Behaviour directed towards inaccessible food predicts consumption—A novel way of assessing food preference

Thompson, Hannah; Riemer, Stefanie; Ellis, Sarah; Burman, Ohp

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2016.02.008

Cited by 25 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…It is unclear, however, given these dogs are restricted to raw food, whether using a dog's normal diet would be as effective as a reinforcer during training as other novel foods. It is reported in numerous studies that a staple food, such as 'dry dog biscuit' is commonly of lower preference than other types of food such as sausage, cheese or 'treats' as indicated in preference and reinforcer assessments with dogs (e.g., Thompson, Riemer, Ellis and Burman 2016;Riemer, Ellis, Thompson and Burman 2018). Others have identified a 'novelty' or 'monotony effect' in preference tests with dogs and cats where novel foods are preferred over a long-term staple diet (e.g., Ferrell 1984;Bradshaw 2006;Vondran 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, researchers have investigated methods of measuring captive animal's 'demand' for commodities such as particular foods by pressing levers in possums (Cameron et al 2015;Cameron et al 2016), pressing keys in hens (e.g., Foster, Sumpter, Temple, Flevill and Poling 2009), using a touch response (Vicars et al 2014) or runway movement for two particular commodities in dogs (Riemer et al 2018;Thompson et al 2016). A 'work' requirement has also been used to measure demand for a variety of commodities such as substrate in pigs (e.g., Holm, Jensen, Pedersen and Ladewig 2008) and hens (e.g., de Jong, Wolthuis-Fillerup and van Reenen 2007), and enclosure enrichment in various species kept in captivity such as lizards (e.g., Januszczak et al 2016), and rabbits (e.g., Seaman, Waran, Mason and D'Eath 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food Preference Predicts Speed of Approach on a Runway Task by Dogs

et al. 2019

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The effective and quick assessment of food preference is important when attempting to identify foods that might function as effective reinforcers in dogs. In the current experiment a food preference assessment was conducted where more highly preferred foods were expected to be associated with faster approaches in a subsequent runway task. Eight dogs were tested in a paired preference assessment offering combinations of two of six types of raw food, including the dog’s staple diet, to identify a rank order of preference for the foods. A different raw food was offered as the staple in two preference tests. The results showed that the staple foods were not preferred as highly as the other foods and that each dog displayed unique and stable preferences for the different foods. In the runway task the dogs were required to walk five metres to obtain a small amount of their most preferred, least preferred or staple foods and latency of approach to the foods was recorded. The approach latencies were faster for their most preferred food compared to their least preferred and the staple foods. The use of a runway to assess reinforcer effectiveness combined an effortful behaviour to obtain food while also requiring the dogs to make a choice, thus precluding the need for more complicated and time-consuming methods of preference assessment. The application of this method for fast and effective identification of preferred reinforcers is currently being investigating further to inform pet owners of simple methods to increase their training successes. Owners of raw food fed dogs are advised to conduct a preference assessment to identify their dogs most preferred food for use as a reinforcer during training.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Preference Predicts Speed of Approach on a Runway Task by Dogs

et al. 2019

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“…Although numerous studies have underscored the importance of olfaction in dogs' food selection as part of the overall sensory food experience (Bradshaw, ; Houpt, Hintz, & Shepherd, ), few studies have reported on the role of olfaction leading dogs to consume one food more than another. Recently, Thompson, Riemer, Ellis, and Burman () proposed a nonconsummatory test as an alternative to the two‐bowl test to further the understanding of the role of the food odor in the overall food preference. First, dogs had the opportunity to see and smell two types of inaccessible foods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Thompson, Riemer, Ellis, and Burman (2016) proposed a nonconsummatory test as an alternative to the two-bowl test to further the understanding of the role of the food odor in the overall food preference. First, dogs had the opportunity to see and smell two types of inaccessible foods.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Food preference and olfactory discrimination tests: A complementary approach to understand the drivers of hedonic responses in dogs

