Preliminary analysis of reproductive, behavioral and physiological characteristics of military working dogs (original) (raw)
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Cortisol and behavioral responses to enrichment in military working dogs
Journal of Ethology, 2009
Our objective was to compare the effects of two schedules of enrichment exposure, a distributed (high frequency) and regular regime versus a mass (low frequency) and irregular regime, on the cortisol and behavioral responses of 14 kennelled military working dogs. The enrichment experiences were exercise coupled with human contact. Both groups of dogs were exposed to approximately the same total amount of enrichment per week for a total of 7 weeks. The distributed and regular regime (DRR) furnished enrichment for 20-min intervals three to four times a day every weekday; the mass and irregular regime (MIR) randomly furnished enrichment for 16 or 24 continuous hours 1 day out of 5. Our data show that: (1) cortisol concentrations of DRR dogs significantly decreased between the first and the last week of observations; this was not the case in MIR dogs; (2) at the 7th week DRR dogs had lower cortisol concentrations than did MIR dogs; (3) all dogs in each group exhibited stereotypies. Our results suggest that MIR dogs underwent a decline in welfare throughout the experiment, whereas DRR dogs appeared to undergo a period of acute stress at the beginning of their training that resolved over 7 weeks. This study suggests that the welfare of kennelled dogs, particularly military working dogs, is affected among other factors by schedules of exercise and contact with people.
Cortisol and behavioral responses of working dogs to environmental challenges
Physiology & Behavior, 2008
This paper's primary objective is to analyse the physiological (cortisol) and behavioral responses of military working dogs (MWD). Dogs (N = 27) were submitted twice to environmental challenges (challenge 1 and 2, 20 days in-between) composed of social (training), visual (mobile toy car) and auditory (air blast) stimuli. Cortisol levels decreased back to the baseline after the second challenge. The behavioral observations showed that these MWD were more active, and presented less stereotypic behaviors (pacing, manipulation of the environment) during both visual challenges, whereas half low posture was observed during the first but not during the second visual challenge.
Do Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD Mount a Cortisol Response in Response to Training?
Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, 2021
Simple Summary A growing number of people are supported by specialized service dogs. These dogs are highly trained to improve human welfare, yet not much is known about their own welfare. One of the ways in which welfare can be measured is through the expression of stress via the hormone cortisol. In this study, we investigated the level of cortisol in saliva, a measure for physiological stress, in 19 service dogs. We measured cortisol in the dogs’ saliva 15 min after arrival at a training ground, before partaking in a training session for service dogs, after participation in the training session, and after a 45-min free play period. We found no elevated levels of cortisol after the training session. Instead, we found that cortisol had lowered when compared to before the training. Additionally, we found that cortisol was highest 15 min after arriving at the training round and after 45 min of free play. This led to the conclusion that dogs in our study did not seem to have a stress r...
Cortisol and Secretory Immunoglobulin A Response to Stress in German Shepherd Dogs
PLoS ONE, 2014
The aim of the study was to determine whether cortisol and secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) could be used as an indicator of acute stress in both young and adult dogs. Seventeen German shepherd puppies were exposed to the Puppy test (challenge test) at the age of seven weeks. This test has been routinely used to assess the future working ability of potential police dogs. In addition, ten adult females were subjected to 4 minutes of defense training under stressful conditions. Saliva was collected from the puppies and adult females before testing and 20 minutes after the start of testing, using a cotton swab held for 1-2 minutes in each dog's mouth. Cortisol concentrations increased after the test compared to the control sample both in puppies and the adult females. However adult females showed a significant decrease in sIgA after defense training while puppies showed a tendency of increase in sIgA. We propose that salivary cortisol could be used as an indicator of stress in puppies during early ontogeny. It is not yet clear whether sIgA could be used as a useful indicator of short-term stress in dogs.
PLOS ONE
Sex pheromones are chemical substances secreted into the environment that affect the physiology and behavior of recipients. Females use these compounds during oestrus to attract males, which leads to attempts of mating. This study evaluates the influence of manual semen collection in male dogs, in the presence or absence of a female in estrus, on the blood concentrations of cortisol (CRT), oxytocin (OXT), prolactin (PRL) and testosterone (T), as hormones involved both in the physiology of reproduction and stress. Ten male dogs were used in Experiment 1 to measure the serum and plasma concentrations of the aforementioned hormones in the absence of semen collection. Subsequently in the same animals, the concentrations of these hormones were evaluated before and after semen collection in the presence (Exp. 2) or in absence of a female in estrus (Exp. 3). No significant changes in hormone concentration caused by the semen collection were found, either with, or without the presence of fe...
