Phenotypic determination of noise reactivity in 3 breeds of working dogs: A cautionary tale of age, breed, behavioral assessment, and genetics

Abstract

Noise reactivity is a common problem for dogs, and may progress to true phobia. Survey studies report that some type of noise reaction occurs in up to half of all pet dogs throughout their lifetimes, indicating that noise reactivity/phobia is a welfare issue. Familial aggregations of affected dogs have been reported and increased prevalence in certain breeds has been suggested. Reactivity to noise can severely compromise function in both pet and working dogs. Noise reactivity may be co-morbid with many anxiety disorders for both canines and humans and is postulated to effect information processing in associated human, rodent and dog conditions. Any putative effect of noise on information processing becomes a concern for problem solving and other aspects of cognition that are important to working dogs. Accordingly, we sought to phenotype 3 breeds of herding dogs commonly used for work as detection dogs, police/patrol dogs, search and rescue dogs, and/or service dogs: Australian shepherds (AUS), Border collies (BOC) and German shepherds (GSD). We analyzed demographic information and behavioral responses to noises (guns, storms, fireworks) known to provoke fearful or phobic responses for 59 AUS, 81 BOC, and 58 GSD, who were also included in a genetic analysis. Behaviors were compared using a metric constructed from information on type, frequency and intensity of response, the Anxiety Intensity Rank (AIR score). Reactivity to noise was found to segregate in some family lines for the dogs in this study, although individuals expressed considerable variation in noise response. Such variation may be time and exposure dependent and presents a phenotyping challenge. In this study, the presence and intensity of reactivity as represented by AIR scores varied by breed, but only slightly with age. The BOC studied were older, and BOC and AUS were more severely affected (higher AIR scores) than were GSD. Source/purpose of dog may also affect severity of affliction. Determination of crisp, accurate phenotypes is essential for understanding underlying genetic contributions. For noise reactivity/phobia accurate phenotypes include age of onset and specific behavioral characterization. Standardized, objective assessments are essential for assessment of progression and co-morbidity. Our data imply that accurate phenotypic assessment is possible at a relatively early age, providing for both humane treatment and accurate phenotyping that facilitates good genotyping.

Salivary Vasopressin as a Potential Non–Invasive Biomarker of Anxiety in Dogs Diagnosed with Separation–Related Problems

“…Approximately 14%-20% of dog patients [18,19] from general veterinary practices show signs of SRP in their owners' absence [20], and the anxiety emotional system is recognized as one possible cause. However, as with other anxiety disorders in veterinary patients, underdiagnosis of anxiety-dependent separation problems has been previously reported [21] due to misinterpretation of normal and pathological anxiety [22] and the lack of recognition of mild clinical signs by owners [23]. Therefore, unsurprisingly, according to Karagiannis et al [24], it is suspected that up to 50%-56% of the overall dog population may actually display clinical symptoms of SRP at some point in their life [25,26], which, out of the total population of approximately 160 million dogs in the US and Europe [27,28] represents approximately 85 million dogs with SRP on the two continents.…”

Not a one-way road – severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs

“…Thus, fear of firework, gunshots and thunder does not necessarily seem to coincide with sensitivity to other types of noises. As in (2), no relationship with separation related problems was detected, although some other studies confirmed Overall et al’s (12,29) notion that noise fears and separation related problems frequently co-occur (1,3). In my sample, no other behavioural problems were associated with firework fears, indicating that noise fears are a separate phenotype from social fears (dogs/ humans), and are also unrelated to other behaviour problems including resource guarding and hyperactivity.…”

“…Fireworks appear to be the most common trigger of noise fears in dogs, although the great majority of affected dogs concomitantly show fears of gunshots and thunderstorms (1,2,12). Breed or breed group has consistently been identified as being associated with different susceptibility to firework fears (1–3,12), pointing to contributing genetic factors. While the observed breed differences in noise fears are likely polygenic (12), a few genes contributing to noise fears in some breeds have recently been identified (15,16).…”

“…Although a number of publications indicate behavioural signs shown by dogs when exposed to loud noises (e.g. trembling, freezing, panting, salivation, lowered body posture, tucked tail, hiding, escape attempts, social withdrawal, pacing, involuntary elimination, and destructive behaviour with or without self-injury (3,12,13,18–21), there is a lack of knowledge on how long such behavioural changes as a result of firework exposure typically persist. One study reports that the median duration of behavioural changes in the aftermath of a firework was two hours (with a mean of 1.83, SD 0.044, (4)), but little is known on the distribution of responses, and how many dogs may be affected beyond the timeframe of a few hours.…”

A review of treatment options for behavioural manifestations of clinical anxiety as a comorbidity in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy

“…Considering their high prevalence, these anxiety disorders are chronically under-diagnosed and under-treated in people (Kimiskidis and Valeta, 2012;Thomé-Souza et al, 2007). Underdiagnosis of anxiety disorders in veterinary patients has been extensively described (Overall et al, 2016). Misinterpretation of normal and pathological anxiety (Tami and Gallagher, 2009) and lack of recognition of mild clinical signs by owners (Mariti et al, 2012) are likely to contribute to the under reporting of comorbid anxiety disorders in veterinary species.…”