At the heart of a dog's veterinary experience: Heart rate responses in dogs vary across a standard physical examination

Edwards, Petra T.; Smith, Bradley; McArthur, Michelle L.; Hazel, Susan J.

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2022.03.003

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Lip licking has been associated with chronic and acute stressors [ 4 , 32 – 35 ] and Hennessy [ 12 ] noted that lip licking was one of the behaviors most consistently associated with stress. Increased vocalization has also been associated with chronic stressors in dogs [ 4 ], and ears back positively correlated with increased heart rate during a standard veterinary exam [ 36 ], and occurred after dogs experienced electric shock, loud noise, or an umbrella opening [ 33 ]. Together, these three behaviors suggest that pair-housed dogs experienced less stress than single-housed dogs, which aligns with results from other studies investigating the effects of cohousing [ 4 , 17 , 18 , 37 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of single- or pair-housing on the welfare of shelter dogs: Behavioral and physiological indicators

Hecker,

Martineau,

Scheskie

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Dogs are often housed alone in shelter settings to reduce injury and disease spread. However, social isolation can be a stressor for dogs. Prior studies have suggested that cohousing can produce behavioral and physiological benefits. These studies have typically focused on laboratory dogs or shelter dogs that have been kenneled for several months. Thus, those results might not necessarily generalize to shelter dogs, many of which have shorter lengths of stay than those dogs studied to date, and might be cohoused soon after intake. In fact, being pair-housed could, in the short term, be more stressful as dogs have to navigate novel social situations in small spaces. We investigated the behavioral and physiological effects of single- or pair-housing shelter dogs, most of which had recently entered the shelter. We collected behavioral data on 61 dogs (30 single-housed; 31 pair-housed) daily across seven days; we also collected urine for cortisol:creatinine analysis on a subset (22 single-housed; 18 pair-housed) for eight days (each day of the seven-day study plus a baseline sample on Day 0, prior to dogs’ enrollment). We found pair-housed dogs engaged in three stress-related behaviors (lip licking, whining, and ears back) significantly less frequently than single-housed dogs. When we analyzed the change in urinary cortisol:creatinine (Days 1–7 values minus Day 0 value), we found that pair-housed dogs generally showed a greater decrease in cortisol:creatinine levels than single-housed dogs. Pair-housed dogs also had significantly shorter lengths of stay, but we did not detect any effect on dog-dog skills. Overall, we found well-matched pair-housing can have both proximate and ultimate welfare benefits for shelter dogs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of single- or pair-housing on the welfare of shelter dogs: Behavioral and physiological indicators

Hecker,

Martineau,

Scheskie

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…The absence of any measurable effect of the DAP in the examination room, including the subjective behavioral rating scales, can derive from a major stress level during the physical examination that has been documented in the published scientific literature [ 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 84 ]. Moreover, the restraining and handling during the physical examination may limit the opportunities to display common coping behavior signs [ 85 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Just approaching and staying in the waiting room of a veterinary clinic can cause discomfort to dogs and trigger stress-related behaviors as well as increases in heart rate and serum cortisol levels [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. However, the physical examination was found to be particularly stressful for dogs [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], eliciting fear-related behaviors; an increase in heart and respiratory rates and body temperature; and increased levels of salivary and urinary cortisol. Questionnaires filled by owners or veterinarians have also been used to assess the stress experienced by dogs during various stages of the veterinary visit, confirming that the latter is indeed a source of stress for the patient [ 24 , 33 , 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a Novel Gel Formulation of Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) on Behavioral and Physiological Stress Responses in Dogs Undergoing Clinical Examination

Puglisi

Masucci

Cozzi

et al. 2022

Animals

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The veterinary visit is necessary for safeguarding the health of dogs, but it can be stressful and threaten both the welfare of the patient and the accuracy of the examination. This randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study aims at evaluating how dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) in a novel gel formulation influences the behavioral and physiological stress responses of 28 dogs undergoing a standardized clinical examination, while staying in the waiting room (WR) and visited in the examination room (ER). Behavioral responses were studied through behavioral categories and subjective scales (WR and ER). Autonomic response considered heart rate (WR and ER), blood pressure (WR and ER), respiratory rate (ER), and rectal temperature (ER). Neuroendocrine response considered salivary cortisol (WR and ER). In the waiting room, the use of DAP was associated with a significant reduction of lip licking (p = 0.0189), an increase in panting (p = 0.0276), and a reduction close to significance (p = 0.0584) of low body postures. No significant differences were observed within the physiological responses. In the examination room, neither behavioral nor physiological differences were found.

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“…Heart rate responses, specifically tachycardia, have been used in previous studies to measure situational acute stress [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. HR as a fear and/or stress response is due directly to activation of arousal as part of the sympathetic response originating in the locus ceruleus (LC).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Changing Veterinary Handling Techniques on Canine Behaviour and Physiology Part 1: Physiological Measurements

Squair

Proudfoot

Montelpare

et al. 2023

Animals

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Signs of distress in dogs are often normalized during routine veterinary care, creating an animal welfare concern. We sought to test whether targeted interventions during veterinary visits affect physiological indicators of stress in dogs. Some 28 dogs were examined within four visits across 8 weeks. All dogs received the same care during the first visit and were then randomized into control and intervention groups for visits 2–4. In the intervention group, 14 dogs underwent procedures designed to reduce stress and to enlist their collaboration during examination. The 14 dogs in the control group received routine care. At each visit, heart rate (HR), serum cortisol (CORT), neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and creatine kinase (CK) were measured. A composite stress index based on the summed standardized scores for these markers was constructed. No differences in HR, NLR, and CK parameters between groups were found, and both groups had a decrease in CORT by visit four. However, the intervention group showed a greater overall decrease in CORT between the first and fourth visit than the control group (p < 0.04). The composite stress index differed between the first and fourth visits for the intervention group, but not for the control group (Intervention p = 0.03; Control p= 0.288). There was a tendency for the composite stress index to worsen at visit four vs. visit one for the control group. The findings suggest that dogs that participated in adaptive, collaborative exams and procedures designed to minimize fear had a greater reduction in stress over time compared to those receiving standard care.

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At the heart of a dog's veterinary experience: Heart rate responses in dogs vary across a standard physical examination

Cited by 8 publications

References 69 publications

Effects of single- or pair-housing on the welfare of shelter dogs: Behavioral and physiological indicators

Effects of single- or pair-housing on the welfare of shelter dogs: Behavioral and physiological indicators

Effects of a Novel Gel Formulation of Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) on Behavioral and Physiological Stress Responses in Dogs Undergoing Clinical Examination

Effects of Changing Veterinary Handling Techniques on Canine Behaviour and Physiology Part 1: Physiological Measurements

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