Canine and Feline Enrichment in the Home and Kennel

Heath, Sarah; Wilson, Cläre

doi:10.1016/j.cvsm.2014.01.003

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Although around one in five dogs were not walked off lead before or during lockdown—similar to the 14.5% reported in a previous a study of UK dogs [ 25 ]—the proportion of dogs that were walked on lead (particularly short leads) increased with lockdown and, where dogs were walked off lead, they were more likely to be walked to heel. These changes could have important implications for opportunities for environmental enrichment [ 36 , 37 ] and social interaction with people and dogs [ 38 ]. Dogs’ ability to engage in exploratory and sniffing behaviour is reduced when on lead compared to off lead during walks [ 38 ] and thus it is likely that the increased use of leads during lockdown reduced the opportunities for dogs to investigate their olfactory environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on Management of Pet Dogs in the UK

Christley

Murray

Anderson

et al. 2020

Animals

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Initial COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the United Kingdom (23 March–12 May 2020) prompted lifestyle changes for many people. We explored the impact of this lockdown phase on pet dogs using an online survey completed by 6004 dog owners, who provided information including dog management data for the 7 days prior to survey completion (4–12 May 2020), and for February 2020 (pre-lockdown). We explored associations between potential predictors and four outcomes relating to changes pre-/during lockdown (reduction in number and duration of walks; increased frequency of play/training, and provision of toys). Most owners (79.5%) reported their dog’s routine had changed compared to pre-lockdown. There was a four-fold increase in the proportion not left alone for >5 min on any day during a weekly period (14.6% pre-lockdown, 58.0% during lockdown), with the proportion being left for ≥3 h at a time decreasing from 48.5% to 5.4%. Dogs were walked less often and for less time daily during lockdown, with factors related to the dog, owner, household, and home location associated with changes to walking practices. Many dogs had more play/training sessions and were given toys more frequently during lockdown. Decreased walk duration was associated with increased odds of play/training opportunities and toy provision. These changes to dog management have the potential for immediate and longer-term welfare problems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on Management of Pet Dogs in the UK

Christley

Murray

Anderson

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…An activity that might account for this higher frequency of resource-related interactions in older children could be playing fetch games with the dog. Repetitive fetch games are considered to cause high arousal in the dog ( 34 ) and this might be a factor increasing the risk of a bite incident. Sometimes, it is recommended to play food-related games instead.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even visual contact with the dog can lead to an increase of oxytocin in the dog’s owner, facilitate affiliative behavior toward the dogs, and in turn increase oxytocin in the dog ( 57 , 58 ). Oxytocin correlates with affiliative behaviors ( 59 , 60 ) and was found to buffer stress responses ( 34 , 35 ). Therefore, it seems reasonable that this type of interaction can be beneficial to the child.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregiver Reports of Interactions between Children up to 6 Years and Their Family Dog—Implications for Dog Bite Prevention

2017

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In children up to 6 years, interactions such as interfering with the dog's resources and also benign behaviors (e.g., petting) commonly precede a bite incident with the family dog. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the development of everyday interactions between children up to 6 years and their family dogs and whether parents' attitudes to supervision are related to those interactions. Additionally, we investigated whether behavior of dogs that had lived in the family for longer than the child differed from those that grew up with children. A self-selected sample of caregivers living with a child up to 6 years and a family dog was surveyed via an online questionnaire (N = 402). Frequency of observed child behaviors directed toward the dog and dog behaviors directed toward the child were scored on a six-point scale (1-never and 6-very often). Data on characteristics of the caregiver, the child, and the dog were collected, and a section surveying attitudes to supervision of child-dog interactions was included. Additionally, we asked whether the dog already injured the child. Benign child behaviors toward dogs were most frequently reported (mean ± SD: 4.1 ± 1.2), increased with child age (rs = 0.38, p < 0.001), and reached high levels from 6 months on. Overall, resource-related interactions were relatively infrequent (2.1 ± 1.1). Most common was the dog allowing the child to take objects from its mouth (4.1 ± 1.7). This behavior was more common with older children (rs = 0.37, p < 0.001). Reported injuries during resource-related interactions occurred while feeding treats or taking objects from the dog during fetch play. Dogs that had lived in the family for longer than the child showed less affiliative behaviors toward the child (e.g., energetic affiliative: U = −7.171, p < 0.001) and more fear-related behaviors (U = −3.581, p < 0.001). Finally, the caregivers' attitudes to supervision were related to all child behaviors (e.g., allow unsafe behaviors-benign child behavior: rs = 0.47, p < 0.001). The results of this study underline the need for a dog bite prevention approach directed toward the caregivers very early in the child-dog relationship, taking into account the child's age and individual needs of the dog.

