Dogs with separation-related problems show a “less pessimistic” cognitive bias during treatment with fluoxetine (Reconcile™) and a behaviour modification plan

Abstract

BackgroundCanine separation-related problems (SRP) (also described as “separation anxiety” or “separation distress”) are among the most common behavioural complaints of dog owners. Treatment with psychoactive medication in parallel with a behaviour modification plan is well documented in the literature, but it is unknown if this is associated with an improvement in underlying affective state (emotion and mood) or simply an inhibition of the behaviour. Cognitive judgement bias tasks have been proposed as a method for assessing underlying affective state and so we used this approach to identify if any change in clinical signs during treatment was associated with a consistent change in cognitive bias (affective state).Five dogs showing signs of SRP (vocalising – e.g. barking, howling-, destruction of property, and toileting – urination or defecation- when alone) were treated with fluoxetine chewable tablets (Reconcile™) and set on a standard behaviour modification plan for two months. Questionnaires and interviews of the owners were used to monitor the clinical progress of the dogs. Subjects were also evaluated using a spatial cognitive bias test to infer changes in underlying affect prior to, and during, treatment. Concurrently, seven other dogs without signs of SRP were tested in the same way to act as controls. Furthermore, possible correlations between cognitive bias and clinical measures were also assessed for dogs with SRP.ResultsPrior to treatment, the dogs with SRP responded to ambiguous positions in the cognitive bias test negatively (i.e. with slower running speeds) compared to control dogs (p < 0.05). On weeks 2 and 6 of treatment, SRP dogs displayed similar responses in the cognitive bias test to control dogs, consistent with the possible normalization of affect during treatment, with this effect more pronounced at week 6 (p > 0.05). Questionnaire based clinical measures were significantly correlated among themselves and with performance in the cognitive bias test.ConclusionThese results demonstrate for the first time that the clinical treatment of a negative affective state and associated behaviours in a non-human species can produce a shift in cognitive bias. These findings demonstrate how the outcome of an intervention on a clinical problem can be evaluated to determine not only that the subject’s behaviour has improved, but also its psychological state (welfare)Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0373-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Dynamic changes in ear temperature in relation to separation distress in dogs

“…Taken together, these results might suggest that short-term isolation may typically induce a depressive type of response. This is consistent with the findings from tests of cognitive bias (a putative measure of affective state in animals [50]) of dogs with separation related problems [40].…”

“…In accordance with the principle of the 3R's concerning the use of animals in research [39], and in the absence of a priori data on effect size and variability, the sample size was based on that found to show a statistically significant effect when using another measure of welfare (cognitive judgement bias) with dogs showing clinical separation anxiety [40].…”

Minimizing fear and anxiety in working dogs: A review

“…Animals that have a more "pessimistic" cognitive bias tend to judge novel or ambiguous stimuli as "more likely to be negative" and so may be more likely to develop fear responses. A "pessimistic" cognitive bias has been associated with a tendency to show separation-related behavior (Mendl et al, 2010) and is reduced by treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine (Reconcile), combined with behavior modification (Karagiannis et al, 2015). Because cognitive bias appears to be a better measure of underlying mood state rather than more transient emotional responses (Mendl et al, 2010), it may be a better predictor of behavioral responses across contexts and a valuable tool in predicting success in working environments.…”

Síndrome de Ansiedade por Separação em Animais de Companhia: Uma Revisão

“…No estudo de Konok et al (2015) os cães com SAS foram caracterizados pelos seus donos como sendo ansiosos, nervosos e depressivos. De fato, em um estudo utilizando viés cognitivo para avaliar viés de julgamento em cães com e sem SAS, foi demonstrado que cães com SAS apresentaram viés mais pessimista que os cães sem SAS, revelando a prevalência de estados mentais negativos subjacentes à ocorrência de SAS (Karagiannis et al, 2015), que podem se refletir nos traços observáveis da personalidade. Takeuchi et al (2000), os comportamentos relacionados à separação surgem tipicamente após o primeiro ano de vida dos cães (aos 31,5 ± 35,9 meses, em média, nos animais de seu estudo), embora em 44,23% dos cães com SAS avaliados por eles (N = 52), os sinais surgiram até o primeiro ano, em 25% os sinais apareceram entre um e três anos e, em 30,77%, somente após o terceiro ano de vida.…”

“…Segundo Manteca (2015), dentre os fatores de risco já relacionados com a ocorrência de SAS, este vem sendo o mais controverso. Diversos estudos relacionaram hipervinculação ao desenvolvimento de SAS, considerando-a como um importante fator de risco (Flannigan & Dodman, 2001) e, até mesmo, in-cluindo certos comportamentos característicos de hiperapego dentre os sinais diagnósticos da ocorrência de SAS (Gaultier et al, 2005;King et al, 2000;Storengen et al, 2014;Karagiannis et al, 2015;Van Rooy et al 2016). Porém, não há consenso de que a relação entre SAS e hiperapego seja tão direta e linear, pois, segundo outros autores (King et al, 2000;McGreevy & Masters, 2008), animais com hiperapego podem, ou não, desenvolverem SAS.…”