Blogspot - Companion Animal Psychology

Dogs are most trainable during middle age, and there are some fascinating links between the personality of dogs and their owners, research shows. Photo: dezy/Shutterstock Do you ever think much about the different personalities of dogs? New research looks at the personality profiles of dogs (and their owners) and finds that dog personality seems to change with age. As well, the owner’s personality is linked to the dog’s personality. The study, by Dr. William Chopik and Dr. Jonathan Weaver (both Michigan State University) is published in Journal of Research and Personality . The results show that some personality traits are more pronounced in dogs in middle age (6-8 years). This was the case for responsiveness to training, which peaked at age 7.44. Younger dogs were rated as less responsive to training, and older dogs were not much different from middle-aged ones. As well, dogs scored higher on this trait if they were trained by their owners. Aggression towards people was lower i...

Training cats to go in their carrier and for a short car ride leads to less stressful visits to the vet, study shows. Photo:eAlisa/Shutterstock When it’s time for cats to go to the vet, many owners struggle. It can be almost impossible to get the cat in the carrier (or even locate them if they flee at the sight of it). And this stress is a bad start to a vet visit that will likely be stressful in itself. But research by Dr. Lydia Pratsch and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna shows there is something that can be done: Train the cat to use their carrier. In a blinded, randomized controlled trial, 11 cats were trained to use the cat carrier, while 11 cats were in a control group that was not trained. All 22 cats had a mock visit to the vet. The results showed cat carrier training reduces stress. The scientists write, “Training proved to be effective in reducing stress during the car ride and led to a shorter veterinary examination. Owners should be encouraged ...

In 2010, Denmark banned 13 breeds of dog. It made no difference to hospitalizations for dog bites. Photo: sanjagrujic/Shutterstock One approach that some countries or municipalities take to attempt to reduce injuries from dog bites is to ban certain breeds, known as Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). A new study by Dr. Finn Nilson   (Karlstad University) et al investigates the effects of BSL in Denmark’s third-largest city, Odense. The results show that it had no effect on hospitalizations for dog bites. In 2010, Denmark banned the ownership, breeding and import of 13 breeds of dog , including the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasiliero and American Bulldog. Two of those breeds, the Pitbull Terrier and the Tosa Inu, had to be euthanized. Any existing pets of the remaining 11 breeds could be kept, but they had to be muzzled and leashed in public. Dr. Finn Nilson told me in an email, “The findings in our article largely support previous studies on the subje...

New research finds four ethical orientations towards animals, and some surprising links to cat and dog ownership and to other behaviours such as eating “welfare-friendly” meat. We all have different views about what we think are ethical ways to treat animals. New research by Dr. Thomas Bøker Lund et al. (University of Copenhagen), published today in PLOS ONE, finds four different ethical orientations that are commonly held by the general public. The results show just how complicated our ethical beliefs about animals are – and include some surprising results. Two of the different orientations will probably be familiar: Anthropocentrism – the idea that “human beings matter most”. This view may stem from religious beliefs or from beliefs that humans and animals are different, with humans being considered rational and more important than non-human animals. Animal rights – this approach values all animals and argues that as sentient beings, animals also have rights and should be treated ...

I have a new post at my Psychology Today blog Fellow Creatures about a study that looked at whether a dog walking program has benefits for people with intellectual disabilities who live in supported housing. The results of this exploratory study found there were more friendly interactions with other people when a dog was present. Read more here . Photo: dawnie206/Pixabay

Women whose dog sleeps on the bed report better sleep than those with a human or feline sleeping partner. Photo: Julie Vader/Shutterstock Whether or not pets should be allowed to sleep on the bed is an age-old question. Some worry it will lead to a disturbed night’s sleep, while some old-fashioned dog trainers still claim it will spoil the dog. The latter argument is based on out-dated ideas about dominance and dog training and can be easily dismissed, but the issue of sleep quality is starting to get researchers attention. A new study by Dr. Christy Hoffman (Canisius College) et al and published in Anthrozoös asked women about who sleeps in/on the bed with them and how good they thought their sleep was over the previous month. The results show dogs are a less disruptive sleep partner than another human, while cats are just as disruptive as humans. Dogs are perceived as providing more comfort and security than another human, while cats provide even less. Not only that, but...

