How good is this food? A study on dogs' emotional responses to a potentially pleasant event using infrared thermography

Abstract

Understanding how animals express positive emotions is becoming an interesting and promising area of research in the study of animal emotions and affective experiences.In the present study, we used infrared thermography in combination with behavioral measures, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), to investigate dogs' emotional responses to a potentially pleasant event: receiving palatable food from the owner. 2. Tail wagging could be a useful indicator of positive emotional state.3. Eye temperature can assess the arousal dimension of dogs' emotions in a positive situation.

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

“…positive vs negative affect) in this species [17]. Similarly, in chickens a drop in comb temperature was noted both during a stressful situation [25] and when anticipating a positive event [26].…”

“…In animal welfare science, its applicability in the measurement of physiological stress responses has been explored, such as via eye temperature in cattle [8,9] and horses [10], ear temperature in rabbits [11], and temperature of the comb and wattle in chickens [12], adding to the more conventional methods of stress monitoring in non-human animals (including body posture, heart rate, heart rate variability, and cortisol concentrations in saliva, plasma and urine [13][14][15]). Recently, thermography has also been used in the assessment of positive affective states in animals [16,17].…”

“…It is thus possible that the baseline temperature indeed reflected a relatively 'neutral' state while the higher temperature during the experimenter's presence and following reunion with the owner might reflect the positive affect elicited by the possibility for social contact (but see [17]). Further studies are required to investigate dogs' ear temperature in relation to positive affect (without the prior induction of a negative affective state).…”

“…These include the relatively large distance of the camera from the animal (varying from around 5-8 m), such that measurement of eye [17,22,23,25,53] or nose temperature [2,16,19], as has been done in studies on affective state in other animals, would not be possible. Additionally, the method works only for dogs with a certain hair structure (i.e.…”

Termoterapia Em Cães

“…A termografia deve ser considerada um método de exame complementar utilizado para auxiliar o diagnóstico clínico, não devendo ser indicada para a realização de diagnóstico definitivo (LAHIRI et al, 2012). Travain et al (2016) utilizaram a termografia de infravermelho em combinação com medidas comportamentais, como frequência cardíaca e variabilidade da frequência cardíaca, para investigar as respostas emocionais dos cães ao receber alimento dos seus donos. Foram observados aumentos de temperatura ocular durante a estimulação positiva, apontando para a utilidade da termografia como ferramenta na avaliação do estado emocional de cães.…”