visibilidade do alimento (oculto em recipiente opaco ou visível em transparente - ambos com vedação), da presença (ou ausência) de alimento dentro do recipiente transparente e da presença (ou ausência) do tutor durante a ocultação. Sendo assim a pesquisa discutiu aspectos associados a permanência de objetos, saliência do estímulo visual (alimento) e tomada de perspectiva.
We have tested a method of olfactory environmental enrichment in hoary foxes used in other wild canids in captivity. The individuals were exposed to four olfactory stimuli (meat, mouse urine, cheese, and egg) that were wrapped in cotton bags outside the enclosures at the zoo for five minutes. Behavioral observations were performed using the focal animal method, and all occurrences were recorded. The pre-exposure phase (Basal), exposure phase (Exp), and post-exposure phase and Basal phase (Pos) were analyzed for a period of five minutes. Behavioral responses were categorized as positive, negative, or other. Positive behavior tended to increase (p = 0.07) from the Basal phase to the Exp phase, but there was no statistical difference (p = 0.31) between the phases. Negative and other behavior did not differ statistically from the Basal phase to the Exp phase (N−, p = 0.32; Ot, p = 0.35) or Basal to the Pos phase (N−, p = 0.18; Ot, p = 0.92). The odors used seemed to elicit positive behavior weakly. Negative behavior was stable for the hoary foxes. The method failed to improve the hoary foxes’ welfare. Because their natural diet is based on insects and fruits, it is suggested that the stimuli used in this study have no appetitive value for hoary foxes. The method used with the same olfactory stimuli that were successful in other canid species is unsuitable for hoary foxes.
Excessive emotional arousal has been shown to impact physiological health in both veterinary species and human animals. The focus of work in many models of veterinary behavioural medicine has predominantly been associated with reducing activation of the protective emotional systems; in particular, fear-anxiety. The management of the engaging emotional systems of desire-seeking, social play, care and lust has not traditionally been considered in the treatment of physiological health of veterinary species. This article reviews the literature in both veterinary and human fields on the relationship between emotional arousal of both protective and engaging emotional systems and physical health conditions. The current literature describing the regulatory control of sleep on emotional arousal is also discussed. An exemplary case report of a seven month old male entire Cocker Spaniel showing fly-snapping behaviour which had been non-responsive to leviteracetam (Keppra) is presented. The emotional health assessment and treatment of this case is described along with the short and long term (fourteen month follow up) outcomes to demonstrate that some patients presenting in this way can be effectively managed with an appropriate behavioural medicine treatment plan. The authors put forward the argument that an emotional health assessment should be considered an essential component of the work up of all such cases.
The human–animal relationship is ancient, complex and multifaceted. It may have either
positive effects on humans and animals or poor or even negative and detrimental effects on animals or both humans and animals. A large body of literature has investigated the beneficial effects of this relationship in which both human and animals appear to gain physical and psychological benefits from living together in a reciprocated interaction. However, analyzing the literature with a different perspective it clearly emerges that not rarely are human–animal relationships characterized by different forms and levels of discomfort and suffering for animals and, in some cases, also for people.
The negative physical and psychological consequences on animals’ well-being may be very nuanced and concealed, but there are situations in which the negative consequences are clear and striking, as in the case of animal violence, abuse or neglect. Empathy, attachment and anthropomorphism are human psychological mechanisms that are considered relevant for positive and healthy relationships with animals, but when dysfunctional or pathological determine physical or psychological suffering, or both, in animals as occurs in animal hoarding. The current work reviews some of the literature on the multifaceted nature of the human–animal relationship; describes the key role of empathy, attachment and anthropomorphism in human–animal relationships; seeks to depict how these
psychological processes are distorted and dysfunctional in animal hoarding, with highly detrimental effects on both animal and human well-being.
Dogs are by far the most loyal companion to humans throughout the history of mankind. Dogs have about 40 times more smell-sensitive receptors in comparison to humans, ranging from about 125 million to nearly 300 million in some of the dog breeds, such as bloodhounds. Dogs sense odors by sniffing the inhaled air through the nostrils during aspirations while keeping the mouth often closed. Search and rescue (SAR) dogs are very important after any natural disasters for locating the missing people or their remains and incidents like mass casualty. There are seven types of working dogs, i.e., search and rescue dogs, police dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs, military working dogs, detection dogs, and herding dogs. The topmost breeds of dogs used for search and rescue work are bloodhound, basset hound, coonhound, beagle, St. Bernard, German shepherd, Labrador retriever, Belgian Malinois, Mudhol hound, etc. The formal and full training will normally last for 12 months, and the dog becomes a good working dog at about the age of 2 years and can be expected to be in active service up to 8 to 10 years of age. Search and rescue dogs can be categorized into different types depending upon their intended purpose of use like Avalanche and Urban Search and Rescue, Ground Disturbance Tracking, Water Search, Air Scenting Area, Search Scent-Specific Tracking, and Cadaver/Human Remains Detection.KeywordsDogsSearch and rescueOdorCadaverHuman remainsAvalancheNatural disaster
Dog-assisted interventions (DAI) are those that include specially trained dogs in human health services. Often, the training methods employed to train animals for DAI are transmitted between trainers, so the latest scientific research on dog learning and cognition is not always taken into account. The present work aims to evaluate the impact that the main theories on the evolution of the dog have had both in promoting different training methods and in the relevance of behavior in the evolution of the skills of actual dogs. Then, an integrative method for the training of dogs is presented. This method takes into account the research on dog learning mechanisms and cognition processes, and effectively promotes the development of desirable behaviors for DAI during the dog’s ontogeny.
