Stress response of dogs repeatedly participated in animal-assisted activities at special nursing homes for elderly people (original) (raw)
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Manifestations of chronic and acute stress in dogs
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 1997
conditions, harsh training sessions and uncontrollable or unpredictable social environments are examples of the situations that may lead to reduced welfare status in dogs. Individuals that suffer from poor welfare presumably experience stress and may consequently exhibit stress responses. In order to evaluate stress responses as potential indicators of poor welfare in dogs, we review studies dealing with dogs subjected to stressors. The reported stress responses are categorized as being behavioural, physiological or immunological, and demonstrate the various ways stress is manifested in the dog.
Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 2017
A visit to a veterinary clinic can be very stressful for the dog, and stress may interact with pain. The aim of this study was to observe the behavior of dogs in a veterinary clinic and to correlate it with subjective stress assessments by different persons. Systems have already been developed to assess pain in dogs. We tested the behavior of 105 dogs, sampled from 233 dog-owners who completed our questionnaire and whose dogs were patients at the clinic. The dog-owner, the test leader, the nurse and the veterinarian were each asked to assess if the dog was experiencing pain or was stressed and to evaluate, overall, how the dog experienced the visit. Three behavior tests were also carried out to describe the dog's reaction in the veterinary clinic: a 'social contact' test, a 'play' test and a 'treat' test. The play and treat tests were carried out both inside and outside the veterinary clinic to see if the dogs reacted differently in the two situations. Agreement between observers was good to excellent, but generally better when assessing pain than stress. Dogs rated as more stressed were significantly less likely to engage in social contact with an unfamiliar person (p<0.0001). They were significantly more willing to play and eat a treat outside the veterinary clinic compared to inside the clinic (p<0.001), implying that the dogs themselves experienced inside the clinic as being more negative. The results also indicated that the type of relationship the owner has with the dog may influence the dog's behavior during the clinical examination. The good agreements between the different measures in this study suggest that there is potential for a system to be developed to assess the extent to which the dog is stressed in the clinic.
Perception of dogs’ stress by their owners
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2012
Questionnaires potentially have a broad applicability in measuring stress levels in dogs, as owners know their dogs' behavior and personality better than anyone else. The aim of this research was to evaluate how owners perceive stress in their dogs through understanding of displayed behaviors.
Chronic Stress Indicators in Canines
Folia Veterinaria
With a growing number of dogs abandoned, living in shelters, and being rehomed, it is important to distinguish behavioural responses due to stress in our domestic companions. Cortisol is involved in the stress responses in animals which generally enters the individual’s body into a “state of emergency”. Prolonged stress can lead to exhaustion, disease, and death. Chronic stress can be detected by evaluating cortisol concentration in hair. Most domesticated dogs respond well to hair collection, thus avoiding further stressors. The method is simple, relatively inexpensive, and non-invasive. Our experiment focused on assessing multiple parameters using a modified Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire to evaluate their significance with cortisol in hair samples from a diverse range of dogs. Each stress parameter was tested against cortisol concentration using a t-Test, i. e., the Paired Two Sample for Means. The effect of weight on cortisol levels was statistically si...
Effects of Canines on Humans' Physiological and Perceived Stress
2019
Effects of Canines on Humans’ Physiological and Perceived Stress by Beth Bowin MS, Northeastern State University, 2004 BS, Oklahoma State University, 1983 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University August 2019 Abstract The bond between pet and owner has been shown to decrease stress-related physical, mental, and emotional disorders by lowering blood pressure and heart rate. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a nonpet canine would have the same effect in reducing physical symptoms of stress as a known dog. Human–animal bond theory, Human pressor test. Data were analyzed using repeated measures, analyses of variance, and t tests. Results indicated that interaction with a strange dog lowered heart rate and blood pressure significantly faster in the experimental group than in the control group. The positive social change implications of this research include policy and procedural acc...
