Blogspot - Companion Animal Psychology

Opportunities to use the nose and make choices in nosework are good for dogs’ welfare. Photo: KM-Photography/Shutterstock We all know that dogs like to sniff. Is it possible that providing opportunities to find food in nosework can improve dogs’ wellbeing? New scientific research by Dr. Charlotte Duranton  (Ethodog) and Dr. Alexandra Horowitz  (Barnard College) finds that dogs who participate in nose work have increased optimism compared to dogs that took part in heelwork instead. Importantly, both activities involved perambulation, as well as food rewards as positive reinforcement . The difference is that in nosework the dog has the opportunity to use their nose and to exercise choice in what they are doing. The study used a test of optimism – also known as cognitive bias – in which dogs were first trained that a bowl in one location would always contain food, whereas a bowl in another location never did. Then the test involved an empty bowl placed in an ambiguous location, ...

Five enjoyable activities to provide enrichment for your dog (and fun for you). Enrichment means giving your  dog  opportunities to engage in species-specific behaviours and to use their brain and all the senses. Environmental enrichment means making your dog’s living spaces fun and interesting so your dog does not get bored. There are lots of ways to provide enrichment for your dog. It can involve play with toys, spending time in social activities with people or other dogs, making the environment more interesting, or training activities. Here are five great ways to provide enrichment for your dog and make your dog happy today. 1. Go on a sniffari We all know that dogs have amazing noses, but did you know scent is more important to dogs than sight? In fact, as well as their nose, dogs have something called the vomeronasal organ, which detects pheromones (chemical signals). If you see your dog lick something smelly, it could be because this is one way they make molecules availa...

Research investigates the effects of enrichment using the scent of coconut, vanilla, ginger and valerian. Photo: chaoss/Shutterstock Animal shelters are stressful environments for dogs, and so anything that helps them to be less stressed is beneficial. Scientists from Hartpury University Centre tested the effects of presenting scent-infused cloths to shelter dogs. The results are promising and suggest scent enrichment may work well for shelter dogs. Study authors, John Binks and Dr Tamara Montrose, say “In our study we found that shelter dogs showed reduced vocalisations and movement when exposed to cloths scented with ginger, coconut, vanilla and valerian. In addition, we found that dogs exposed to coconut and ginger slept more. Since excessive vocalisations and activity may indicate stress in kennelled dogs, as well as being behaviours that can be found undesirable by potential adopters, our study suggests that these odours may have application in rescue shelters to reduce stress and...

Want to make your cat happier? Here are some things you can do right now to make your feline feel blissful. Photo: Dmitry Nesterov / Shutterstock Cats are wonderful creatures. When we understand them, we can use that information to make them happier. Here are five things to do for your cat today – and a bonus one to work on over time. 1. Make time to play with your cat 11% of cats have no toys , according to one study (Howell et al 2016). But the average cat has 7 toys , and toy mice are the most popular. (Strickler and Shull 2014) Even if your cat has lots of toys of their own, they still like it when their human plays with them. 64% of the owners in Strickler and Shull’s study played with their cat twice a day, but playtime typically lasted 5 or 10 minutes. Amongst people who played with their cat for at least 5 minutes instead of just 1 minute, there were fewer behaviour problems. But your cat would probably like an even longer play time. Have you ever felt that when you are moving...

Cats like somewhere to hide - and research shows a cardboard box can be the simple solution. How do we know what types of enrichment are most important to cats? A new study by Dr. Jacklyn Ellis (University of Prince Edward Island) et al tests shelter cats’ preferences. The results show the importance of a simple cardboard box for kitty cats . What is environmental enrichment for cats? Environmental enrichment involves adding something to the cat’s environment that is good for its welfare. Enrichment can be especially important for cats in shelters since the environment is stressful for them, away from their familiar home and with the presence of unknown cats and people, and perhaps with dogs in earshot too. But it's important for our cats at home too. There are many ways to provide enrichment for cats , including vertical space , olfactory enrichment , food and even cognitive enrichment with clicker training . How do we know what cats like? How do we know which types of enrichment...