Describing the relationship with one’s cat in human terms might reflect an underlying anthropomorphic view of the relationship which might be associated with an owner’s behavior towards their cat and the cat’s living environment. Owners self-categorized the relationship with their cat as either a ‘member of the family’, ‘as a child’, ‘best friend’, or ‘a pet animal’. The extent to which owner- and cat-related factors influence these four relationship descriptions are examined in survey data of approximately 1800 cat owners. Differences in outdoor access, care during absence of the owner, and access to the bedroom are examined between the four relationship perceptions. The owner’s age and household composition, ideas about their cat’s equality, support, and dependency, and whether their cat is a pedigree were significantly associated with relationship description and explained 46% of the variance. Owners who perceive their cat as a child or best friend see their cat as loyal, empathetic, equal to family, and dependent on them for love and care. Their cats are less often left in the care of others, are allowed more often in the bedroom and have less often (unrestricted) outdoor access. Moreover, cats perceived as children are more likely to live in a multi-cat household. Our results provide insight in the factors that are related to different (anthropomorphic) perceptions of the human–cat relationship and how perceptions relate to the living environment of cats.
In modern science, however, applied animal behavior is a remarkably new field. Animal machines created such a strong public reaction that the British government set up a technical committee to investigate the welfare of farm animals. Animal behavior has been applied in efforts to reduce harm to animals caused by human actions. One of the major applications of animal behavior is the design of better environments for captive, farmed, and laboratory animals, partly for the practical goal of making the environments function better, and partly to improve the welfare of the animals that live in them. The animals' welfare is presumably improved because they show little fear of people and a less pronounced physiological stress response to handling. Many concerns about animal welfare are primarily concerns about the affective states of animals—their “emotions,” “feelings,” and other pleasant or unpleasant experiences. Abnormal animal behavior has provided a strong stimulus to understand affective states of animals.
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.
Dogs and cats housed in research-, kennel- and cattery-type settings are reliant on caregivers to optimise their day-to-day experiences and welfare. The goal is to provide enriching environments for physical, social and environmental control; behavioural choice and opportunities to live as varied a life as possible. However, there are numerous challenges in these environments such as lack of appropriate enrichment for group housing, budget for equipment/training, study controls, time and space to make improvements. In addition, research settings are required to comply with legislation for care, husbandry and housing, and as standards differ between regions, conditions will vary between settings. Sharing knowledge in this field can only help drive a wider culture of care by helping improve the lives and welfare of animals cared for. This article presents some of the environmental enrichment strategies effective at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, UK.
Olfaction in dogs is crucial for gathering important information about the environment, recognizing individuals, making decisions, and learning. It is far more specialized and sensitive than humans’ sense of smell. Using the strength of dogs’ sense of smell, humans work with dogs for the recognition of different odors, with a precision far exceeding the analytical capabilities of most modern instruments. Due to their extremely sensitive sense of smell, dogs could be used as modern, super-sensitive mobile area scanners, detecting specific chemical signals in real time in various environments outside the laboratory, and then tracking the odor of dynamic targets to their source, also in crowded places. Recent studies show that dogs can detect not only specific scents of drugs or explosives, but also changes in emotions as well as in human cell metabolism during various illnesses, including COVID-19 infection. Here, we provide an overview of canine olfaction, discussing aspects connected with anatomy, physiology, behavioral aspects of sniffing, and factors influencing the olfactory abilities of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).
Synopsis
Many large predators are also facultative scavengers that may compete with and depredate other species at carcasses. Yet, the ecological impacts of facultative scavenging by large predators, or their “scavenging effects,” still receive relatively little attention in comparison to their predation effects. To address this knowledge gap, we comprehensively examine the roles played by, and impacts of, facultative scavengers, with a focus on large canids: the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), dhole (Cuon alpinus), dingo (Canis dingo), Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), gray wolf (Canis lupus), maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), and red wolf (Canis rufus). Specifically, after defining facultative scavenging as use or usurpation of a carcass that a consumer has not killed, we (1) provide a conceptual overview of the community interactions around carcasses that can be initiated by facultative scavengers, (2) review the extent of scavenging by and the evidence for scavenging effects of large canids, (3) discuss external factors that may diminish or enhance the effects of large canids as scavengers, and (4) identify aspects of this phenomenon that require additional research attention as a guide for future work.
