Blogspot - Companion Animal Psychology

Why we should monitor dogs for signs of stress at the vet, and the steps dog owners and veterinary professionals can take to help, according to a new review of the literature. Many people know their dog is afraid of going to the vet . It’s not surprising because a vet visit is very different from the dog’s usual daily experiences, and yet it’s essential for them to get good veterinary care. A new literature review by Petra Edwards (University of Adelaide) et al examines the scientific literature to find out what helps dogs at the vet, and what we still need to know. Making vet visits less stressful has several benefits, including increasing the likelihood of people actually taking their dog to the vet, making it easier for the vet to make the right diagnosis, and reducing the risk of the vet staff or owner being bitten. In addition, stress is bad for dogs’ physical health, just as it is for people. Petra Edwards, PhD Candidate and first author of the paper, told me in an email, “We h...

Why debunking out-dated ideas can backfire, the importance of spreading quality information, and the best ways to counteract the misleading duds. Many dog trainers who rely on using reward-based methods feel passionately about the importance of using humane methods that don’t cause dogs to experience fear or pain. Thus, they feel it strongly when people use or share articles about methods that involve shock collars , dominance , pack ‘theory’ , or any form of positive punishment , because they know aversive methods have risks for dogs .  What are the best ways to counteract this kind of misleading information? This is a question that preoccupies me (and many of you, I know) because it is such an important one for animal welfare. I’ve written before about the many factors that influence people’s choice of dog training methods (Todd, 2018) and in this post I want to look at some of those factors in more detail. The importance of social norms in dog training A social psychol...

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 ...

Dog training standards, the puppy brain, and the crow that called for food… the latest Companion Animal Psychology news. Favourites from around the web this month These are my favourite articles, photos and podcasts about animals this month. As usual, I've included links to people's Twitter accounts so you can easily follow them. "A new training program from Canada's BC SPCA is a model for all to follow.” At Psychology Today ,  Dr. Marc Bekoff interviews Dr. Karen van Haaften and Dr. Sara Dubois of the BC SPCA about their new AnimalKind accreditation scheme for dog trainers in BC. In very cold temperatures, does dog urine do what boiling water does? Find out in, What happens when it’s 30 below and the dog’s gotta go? By Karin Brulliard  at The Washington Post . “The puppy brain still has a lot of developing to do after birth, and understanding that process is important to raising confident, well-adjusted dogs.” Fear, stress, and puppy brain development: what to know...

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 ...

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, ...