Social factors influencing cortisol modulation in dogs during a strange situation procedure
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2015
In human-dog relationships, positive interaction and social attention may mutually dampen stress responses. In humans, attachment representations and personality are linked to the modulation of individual stress reactions. We investigated the connections between dog attachment to the owner, owner attitudes and relationship toward the dog, and the personality of both on stress coping in dogs during the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure for dogs. For the first time, dog attachment patterns were assessed via the original Ainsworth attachment classification system. In addition, cortisol was measured from saliva in the context of play with the owner and 2 threat situations, once with and once without the owner present. We found that dogs classified as "securely attached" secreted less cortisol during the attachment (P ¼ 0.008) and play situations (P ¼ 0.031) and showed by trend a stronger cortisol reactivity during the threat situation when the owner was absent (P ¼ 0.086) than dogs which were classified as "insecure." The higher the owner's self-reported insecure-ambivalent attachment toward the dog and perception of the dog as a social support, the higher was the dog's cortisol reactivity during the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure (P ¼ 0.004 and P ¼ 0.018). Furthermore, it was found that owners high in neuroticism and agreeableness had dogs with low cortisol reactivity (P ¼ 0.003 and P ¼ 0.001). Older dogs showed less cortisol reactivity than younger ones (P ¼ 0.023). Male dogs of male owners tended to show the lowest cortisol reactivity compared to all other human gender-dog sex combinations (P ¼ 0.008). In conclusion, results show that secure dog attachment to the owner, ownerdog relationship, and personality of both influence the dog's stress coping.
Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, 2021
Simple Summary Canine pregnancy and post-partum (total duration around 120 days) is a very intense period and could be a trigger for the activation of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA) axis in female dogs, given the higher allostatic load. To evaluate this activation, the concentrations of Cortisol (C) and Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), final products of the HPA axis, were detected in the coat and claws of 15 Dobermann Pinscher female dogs, with monthly collections from mating until the end of weaning. The C concentrations, both in the coat and claws, showed a significant trend of increase from mating until 60 days post-partum. In both matrices, the DHEA-S changes were not significant. Maternal parity and litter size did not play a significant influence on the concentrations of C and DHEA-S in both matrices. The results of the present study seem to depict maternity as a main activator of the HPA axis that, in turn, leads to the secretion of C. This is probably due t...
Salivary Cortisol in Guide Dogs
Animals
Guide dogs work for extended periods and are exposed to multiple environmental stimuli that could lead to higher stress compared with companion dogs. Cortisol is the main hormone associated with stress in most mammals. This study included seven guide dogs and seven same-breed dogs that were trained as guide dogs but became companion dogs to compare their salivary cortisol levels before, during, and after a period of social isolation and exposure to a 110-decibel gunshot sound. Each dog was left alone in an empty room for 60 min. After 15 min, the dogs were exposed to the sound. We collected four saliva samples from each dog. The first one was taken 5 min before starting the social isolation period, and the following ones at 15, 30, and 45 min after the test started. A two-way ANOVA was used to compare the group effect and the time effect during isolation and noise exposure. The results showed higher levels of cortisol in the guide dogs compared with the companion dogs throughout the...
Hair and faecal cortisol level’s variations during the training in Schutzhund dogs
2018
303 The aim of this study was to determine the cortisol levels in Schutzhund dogs during training, in order to highlight a relationship between different work programmes and adrenocortical activity. Fifteen Schutzhund dogs (12 males and 3 females) were used: six dogs with the highest level of training (title IPO-3, group IPO-3), and nine animals without title IPO (group IPO-0). Animals of the two groups followed two different training programmes. The programme followed by IPO-3 dogs consisted of a period of intense work for each section (section A tracking phase, section B obedience phase and section C protection phase; period 1) and a period of reduction in the intensity of the training (period 2). On the other hand, IPO-0 dogs underwent a constant work intensity throughout the experiment. The faeces and hair cortisol content was measured by RIA. In all dogs the exercise induced a significant increase of faecal cortisol concentrations as compared with the levels at rest; the faecal...
Rapid shaping of behaviour associated with high urinary cortisol in domestic dogs
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2010
The occurrence of stress has widely been associated with impairments in learning abilities in animals, although the influence of stress appears to differ with the complexity of tasks. Previous research has suggested that some domestic dogs exhibit both physiological (elevated cortisol) and behavioural signs of stress when newly admitted to re-homing centres. In this study we have investigated whether levels of stress as measured by urinary cortisol: creatinine is sufficient to impair the learning of simple associations. On the day following their admission to a re-homing centre, 32 dogs were trained on one classical conditioning task and one operant conditioning task; 6 days later, they were trained on a second operant conditioning task. Their mean urinary cortisol:creatinine ratio (C/C) fell from 27.1 × 10 −6 to 22.3 × 10 −6 (nmol/l:nmol/l) between these 2 days; a substantial proportion (78% on day 1, 63% on day 7) of dogs had ratios above the range of 5-20 × 10 −6 , which is that defined as clinically normal (Bush, 1991), suggesting high levels of stress. The dogs' average time to reach criterion on either task on day 1 was unrelated to C/C or to behavioural signs of stress; this lack of correspondence may reflect the diverse previous experiences of the dogs. On day 7, the six dogs which failed to reach criterion for the operant association were significantly less active and interactive in their kennels than the others. For the remainder, a high rate of learning the operant association was associated with high C/C (in excess of 40 × 10 −6), and a poor performance was associated with fearful behaviour in the kennel. Dogs appear to have adopted one of two coping strategies: either the display of fearful behaviours and an impaired ability to learn the tasks, which may reflect a 'reactive' style of responding, or a higher level of HPA axis activation and an enhanced ability to rapidly learn a new task, which may be indicative of a more 'proactive' coping style.