Infrared thermography (IRT) can be used to identify stressors associated with greyhound racing procedures. However, factors unrelated to stress may influence measurements. Validation of an eye side (right or left) and a reference point on the eye is required if IRT is to be standardised for industry use. Infrared images of greyhound heads (n = 465) were taken pre-racing and post-racing at three racetracks. Average temperature was recorded at seven different locations on each eye. A multivariate analysis model determined how several factors influenced eye temperature (ET) pre-racing and post-racing. As expected, ET increased after racing, which may be attributed to physical exertion, stress and arousal. The right eye and lacrimal caruncle had the highest sensitivity to temperature changes and could be considered reference points for future studies. Additionally, dogs that raced later had higher ET, and Richmond racetrack had the lowest pre-race ET, but the highest post-race ET. This may suggest that arousal increases as the race meet progresses and certain track attributes could increase stress. Furthermore, ET increased as humidity increased, and higher post-race ET was associated with light-coloured, young and low-performing dogs. Environmental and biological factors need to be considered if IRT is to become accurate in the detection of canine stress and monitoring of greyhound welfare.
Initial COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the United Kingdom (23rd March–12th May 2020) prompted lifestyle changes for many people. We explored the impact of this lockdown phase on pet dogs using an online survey completed by 6004 dog owners, who provided information including dog management data for the 7 days prior to survey completion (4th–12th May 2020), and for February 2020 (pre-lockdown). We explored associations between potential predictors and four outcomes relating to changes pre-/during lockdown (reduction in number and duration of walks; increased frequency of play/training, and provision of toys). Most owners (79.5%) reported their dog’s routine had changed compared to pre-lockdown. There was a four-fold increase in the proportion not left alone for >5 min on any day during a weekly period (14.6% pre-lockdown, 58.0% during lockdown), with the proportion being left for ≥3 h at a time decreasing from 48.5% to 5.4%. Dogs were walked less often and for less time daily during lockdown, with factors related to the dog, owner, household, and home location associated with changes to walking practices. Many dogs had more play/training sessions and were given toys more frequently during lockdown. Decreased walk duration was associated with increased odds of play/training opportunities and toy provision. These changes to dog management have the potential for immediate and longer-term welfare problems.
Synopsis
Given their remarkable phenotypic diversity, dogs present a unique opportunity for investigating the genetic bases of cognitive and behavioral traits. Our previous work demonstrated that genetic relatedness among breeds accounts for a substantial portion of variation in dog cognition. Here, we investigated the genetic architecture of breed differences in cognition, seeking to identify genes that contribute to variation in cognitive phenotypes. To do so, we combined cognitive data from the citizen science project Dognition.com with published breed-average genetic polymorphism data, resulting in a dataset of 1654 individuals with cognitive phenotypes representing 49 breeds. We conducted a breed-average genome-wide association study to identify specific polymorphisms associated with breed differences in inhibitory control, communication, memory, and physical reasoning. We found five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that reached genome-wide significance after Bonferroni correction, located in EML1, OR52E2, HS3ST5, a U6 spliceosomal RNA, and a long noncoding RNA. When we combined results across multiple SNPs within the same gene, we identified 188 genes implicated in breed differences in cognition. This gene set included more genes than expected by chance that were (1) differentially expressed in brain tissue and (2) involved in nervous system functions including peripheral nervous system development, Wnt signaling, presynapse assembly, and synaptic vesicle exocytosis. These results advance our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of complex cognitive phenotypes and identify specific genetic variants for further research.
This is the first morphological comparative study between local horses and mules from Arauca, Colombia. It was realized to compare morphological traits between both species by analysing 15 adult mules (7 males and 8 females) and 150 adult horses (137 males and 13 females), with an age interval from 2 to 22 years. Data consisted of 24 different body quantitative traits which can explain the body conformation: thoracic circumference, body length (BL), thoracic depth and width, withers height (WH), sternum height, shoulders width, chest width, forelimb cannon perimeter and length, head length and width, skull length and width, face length and width, ear length and width, loin height, croup height (CrH), width and length, dock height (DoH), and hock height. Heart girth circumference, body length, withers height, croup height, and dock height were the most discriminative traits, showing statistical differences between species. The formula is X = (BL × 0.402) + (WH × 0.323) + (CrH × 0.352) + (DoH × 0.384). A value of X > 184.5 assigns with total certainty that a skeleton belongs to a horse, and if X < 174.0, it is a mule. The proposed formula has a 100% specificity but a 71.4% sensibility for mules and an 84.4% for horses into the rank of 174.0–184.5. Therefore, results demonstrate that some postcranial anatomical elements of Equus could give enough information for a bone differentiation between horses and mules, at least in animals from the Araucan region, but the main interest is that it reflects the possibility to differentiate morphometrically both species from bone remains when horses and mules were sympatric.
Search and rescue dogs are an important link in the search for missing persons. The aim of the study was to assess exam stress in search and rescue dogs and their guides. The study included 41 rescue teams taking exams of field and rubble specialties. The level of cortisol, which is the main glucocorticosteroid modulating stress reactions in humans and dogs, was analyzed. The biological material used to assess the hormone concentration was saliva collected in a non-invasive way. In total, 164 test samples were collected: two from the dog and two from the guide before and immediately after the exam. Rescue exams were shown to significantly increase salivary cortisol in both dogs and their guides. Strong interactions between cortisol levels in human–dog teams were also found with a more pronounced effect in female dog–female handler dyads.
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