Fear of noises affects canine problem solving behavior and locomotion in standardized cognitive tests

Overall, Karen L.; Dunham, Arthur E.; Scheifele, Peter M.; Malowski, Kristine Sonstrom

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2019.104863

Cited by 20 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Recent studies have also revealed increased levels of stress-related biomarkers in fearful dogs 38,39 . On the other hand, earlier studies have shown that fearful dogs have difficulty in solving cognitive tasks and show more stress-related behaviour when solving the puzzle 57,58 , suggesting that fearful dogs are not ideal partners for training.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Active and social life is associated with lower non-social fearfulness in pet dogs

Hakanen

Mikkola

Salonen

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Behavioural problems are leading welfare issues in domestic dogs. In particular, anxiety-related behavioural problems, such as fearfulness and noise sensitivity are highly prevalent conditions that cause distress to fearful dogs. to better understand the environmental factors associated with nonsocial fear, including noise sensitivity, fear of novel situations, and fear of surfaces and heights, a large online survey including data on 13,700 Finnish pet dogs was performed by the dog owners. After fulfilling inclusion criteria, this data consisted of 9,613 dogs with fear of fireworks, 9,513 dogs with fear of thunder, 6,945 dogs with fear of novel situations, and 2,932 dogs with fear of surfaces and heights. Logistic regression analyses revealed that dogs with frequent non-social fear had experienced less socialisation during puppyhood, were more often neutered, had inexperienced owners, lived without conspecifics, participated less frequently in activities or training, and lived in more urban environments. In addition, we identified several breed differences, and a tendency of more common non-social fear in small dog breeds, which suggests a genetic background. Non-social fearfulness has a negative effect on well-being of the dogs. Our findings suggest that the socialisation and the living environment and the value of other dogs' company and owner interaction via activities and training may improve the well-being of the dogs. Fear and anxiety-related behavioural problems, such as fear of new situations, fear towards humans, and noise sensitivity, are major and global welfare problems of pet dogs that often lead to relinquishment or euthanasia 1-5. These behavioural problems have a negative effect on the wellbeing of both the dog and its owner, as owners are often less satisfied and are more weakly attached to dogs that show problematic behaviour 6-9. Fear and anxiety are used as terms to describe similar physiological signs of heightened arousal. Fear is a normal emotion that is found in all animal species. It is transient state elicited through threatening stimuli such as noise or smell 10-13. Anxiety can be described as the anticipation of a perceived threat and may be displayed without threatening stimulus 12,13. Fear can be classified into two categories based on the stimuli that causes fear. Social fear includes fear of other dogs or unfamiliar people, whereas non-social fear includes fear of different objects, loud noises and novel situations 14. The dog can show different fearful signs depending on the stimuli. For instance, dogs that are afraid of strangers usually avoid or withdraw, bark, or have a low tail position. Dogs that are fearful of novel situations usually pant, express a desire to leave the situation, or stay close to their owners 15. Fearfulness is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Canine fearfulness is highly heritable 16-23 and studies have already identified some candidate loci and genes that affect fearfulness 24-27. Environmental factors discovered by previous studies i...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Active and social life is associated with lower non-social fearfulness in pet dogs

Hakanen

Mikkola

Salonen

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Male dogs are generally bolder than females [ 76 , 77 ], and boldness can have an effect on various behavioral and cognitive traits in dogs and other species [ 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 ]. According to several studies, female dogs are also more likely to be fearful or anxious than males [ 29 ], and anxiety and stress might also affect performance in cognitive tasks [ 82 , 83 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Sex and Reproductive Status on Inhibitory Control and Social Cognition in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris)

Junttila

Huohvanainen

Tiira

2021

Animals

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Sex differences in a variety of cognitive traits have long been reported in various species, including dogs. However, only a few canine studies have taken the possible effect of reproductive hormones into account. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sex and reproductive status of pet dogs (N = 1032) on two cognitive traits: inhibitory control and social cognition. Inhibitory control was assessed using the cylinder test, and the dogs’ tendency to initiate social contact with a human during a problem-solving situation was assessed using the unsolvable task. Female dogs had a significantly higher success rate in the cylinder test compared to males, and they spent significantly more time in human-directed behavior during the unsolvable task. In contrast, males spent significantly more time in independent behavior during the unsolvable task. Reproductive status had no significant effect on the results of the cylinder test or the unsolvable task. Our results showed that female dogs asked for more help/used a more cooperative strategy during a problem-solving situation and had greater inhibitory control compared to males. According to our results, it seems likely that these sex differences were not influenced to a large extent by reproductive hormones.

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“…It is based on the established and widely accepted content of the instrument used to determine noise phobia [Lincoln Sound-Sensitivity Scale) in the main clinical behavioral study (18)]. The states referred to in this instrument have been used in several clinical trials on noise phobia and other anxiety problems with success (19,20), and also used in other assessments with a similar goal (21) and the Anxiety Intensity Rank scale (22). However, we did not include the behavior "Exaggerated response when startled, " from the Lincoln Sound-Sensitivity Scale, because it is rare and previous experience of one of the authors and originators of the scale (DSM,) indicate that it is difficult for the owners to judge.…”

Section: Construction Of the Anxiety Scorementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The behaviors used LCAS are a widely accepted representation of canine anxiety-related behaviors (16,(21)(22)(23).…”

Section: Face Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Psychometric Validation of the Lincoln Canine Anxiety Scale

et al. 2020

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Introduction: Anxiety in dogs, especially in relation to certain noises, is a common issue which can lead to clinically significant problems like noise phobias. While several scales have been used to assess sound sensitivity and reactivity, clinical monitoring has tended to depend on unvalidated methods, general assessment, and/or historical comparison with owners' recall of previous episodes. Therefore, we aimed to develop and validate a scale to assess canine anxiety. Materials and Methods: We used the data from 226 dogs from a previously reported double blind placebo controlled study in order to determine the validity of the 16 item "Lincoln Canine Anxiety Scale." Unidimensionality was assessed through correlation between individual item scores and total score, with internal consistency assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Factor analysis was used to determine the dimensionality of the scale. Item response theory (IRT) was used to gain insight into the value of single items to the overall scale scores. To characterize the score characteristics in an anxiety-eliciting context we analyzed the behaviors of placebo treated dogs assessed at 00:20 h, the time point of maximum noise stimulus during New Year's Eve fireworks. Sensitivity of the scale to treatment effects was determined from its performance in the wider study. Results: The majority of correlations between individual items and total score were >0.48, with Cronbach's alpha equalling 0.88, indicating good internal consistency. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) confirmed a unidimensional structure. IRT indicated that the scale could be reduced to 11 items without significantly reducing its value. The scale showed good treatment and stimulus sensitivity, with a score change of ∼20 points differentiating "no/worse" effect from an "excellent" effect and a 30% difference between treatment (imepitoin) and placebo. Conclusion: In our initial validation the Lincoln Canine Anxiety Scale appears to provide a reliable method for determining anxiety and fear responses by dogs and monitoring the effects of treatment.

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Fear of noises affects canine problem solving behavior and locomotion in standardized cognitive tests

Cited by 20 publications

References 51 publications

Active and social life is associated with lower non-social fearfulness in pet dogs

Active and social life is associated with lower non-social fearfulness in pet dogs

Effect of Sex and Reproductive Status on Inhibitory Control and Social Cognition in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris)

Development and Psychometric Validation of the Lincoln Canine Anxiety Scale

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