Basque

Cambou²,

Péron³

et al. 2018

Journal of Sensory Studies

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Understanding the food preference of animals remains a challenge in sensory science. Here, a complementary approach combining food preference and food odor discrimination tests was applied to dogs as consumers. This approach was designed to distinguish a lack of preferential choice from a lack of discrimination in dogs. Consumption of four pet food products by a taster dog panel was evaluated. First choice and intake ratio results were strongly linked, suggesting that odor perception influenced the dogs' food consumption. Within this test, two products were preferred by the dogs and favored equally. To provide more depth to the interpretation, we used an olfactometer to measure the dogs' discrimination of the four product odors. A panel of dogs, designated the expert panel, was specially trained in olfactory recognition of one of the two equally preferred products. The main results demonstrated that dogs can discriminate products by olfaction and express the same food preference for different products, even if they have different odors. Moreover, the olfactory experiments allowed us to conclude that the differences in intensity among odors did not affect their discrimination. Practical applications The combination of a two‐bowl consumption test and an olfactory discrimination task using a dual‐port olfactometer appears to be a complementary approach that could help clarify the drivers of animals' liking. In dogs, for example, olfaction is thought to play a major role in food preference. Therefore, using an automated olfactometer technique provides an opportunity to control and modulate the odors presented to the animal and further explore the role of olfaction in the discrimination of different odorants. Thus, the proposed method could be useful to measure the influence of odor on dogs' food selection and to discern a real absence of preference from a lack of olfactory discrimination capacity, which is currently an important methodological obstacle to analyzing the results of two‐bowl consumption tests. In addition, this complementary approach could be transferred to further works dealing with the understanding of food preference mechanisms in other species.

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“…The two-bowl test and the operant lever-press test did not provide the same conclusion when evaluating the same products and both tests can only evaluate two samples at a time. Thompson, Riemer, Ellis, and Burman (2016) proposed a new approach to assess dogs' food preference, which was a nonconsummatory test. The non-consummatory test was conducted by first giving the dog three pieces of each food sample to taste, then placing one piece of food samples in separate bowls for the dog to sniff or consume, then if the sample was consumed, the experimenter refilled the bowls and placed them under two wire covers so the dog was able to see and smell the samples but not touch/taste them.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preference ranking procedure proposal for dogs: A preliminary study

Smith

Aldrich

et al. 2017

Journal of Sensory Studies

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In the pet food industry, single‐bowl or two‐bowl methods traditionally are used to determine food acceptance or preference by pets. To increase efficiency of preference testing, and to provide more options for preference testing, a preference ranking procedure is proposed. The ranking procedure includes simultaneous presentation of five samples of edible treats. This increases the efficiency and reduces the time of preference testing. A preliminary test of the procedure with 12 beagle dogs was conducted. Each animal was presented with five treats, in an identical, coded rubber puzzle toy, or “Kong.” Five phases were included in the test, each lasted 5 days. Phase 1 included training with commercial treats. Phases 2–4 used lab‐baked treats with five different ingredients in each category (fats, starches, and proteins, respectively) of a base recipe. Phase 5 included testing with commercial foods. The order and time of treat selection by dogs was recorded. Results showed this small sample of animals generally ranked 1–2 flavors above others, indicating that this procedure could be a more efficient method to determine preference than traditional test methods since more samples can be evaluated simultaneously. More research is needed to verify the method. Practical applications The pet food industry could benefit from this preference method in terms of gaining better insights into “liking” and maximizing outcomes with fewer resources than traditional methods require. Instead of evaluating one or two types of food in each test, this method can evaluate up to five different samples, increasing test efficiency. Further, the preference ranking procedure allows for insight into preference information based on direct multiple comparisons of single ingredient aromatics and flavor. These advantages make it imperative to further test the method with larger sets of animals with actual developmental products to determine its helpfulness for decision making in practice during the research and development of products.

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Behaviour directed towards inaccessible food predicts consumption—A novel way of assessing food preference

Cited by 25 publications

References 58 publications

Food Preference Predicts Speed of Approach on a Runway Task by Dogs

Food Preference Predicts Speed of Approach on a Runway Task by Dogs

Food preference and olfactory discrimination tests: A complementary approach to understand the drivers of hedonic responses in dogs

Preference ranking procedure proposal for dogs: A preliminary study

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