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“…Following our hypothesis, IUD being the result of the discrepancy between the cat ethological needs and its living conditions, the modification of its environment should obviously lead to resolution of the condition. The living conditions modifications implemented in our study followed the usual recommendations proposed in previous publications ( 28 – 30 ). Environmental enrichment can be defined as “any addition to the environment of an animal resulting in a presumed increase in the environment’s quality, and a subsequent presumed improvement to the animal’s welfare” ( 31 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Feline Idiopathic Ulcerative Dermatitis to Feline Behavioral Ulcerative Dermatitis: Grooming Repetitive Behaviors Indicators of Poor Welfare in Cats

et al. 2018

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Feline idiopathic head-and-neck dermatitis—also named feline idiopathic ulcerative dermatitis (IUD)—is considered as a rare skin disease of unknown origin. It is usually associated with a crusted, non-healing, self-induced ulcer occurring most commonly on the dorsal or lateral neck or between the scapula where self-grooming by scratching occurs. Usually, IUD is diagnosed after exclusion of other causes of pruritus. In feline medicine, self-induced alopecia is recognized as a behavioral disorder (abnormal repetitive behavior) due to excessive licking, which is an amplification of a normal maintenance behavior. Such repetitive behaviors, like self-induced alopecia or self-induced wounds, are named stereotypies and considered as indicators of poor welfare. The objectives of our study were to determine, first, if the repetitive behavior associated with self-induced wounds was related to a poor welfare, and, second, if improving the welfare in the cat’s environment would lead to healing, thanks to environmental enrichment. We recruited 13 cats diagnosed with IUD by a dermatologist. These cats were referred to a behaviorist for welfare evaluation. A welfare score was attributed using a new 21-point welfare scale. The median score of the 13 IUD cats was 16, while the median score of 35 healthy cats was 7 (significant difference, p < 0.001). Major modifications of the cat’s environment and the human–cat relationship were then recommended for IUD cats. Within 15 days after environment modifications, ulcerative lesions were healed and welfare scores improved significantly (median score of 6, significantly different from the score before environmental modifications), being similar to healthy cats (no significant differences). Only one cat was treated with a psychotropic drug, owners being reluctant to improve environmental modifications. These results suggest that feline IUD is a behavioral disorder indicative of poor welfare and that it requires management by behavior specialists, proposing environmental modifications. We hence propose to rename this affection to “behavioral ulcerative dermatitis,” given that welfare scores were significantly different from healthy cats, and that environmental modifications modified welfare scores and lead to successful healing in all cases.

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Canine and Feline Enrichment in the Home and Kennel

Cited by 24 publications

References 44 publications

Impact of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on Management of Pet Dogs in the UK

Impact of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on Management of Pet Dogs in the UK

Caregiver Reports of Interactions between Children up to 6 Years and Their Family Dog—Implications for Dog Bite Prevention

From Feline Idiopathic Ulcerative Dermatitis to Feline Behavioral Ulcerative Dermatitis: Grooming Repetitive Behaviors Indicators of Poor Welfare in Cats

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