Influence of male and female petters on plasma cortisol and behaviour: can human interaction reduce the stress of dogs in a public animal shelter?

Hennessy, Michael B.; Williams, Michael T.; Miller, Deborah; Douglas, Chet W; Voith, Victoria L.

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(98)00179-8

Cited by 240 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…It is important not to stress the dogs with the sampling. Earlier studies have shown that petting during the blood sampling may inhibit the plasma cortisol response following venipuncture in dogs (Hennessy et al 1998). Other studies in dogs have shown that variables such as testosterone are not influenced by blood sampling (Knol et al 1992).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 98%

Physiological reactions to fear provocation in dogs

Hydbring-Sandberg

Walter²,

Höglund³

et al. 2004

Journal of Endocrinology

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Fear is a common behavioral problem in dogs. In this paper, we studied the association between behavioral and physiological responses in two potentially fear-eliciting situations. The aim was to establish whether it is possible to separate dogs of the collie breed that are fearful of floors and gunshots from those that are not by studying changes in heart rate and hematocrit, plasma cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, vasopressin, and -endorphin concentrations. Thirteen privately owned male dogs of the collie breed were studied during a floor test, using different types of floors, and a subsequent gunshot test. Seven of the dogs were identified as being fearful of floors and six were declared as fearless. Out of the 13 dogs, seven were fearful of gunshots and six were fearless of gunshots. Since fear of floors did not always occur concomitantly with fear of gunshots, there were consequently four different groups of dogs. The heart rate increased during the floor test in all groups, but dogs that were fearful of floors had higher heart rates than dogs that were fearless of floors. Dogs that were fearful of gunshots had higher heart rates, higher hematocrit levels and higher plasma concentrations of cortisol, progesterone, vasopressin, and -endorphins during the gunshot test than did dogs that were found to be fearless of gunshots. Plasma cortisol and progesterone increased drastically during the gunshot test in dogs identified as being fearful of gunshots. In fearful dogs, the testosterone concentration increased after completion of the floor test and before the gunshot test started, but there were no significant differences in testosterone between the groups. Since dogs fearful of gunshots had increased levels of several physiological parameters, the results demonstrated that this fear is a serious stress for the individual, a fear which it is possible to register with physiological variables.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 98%

Physiological reactions to fear provocation in dogs

Hydbring-Sandberg

Walter²,

Höglund³

et al. 2004

Journal of Endocrinology

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“…Twenty minutes of gentle stroking inhibited the immediate increase of cortisol during a venipuncture procedure (Hennessy et al, 1998). Humans generally have greater success at inhibiting stress responses to a novel environment in dogs than do familiar dog companions (Tuber et al, 1996).…”

Section: Human Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minimizing fear and anxiety in working dogs: A review

Rooney

Clark

Casey

2016

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

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The causes of fear and anxiety in working dogs are multifactorial and may include inherited characteristics that differ between individuals (e.g. Goddard and Beilharz, 1982; 1984a,b), influences of the environment (Lefebvre et al., 2007), and learned experiences during particular sensitive periods (Appleby et al., 2002) and throughout life. Fear-related behavior compromises performance, leads to significant numbers of dogs failing to complete training (e.g., Murphy, 1995;Batt et al., 2008), early withdrawals from working roles (Caron-Lormier et al., 2016), and can jeopardize dog and handler safety. Hence, amelioration of fear and anxiety is critical to maintain dogs in working roles and to ensure their well-being. Although current methods of selection and training are seemingly effective at producing many dogs which work in a remarkable array of environments, some dogs do not make the grade, and longevity of service is not always maximized. Programs should strive for optimal efficiency and they need to continually analyze the value of each component of their program, seek evidence for its value and explore potential evidence-based improvements. Here we discuss scientific evidence for methods and strategies which may be of value in reducing the risk of fear behaviors developing in the working dog population and suggest potentially valuable techniques and future research to explore the benefit of these approaches. The importance of environmental influences, learning opportunities, and effects of underlying temperament on the outward expression of fear and anxiety should not be underestimated. Identification of characteristics which predict resilience to stress are valuable, both to enable careful breeding for these traits and to develop predictive tests for puppies and procured animals. It is vitally important to rear animals in optimal environments and introduce them to a range of stimuli in a positive, controlled, and gradual way, as these can all help minimize the number of dogs which develop workinhibiting fears. Future research should explore innovative methods to best measure the relative resilience of dogs to stressful events. This could include developing optimal exposure protocols to minimize the development of fear and anxiety, and exploring the influence of social learning and the most effective elements of stimulus presentation.

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“…Dogs housed in a shelter avidly seek contact with an unfamiliar person (Gácsi et al, 2001;Pullen et al, 2012), and separation behaviors such as barking and whining are reduced in the presence of a stranger (Prato-Previde et al, 2003). Moreover, our earlier studies found that human interaction reduced the cortisol response of shelter dogs to additional stressors imposed in the shelter environment (Hennessy et al, 1998;2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 90%