Factors determining the effects of human interaction on the cortisol levels of shelter dogs

Willen, Regina M.; Mutwill, Alexandra M.; MacDonald, Lauren; Schiml, Patricia A.; Hennessy, Michael B.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2016.11.002

Cited by 42 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…There have been reports of a relationship between the reactions to acute [8] and chronic [9] stress in humans and dogs. There are also increasing numbers of publications on the human-dog interactions and their effects on health [10] and hormone levels in both these species [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary Cortisol Interactions in Search and Rescue Dogs and Their Handlers

Wojtaś

Karpiński

Czyżowski

2020

Animals

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Search and rescue dogs are an important link in the search for missing persons. The aim of the study was to assess exam stress in search and rescue dogs and their handlers. The study included 41 rescue teams taking exams of field and rubble specialties. The level of cortisol, which is the main glucocorticosteroid modulating stress reactions in humans and dogs, was analyzed. The biological material used to assess the hormone concentration was saliva collected in a non-invasive way. In total, 164 test samples were collected: two from the dog and two from the handler before and immediately after the exam. Rescue exams were shown to significantly increase salivary cortisol in both dogs and their handlers. Strong interactions between cortisol levels in human–dog teams were also found with a more pronounced effect in female dog–female handler dyads.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salivary Cortisol Interactions in Search and Rescue Dogs and Their Handlers

Wojtaś

Karpiński

Czyżowski

2020

Animals

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“…The body areas used for hair sampling prior to HCC analysis have varied slightly in different studies. Hair was taken from the cephalic vein area (Ouschan et al 2013) at two sites -the chest and neck (Veronesi et al 2015;Rosen 2016;Roth et al 2016;Willen et al 2017), the ischiadic region (Accorsi et al 2008;Bennet and Hayssen 2010;Siniscalchi et al 2013;Svendsen and Sondergaard 2014;Park et al 2016), right and left shoulders (Bryan et al 2013) or from the xiphoid region (Corradini et al 2013). Hair was collected either by an electric shaving razor or surgical scissors, and is gathered by cutting as close to the skin as possible without injuring the dog.…”

Section: Collection and Storage Of Dog Hair Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of cortisol in dog hair - a potential biomarker of chronic stress: a review

Mesarčová¹,

Kottferová²,

Skurková³

et al. 2017

Vet. Med. - Czech

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Cortisol, which is produced in the adrenal glands, is an endogenous glucocorticoid hormone that delivers its hormonal message to cells by acting on glucocorticoid receptors. It is one of the main stress hormones responsible for stress responses in animals and humans, and its overproduction is characteristic of certain diseases. While acute stress disorder can be evaluated by means of measuring the cortisol concentration in blood and urine, chronic stress disorder can be detected by monitoring the cortisol concentration in fur or hair. Hair collection is simple, inexpensive and non-invasive, and can be performed easily and rapidly; thus, it appears to be a suitable method for determining the level of stress in dogs from shelters, abused dogs or dogs involved in different types of animal interactions. Since it is a relatively new method, monitoring cortisol in hair or fur requires further research in order to definitively prove its efficacy, and possibly to determine reference range values for different breeds of dogs.

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“…Domestic dogs present a somewhat special case in which contact with humans typically reduces both stress and the performance of behaviors associated with stress [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. This has been shown in animal shelters where dogs experience challenging conditions, such as isolation, lack of control, and exposure to unfamiliar people, dogs, and surroundings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has been shown in animal shelters where dogs experience challenging conditions, such as isolation, lack of control, and exposure to unfamiliar people, dogs, and surroundings. For shelter dogs, various forms of physical contact with humans (e.g., petting, massaging, and grooming) and different types of interactions with humans (e.g., walks, play sessions, training sessions, and simply having a person sit passively in the same enclosure), have been shown to reduce physiological measures of stress [18][19][20], produce favorable changes in behavior [21], or both [22][23][24][25][26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex of Walker Influences Scent-marking Behavior of Shelter Dogs

McGuire

Fry

Orantes

et al. 2020

Animals

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Interactions with humans influence the behavior and physiology of other animals, and the response can vary with sex and familiarity. Dogs in animal shelters face challenging conditions and although contact with humans typically reduces stress and behaviors associated with stress, evidence indicates that shelter dogs react differently to unfamiliar men and women. Given that some aspects of canine scent-marking behavior change under fearful conditions, we examined whether sex of an unfamiliar walker would influence scent-marking behavior of 100 shelter dogs during leash walks. Male dogs urinated at higher rates when walked by unfamiliar women than when walked by unfamiliar men; female dogs urinated at similar rates when walked by unfamiliar women and unfamiliar men. Sex of walker influenced urinary posture in male dogs, but not in female dogs. Both male and female dogs were more likely to defecate when walked by unfamiliar women than by unfamiliar men. Based on our findings that shelter dogs behave differently in the presence of unfamiliar men and women, we suggest that researchers conducting behavioral studies of dogs record, consider in analyses, and report the sex of observers and handlers as standard practice. We also recommend recording the sex of shelter staff present at behavioral evaluations because the results of these evaluations can impact dog welfare.

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Factors determining the effects of human interaction on the cortisol levels of shelter dogs

Cited by 42 publications

References 46 publications

Salivary Cortisol Interactions in Search and Rescue Dogs and Their Handlers

Salivary Cortisol Interactions in Search and Rescue Dogs and Their Handlers

Analysis of cortisol in dog hair - a potential biomarker of chronic stress: a review

Sex of Walker Influences Scent-marking Behavior of Shelter Dogs

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