Physiological stress reactivity and recovery related to behavioral traits in dogs (Canis familiaris)
PLOS ONE, 2019
This study investigated whether stress responsiveness (in one context) can be used to predict dog behavior in daily life. On two occasions (N T1 = 32 puppies; N T2 = 16 young adults), dogs' physiological stress response after a behavioral test at home was measured in terms of reactivity (10 min post-test) and recovery (40 min post-test) for three salivary markers: cortisol, chromogranin A (CgA) and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA). For each marker, it was determined whether dogs with a strong physiological response displayed different behavior in daily life compared to dogs with a weaker physiological response. The results revealed three main findings: first, for CgA and cortisol, different patterns were identified according to sample time. High reactivity related to desirable traits, whereas slow recovery after the behavioral test related to undesirable traits. The findings suggest that increased levels of CgA and cortisol 10 minutes after the behavioral test reflected an adaptive stress response, whereas elevated levels 40 minutes after the test reflected unsuccessful coping. Second, patterns for sIgA differed from CgA and cortisol: significant associations were only found with behavioral traits at T2, mostly considered desirable and related to Trainability. Possibly, the delayed reaction pattern of sIgA caused this difference between markers, as sIgA reflects the (secondary) immune response to stress, due to immunosuppressive effects of cortisol. Third, predictive capacity of puppies' physiological stress response (T1) was inconclusive, and contrary relations were found with behavioral traits at T2, suggesting that developmental factors play an important role. This study provides new insights about the relation between stress physiology and behavioral traits, and methodological advice is given to study these patterns further. In conclusion, physiological markers could provide additional insights in dogs' tendencies to display certain behaviors, especially at the young adult stage. Further studies are needed to confirm these patterns.
Exploratory Study of StressBuffering Response Patterns from Interaction with a Therapy Dog
Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 2010
This exploratory study builds on existing research on the physiological stress response to human-animal interactions in a non-clinical sample of adult dog-owners interacting with their own or an unfamiliar therapy dog under similar conditions. Participants were therapy-dog owners (TDO group; n = 5) interacting with their own dogs and dog owners interacting with an unfamiliar therapy dog (AAA group; n = 5). Following a 30minute baseline period, participants completed a stress task followed by a 30-minute dog interaction and then watched a neutral video for 60 minutes. The outcome variable of interest was the bio-behavioral stress response, measured by systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), heart rate (HR), salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase, and self-report. Trait anxiety and attitudes toward pets were assessed as moderating variables. Results revealed consistent physiological patterns, showing modest increases with the stressor and decreases from baseline following the intervention, for salivary cortisol, SBP, DBP, HR, and self reported anxiety and stress for both groups. In general, although the TDO group tended to perceive less stress and anxiety during the intervention than the AAA group, greater reductions in physiological measures were observed in the AAA group. Positive attitudes toward pets in the total sample of dog owners were associated with decreased levels of self-reported stress (p < 0.05), salivary cortisol, and SBP, while higher levels of trait anxiety were associated with higher levels of salivary cortisol (p < 0.05). In addition, higher levels of trait anxiety were associated with lower levels of autonomic nervous system indicators of stress (HR; SBP, p < 0.05; DBP, p < 0.05). Results support a buffering effect on the stress response associated with owners interacting with their dogs that may extend to interactions with unfamiliar therapy dogs in AAA, and supports the need for replication studies with larger sample sizes.
Physiological State of Therapy Dogs during Animal-Assisted Activities in an Outpatient Setting
Animals
Therapy dogs are increasingly being incorporated into numerous clinical settings. However, there are only a handful of studies that have focused on the impact of animal-assisted activity or therapy sessions on the wellbeing of the therapy dogs. Furthermore, these studies show mixed results. The goal of this study was to provide an in-depth picture of the effects of these interactions on the dogs involved by considering multiple physiological measures known to be associated with emotional state (continuous heart rate, heart rate variability, pre- and post-session tympanic membrane temperatures, and salivary cortisol and oxytocin concentrations). Nineteen Mayo Clinic Caring Canine therapy dogs completed five 20-minute animal-assisted activity (AAA) visits each in an outpatient clinical setting (Mayo Clinic Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Clinic). From a physiological perspective, the dogs showed a neutral to positive response to the AAA sessions. Heart rate (HR) was significantly low...