Exploring the dog park: Relationships between social behaviours, personality and cortisol in companion dogs

Carrier, Lydia Ottenheimer; Cyr, Amanda; Anderson, Rita E.; Walsh, Carolyn J.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2013.04.002

Cited by 40 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…We only included female owners, but our results are still in line with this observation. Contrary to owner personality, dog personality traits had little effect on dog HCC and consistent with previous studies there was no significant correlations between short-term cortisol concentrations and dog personality 17,25,26 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners

Sundman

Poucke

Holm

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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This study reveals, for the first time, an interspecific synchronization in long-term stress levels. Previously, acute stress, has been shown to be highly contagious both among humans and between individuals of other species. Here, long-term stress synchronization in dogs and their owners was investigated. We studied 58 dog-human dyads and analyzed their hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) at two separate occasions, reflecting levels during previous summer and winter months. The personality traits of both dogs and their owners were determined through owner-completed Dog Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) and human Big Five Inventory (BFI) surveys. In addition, the dogs’ activity levels were continuously monitored with a remote cloud-based activity collar for one week. Shetland sheepdogs (N = 33) and border collies (N = 25), balanced for sex, participated, and both pet dogs and actively competing dogs (agility and obedience) were included to represent different lifestyles. The results showed significant interspecies correlations in long-term stress where human HCC from both summer and winter samplings correlated strongly with dog HCC (summer: N = 57, χ2 = 23.697, P < 0.001, β = 0.235; winter: N = 55, χ2 = 13.796, P < 0.001, β = 0.027). Interestingly, the dogs’ activity levels did not affect HCC, nor did the amount of training sessions per week, showing that the HCC levels were not related to general physical activity. Additionally, there was a seasonal effect in HCC. However, although dogs’ personalities had little effects on their HCC, the human personality traits neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness significantly affected dog HCC. Hence, we suggest that dogs, to a great extent, mirror the stress level of their owners.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners

Sundman

Poucke

Holm

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…A multitude of endogenous and exogenous stressors have been identified to alter cortisol levels in dogs including unpredictable aversive stressors (e.g. sound blasts, electric shocks and falling bags [4], working [5], hunting [6], thunderstorms [7], and dog park visits [8]). Understanding the effects of potential stressors on stress physiology in dogs is vital for evidence-based optimization of their care, particularly where stressors are modifiable or preventable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What can we learn from the hair of the dog? Complex effects of endogenous and exogenous stressors on canine hair cortisol

et al. 2019

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Hair is an emerging biological matrix in which to measure chronic HPA axis activity, offering a longer term view into an animal’s life. We explored effects of exogenous (e.g. lifestyle, medications, social environment) and endogenous (e.g. disease, behaviour) stressors on hair cortisol concentration (HCC) in a population of Border Collies (BCs). Owners of BCs were recruited and reported their dog’s lifestyle, clinical history, anxiety-related behaviour, and collected a white hair sample from their dog’s dorsal neck region. HCC was determined using established methods with a commercial cortisol assay kit. Samples from 135 BCs were analysed, with 91 healthy controls and 44 diagnosed with epilepsy as a model disease. Factors associated with higher HCC included psychosocial stressors (living with three or more other dogs) and lifestyle (engaging in competitive flyball); while factors associated with lower HCC included anxiety (stranger-directed and non-social), health (epilepsy diagnosis, with number of seizures to date negatively correlated with HCC) and medication (certain anti-epileptic drugs were associated with elevated or reduced HCC). These novel results highlight the potential of chronic stress with frequent or persisting HPA-axis hyperactivity leading to a state of hypocortisolism, and the need to consider stressor recency and recurrence when interpreting HCC data.

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“…In dogs, increased cortisol level can indicate acute stress from sudden fearful stimuli and is possible to determine in real time with blood and saliva measurements 3 4 . It has also been shown that a dog park visit is associated with increased salivary cortisol levels while a normal walk does not necessarily change the dog’s cortisol level 5 . In addition, results suggest habituation to novel and potential stressful situations, since the cortisol levels were negatively correlated with dog park visit frequency 5 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has also been shown that a dog park visit is associated with increased salivary cortisol levels while a normal walk does not necessarily change the dog’s cortisol level 5 . In addition, results suggest habituation to novel and potential stressful situations, since the cortisol levels were negatively correlated with dog park visit frequency 5 . Similar negative correlation was found with number of days a dog is staying in an animal shelter, suggesting habituation to the situation 6 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hair cortisol varies with season and lifestyle and relates to human interactions in German shepherd dogs

Roth

Faresjö

Theodorsson

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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It is challenging to measure long-term endocrine stress responses in animals. We investigated whether cortisol extracted from dog hair reflected the levels of activity and stress long-term, during weeks and months. Hair samples from in total 59 German shepherds were analysed. Samples for measuring cortisol concentrations were collected at three occasions and we complemented the data with individual scores from the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). Generalised linear mixed model (GLMM) results showed that hair cortisol varied with season and lifestyle: competition dogs had higher levels than companion, and professional working dogs, and levels were higher in January than in May and September. In addition, a positive correlation was found between the cortisol levels and the C-BARQ score for stranger-directed aggression (r = 0.31, P = 0.036). Interestingly, the factor “playing often with the dog” (r = −0.34, P = 0.019) and “reward with a treat/toy when the dog behaves correctly” (r = −0.37, P = 0.010) correlated negatively with cortisol levels, suggesting that positive human interactions reduce stress. In conclusion, hair cortisol is a promising method for revealing the activity of the HPA-axis over a longer period of time, and human interactions influence the cortisol level in dogs.

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Exploring the dog park: Relationships between social behaviours, personality and cortisol in companion dogs

Cited by 40 publications

References 56 publications

Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners

Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners

What can we learn from the hair of the dog? Complex effects of endogenous and exogenous stressors on canine hair cortisol

Hair cortisol varies with season and lifestyle and relates to human interactions in German shepherd dogs

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