Repetitive behaviour in kennelled domestic dog: Stereotypical or not?

Assessing the welfare of kennelled dogs—A review of animal-based measures

“…Gaines and Rooney (unpublished data 2007;as cited in Hewson et al, 2007) also found that dogs that had been kennelled for more than one year had urinary cortisol levels that were below the levels of dogs in homes. Although Denham et al (2014) found that the majority of kennelled working dogs still had normally functioning HPA systems even after years of living in kennels, they also noted that the small group of dogs that showed the most atypical behavioural responses (engaging in repetitive behaviours under minimal stimulation) had opposite responses to novel stressors, where their cortisol levels decreased after the challenge. These results provide some evidence that dysregulation of the HPA axis may occur in dogs in response to chronic stress of kennelling.…”

“…The incidence of ARBs in dogs has been found to be relatively high in the kennel environment compared to the home environment, although values vary tremendously depending on the definitions used (Protopopova, 2016). Protopopova et al (2014) found that only between 1.3-4.5% of the pet dogs studied (n = 26) engaged in ARBs in the home, while Denham et al (2014) found that 93% of 30 kennelled working military dogs showed repetitive behaviours, although this number is reduced to 16.7% in the absence of arousing stimuli such as humans. In Hubrecht et al (1992) dataset, which was recorded by an observer standing in front of the kennels, between 46-84% of laboratory dogs, and 42-62% of dogs in rehoming centres engaged in such behaviours.…”

“…Because the cortisol amounts in hair are bound to it over time, both as the hair follicle grows and as the sweat and sebum excreted from skin glands comes in contact with it, it gives a more precise picture of long-term cortisol elevation (Mesarcova et al, 2017). Indeed, it has been found to give more stable measurements than either faeces or saliva, with four Beerda et al, 2000;Stephen and Ledger, 2006;Mormède et al, 2007;Rooney et al, 2007;Accorsi et al, 2008;2009;Bryan et al, 2013;Titulaer et al, 2013;Denham et al, 2014 Cortisol -salivary Relatively easy to obtain. Expensive to analyse.…”

“…Behaviours may serve as coping mechanism. Hubrecht et al, 1992;Beerda et al, 1999a;Mason and Latham, 2004;Stephen and Ledger, 2005;Taylor and Mills, 2007;Hewson et al, 2007;Rooney et al, 2009;Belpedio, 2010;Denham et al, 2014;Protopopova et al, 2014Protopopova et al, , 2016 Coprophagia Easy to assess Chronic Unclear More research is needed. Possible breed differences.…”

“…In dogs, the most commonly seen abnormal repetitive behaviours are pacing, spinning, bouncing off the walls, circling, and repeatedly walking the perimeter of their kennel, while less common but still notable behaviours include biting at their enclosure (i.e. bars or wall), excessive licking of their environment, and self-mutilating behaviours such as flank-sucking, chewing feet, and excessive auto-grooming (Stephen and Ledger, 2005;Rooney et al, 2009;Belpedio, 2010;Denham et al, 2014;Protopopova, 2016). ARBs were recorded by both Kiddie and Collins (2014) and Barnard et al (2014) in their protocols.…”