Scientists find out which rewards dogs will run faster for, and the results explain why you need to use good treats in dog training. Photo: Dora Zett / Shutterstock Modern dog trainers use positive reinforcement to train dogs, and that reinforcement often takes the form of food (see the ultimate dog training tip  to find out why). When you want a dog to come when you call them, you want to use your best training treats as a reward. But scientists have paid surprisingly little attention to what dogs consider worth working for – until now. A recent paper by Dr. Stefanie Riemer et al, published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science , looks at the relative effectiveness of quality and quantity of reinforcement as measured by how fast dogs run to the bowl they can eat it from. Pet dogs were trained to run along a walkway that was 20 metres long in order to obtain food. The type of food (quantity or quality) was shown by the containers that were visible to the dog from the st...

For shelter dogs, spending 15 minutes with a volunteer who will pet them when they want is beneficial according to both physiological and behavioural measures. Photo: ESB Basic / Shutterstock Dogs in shelters may be deprived of human company. Can a short petting session help them feel better? A study published earlier this year by Dr. Ragen McGowan et. al. and published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science investigated the effects of petting from a stranger and found positive results. The scientists set out to answer the question, “Does one 15-min petting session make a positive difference for shelter dogs?” And the answer was yes. The report concludes, “As predicted, positive physiological and behavioral changes were evident in shelter dogs even after only a single 15-min petting session with an unfamiliar volunteer. A complete understanding of the human-animal bond from the dog’s perspective is still in its infancy, however this work contributes to the mounting evidence that humans p...

Dogs and cats living together get along most of the time, but it’s the cat’s level of comfort with the dog that is the defining factor, according to research. Photo: Plastique/Shutterstock With 94.2 million pet cats and 89.7 million pet dogs in the US, it’s inevitable that some dogs and cats live together. While we don’t know how many households have both a dog and a cat, scientists Jessica Thomson, Dr. Sophie Hall and Prof. Daniel Mills (University of Lincoln) recently published a questionnaire study of how well people think their dog and cat get along. The results show that in general, dogs and cats living in the same house are friendly towards each other – but it’s the experience of the cat that is most important in mediating this relationship. Early introduction of the cat to the dog (preferably before the cat is 1 year old) helped them to have a good relationship, whereas the age of the dog at first introduction was not important. (This is different to an earlier study that foun...

I have a new post at my Psychology Today blog, Fellow Creatures, about a pilot study that upturns some conventional wisdom on dogs. Should you pet your dog before an absence? looks at a study that compared signs of stress when the dog is petted or ignored before an absence. (It's important to note the study is with dogs that do not have any separation-related issues). Photo: Pexels/Pixabay

A study of dogs across the adult lifespan has important lessons for owners of dogs of any age. They range from tooth-brushing, training, and helping dogs cope with traumatic events. Photo: Bad Monkey Photography As dogs get older, they undergo changes similar to those that happen to humans as they age. This means dogs may be a good model for human aging, but also that those of us with older dogs could use more information about how to help them age well. The Senior Family Dog Project is looking at cognitive aging in dogs by combining behavioural, genetic and neuroscientific approaches. A new paper from the team, first-authored by Dr. Lisa Wallis and published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, looks at the demographics of dogs across the lifespan. Perhaps the most poignant finding is that dogs in the oldest age group (over 12) know fewer commands, take part in either one or no dog training activities, and spend less than 30 minutes a day engaged in play or other activities with the ...

Shock collars should be banned, according to a survey of the use of electronic collars to train dogs in France. Photo: SebiTian/Shutterstock Recently, I reported on a study by veterinary behaviourists in Europe that concluded by calling  for a ban on all three types of electronic collar across Europe (remote-controlled, boundary, and bark-activated collars). Another paper by Dr. Sylvia Masson et al, published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, investigates the use of shock collars in France, and some of the results are surprising. For one thing, they show that even amongst people who use shock collars there is a lot of support for regulating them. But they also show a sizeable minority – even amongst people who do not use shock collars – that say they are the most effective way to resolve behaviour issues. This shows a need to get the message out that positive reinforcement is an effective way to train dogs (see  seven reasons to use reward-based training methods and l...

Could a standardized grading scheme that rates pets from “easy” to “extreme” improve the welfare of exotic pets? A leopard gecko. Photo: Gaschwald / Shutterstock Exotic pets face many welfare issues, according to a new paper in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior by Clifford Warwick et al. The paper suggests a standardized scheme for rating the difficulty of caring for exotic pets that it is hoped will make people think twice about keeping pets with hard-to-meet environmental needs. What is an exotic pet? Exotic pets are unusual pets. Essentially they are animals that are not native to a particular area, and are not domesticated (or only semi-domesticated). Another definition of an exotic pet is anything that is not a cat or dog. That’s the approach taken by the Calgary Humane Society , for example. Whichever definition we choose, it means there are many exotic pets in North America. For example, most of the fish that are kept as pets are not native to Canada or the USA, which mean...