Journal of Veterinary Behavior-clinical Applications and Research最新文献

Stray animals are one of the contributors to animal welfare issues worldwide. They endanger the health of both animals and humans as spreaders of infectious diseases. Many stray dogs end up in shelters. Despite increasing public education about dog welfare and the importance of adoption, the number of dogs in animal shelters is not decreasing. Therefore, it is important to find suitable methods of training dogs so that they are more desirable for adoption, thus improving both dogs and people welfare. A total of three obedience training experiments with shelter dogs were carried out using modified methodologies from international scientists. The results reveal that shelter dogs respond better to treats, verbal praise, and stroking as opposed to clicker training alone. After applying these methods, dogs living in shelters were trained to sit on cue after a brief period of time. The learned “sit” request was found to be retained by the dog even after a change of training location and/or trainer. These findings might help train dogs faster and increase adoptability as basic obedience is shown to be a highly desirable behavior among potential pet guardians. By training canines with positive behavior traits like obedience and composure, in animal shelters, adoption rates can be increased.

The use of conservation dogs is rapidly increasing. These canine units are usually employed to discriminate target species odor from nontarget ones to monitor or aid in the conservation of species. Although the ability of dogs to identify individuals from the odor of fecal samples is well known, there are no studies yet investigating the ability of dogs to identify social status through scats. Therefore, we conducted a case study to test the effectiveness of a dog in identifying the scats of breeder wolves and ignoring offspring ones. The dog was trained using a multiple-choice carousel in a training/testing protocol. We show that training on three different breeders wolves enabled the dog to identify all the breeder wolves used in the study, indicating rapid generalization of the dog and an ability to train the odor concept. The dog's ability to identify only breeder wolves allows researchers to optimize sample collection in the field for estimating population size by noninvasive genetic analysis and reducing costs.

Tight control of blood glucose can reduce the risk of severe health consequences of type 1 diabetes. For individuals with impaired awareness of hypoglycemia, glycemic control can be especially challenging. Fear of hypoglycemic events can lead individuals to adjust their glucose management resulting in poor glycemic control. Glycemic alert dogs trained on breath odor have been shown to accurately alert to changes in blood glucose in individuals with type 1 diabetes, providing them with an opportunity to intervene before dangerous fluctuations occur. By analyzing the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of breath samples used during glycemic alert dog training, the aim of this study is to see if we, too, can detect differences in odor associated with blood glucose in type 1 diabetes. Breath samples from an individual with type 1 diabetes were collected during euglycemia, hypoglycemia, and hyperglycemia and analyzed using thermal desorption gas-chromatography time-of-flight mass-spectrometry. Statistical analysis with permutational multivariate analysis of variance, canonical analysis of principal coordinates, and random forest found significant differences in VOC profiles at different blood glucose concentrations. In addition, factors such as collection material, day of sample collection, and storage length had significant effects on the VOC profiles of samples. These findings show the complexity of the samples glycemic alert dogs are presented with and can direct future sample collection, storage, and training protocols. Despite variations associated with collection methods, differences associated with blood glucose remained detectable, suggesting the odors used by glycemic alert dogs to detect hypoglycemia are preserved in training samples.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of melatonin administration on oxidative stress and behavioral responses immediately (1-h) post-packing and 16-h post-packing circadian rhythms in donkeys during hot-dry conditions. Twenty healthy pack donkeys (15 males and five non-pregnant females), aged 2–3 years with average weight of 93 ± 2.7 kg were divided into two groups randomly. Melatonin was administered at a dose of 10 mg per donkey for 7 days to group 1 donkeys (packing + melatonin) that were subjected to packing (load-carrying), group 2 (packing–melatonin) donkeys were packed only without melatonin administration. The donkeys trekked covering 20 km, three times during the one week experiment, one day apart. Meteorological parameters were recorded during the study period. Serum harvested from the blood sample collected from each donkey before and after packing was analysed for oxidative stress biomarkers. Behavioral parameters were evaluated using the focal animal sampling technique for 1 h immediately (1-h) after packing and at expiration of 16-h post-packing, covering 27-h period at 3-h intervals. Melatonin reduced oxidative stress by preventing reduction in catalase activity and total antioxidant capacity in packing + melatonin donkeys. Melatonin exerted anti-stress effects on behavioral activities in the treated donkeys post-packing by significantly reducing (P < 0.05) the percent duration of grooming, walking and standing, but significantly increasing (P < 0.05) the percent duration of feeding, compared to the control donkeys. In conclusion, melatonin exerted beneficial effects against stresses due to packing and heat, and influenced the circadian rhythms of behavioral activities. Its administration may reduce the risk of negative effects of environmental heat stress and stress due to packing in donkeys during hot-dry conditions.

Pet rats are still understudied in terms of animal welfare and human-animal interaction research. An extensive online survey targeting German-speaking rat caretakers was conducted (n = 978). One of the study's goals was to investigate husbandry practices, health indicators, rat behaviors that suggest either good or compromised welfare, as well as elements of the human-animal relationship, including interactions between humans and animals, caretaker attitudes, and attachment. The second aim was to explore the associations between caretaker attitudes and attachment, and caretaker behavior, encompassing routine health checks, interactions between humans and animals, as well as the activities and enrichment provided to rats. In some instances, welfare issues were identified: insufficient space (evident in 10.6% of rats), provision of unhealthy snacks (14.6%). The vast majority of rats enjoyed a variety of enrichment objects, e.g., huts/houses (98.4%), nesting material (92.7%), hammocks (91.7%), and tunnels/tubes (83.7%). The average amount of space and time provided for roaming in case of no permanent roaming possibility (13.9 m² and 2.5 h per day) was positive in terms of welfare. About 79.0% of rats did not suffer from a disease diagnosed by a veterinarian. Repetitive behaviors, which may represent stereotypies, were uncommon (plucking out own fur and cage bar chewing occurred “never” in 99.1% and 81.5%). Indicators of good welfare (e.g., self-grooming, rearing, eye-boggling) were observed several times/day in 89.6%, 46.7%, and 11.6% respectively. Caretakers who formed strong bonds with their rats tended to express positive general attitudes (such as finding rats ‘‘lovable’’ and ‘‘fun’’), while showing little agreement with statements reflecting negative attitudes (like considering rats ‘‘dirty’’). About 84.4% reported stroking their rat, 94.9% reported talking to it, and 70.9% mentioned hand-feeding their rat several times per day. Caretaker attitudes and attachment and human-animal interactions and caretaker behaviors correlated weakly but consistently (P < 0.01): respondents who felt more comfortable during positive interactions, stroked, hand-fed their rats, offered rat-friendly enrichment and performed health checks more often. In contrast, higher agreement to rats being ‘‘dirty’’ related to less frequent health checks and less frequent positive human-animal interactions. The identified relationships between caretaker attitudes and behaviors can help design interventions to promote caretaker behavior that is beneficial for rat welfare.

A 10-year-old, 38.5 kg, male neutered golden retriever was evaluated for a 2-year history of growling, baring teeth, and biting his owners. The dog also displayed disorientation, increased vocalization, altered interactions with the female owner, anxiety, and nighttime restlessness. A primary diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction syndrome and concurrent diagnosis of owner-directed aggression related to altered cognition or awareness, pain/discomfort, and impulse control/conflict was made based on the dog’s age, behavioral signs, and exclusion of medical causes. The owners were provided with a treatment plan that included environmental and safety management, reward-based behavior modification, and an antioxidant-rich diet. After the addition of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (fluoxetine) and a serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor (trazodone), the dog’s clinical signs were significantly improved within six months and sustained during a 2-year follow-up period.