Psychobiological Factors Affecting Cortisol Variability in Human-Dog Dyads (original) (raw)
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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.
Journal of behavioral medicine, 2014
Limited research has addressed how social support in the form of a pet can affect both sympathetic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal reactivity in response to a psychological challenge. The present study examined the effects of social support on salivary cortisol and heart rate (HR). Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to three different conditions (human friend, novel dog, or control). All participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test and provided cortisol, HR, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory measures. For participants paired with a dog, overall cortisol levels were attenuated throughout the experimental procedure, and HR was attenuated during the Trier Social Stress Test. For all groups, state anxiety increased after the Trier Social Stress Test, and HR during the Trier Social Stress Test was a predictor of cortisol. These results suggest that short-term exposure to a novel dog in an unfamiliar setting can be beneficial. They also suggest a possible mechanism ...
Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners
Scientific Reports
This study reveals, for the first time, an interspecific synchronization in long-term stress levels. Previously, acute stress, has been shown to be highly contagious both among humans and between individuals of other species. Here, long-term stress synchronization in dogs and their owners was investigated. We studied 58 dog-human dyads and analyzed their hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) at two separate occasions, reflecting levels during previous summer and winter months. The personality traits of both dogs and their owners were determined through owner-completed Dog Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) and human Big Five Inventory (BFI) surveys. In addition, the dogs’ activity levels were continuously monitored with a remote cloud-based activity collar for one week. Shetland sheepdogs (N = 33) and border collies (N = 25), balanced for sex, participated, and both pet dogs and actively competing dogs (agility and obedience) were included to represent different lifestyles. The results sh...
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2014
The effect of animal-assisted activities (AAA) on the animal participants has been minimally investigated, and the welfare of these animals has been questioned. To enhance our understanding of these animals' welfare, we measured cortisol collected from serial saliva samples of 15 healthy adult dogs registered with an AAA organization. We collected saliva every 30 min before, during, and after a standardized 60-min session across three settings: an AAA session (activity) for college students in the communal area of a residence hall, a novel session located in a novel room without interaction with a stranger, and a home session inside each handler's own home. Each session was videotaped, and specific behaviors during 5-min petting interactions were coded. Salivary cortisol levels were significantly higher in the novel setting (0.397 g/dL) compared to activity (0.257 g/dL) and home (0.213 g/dL) settings at time 30 min (P = 0.01 and P = 0.03, respectively). Dogs exhibited significantly more standing (59% vs 0%, P = 0.008) and ambulating (5.6% vs 0%, P = 0.001) behavior in the activity setting compared to the home at time 30 min, as well. Salivary cortisol level was negatively correlated with panting (P = 0.02) and standing (P = 0.02) at specific time points in the novel and activity settings, respectively. During the 60-min AAA session, salivary cortisol concentration and stress-associated behavior were not statistically different compared to when dogs spent the same amount of time in the home setting, suggesting that they were not distressed when participating in the AAA sessions. The predictability of the environment may be an important consideration when evaluating the effect of AAA on dogs.
Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 2012
The aim of the present study was to explore possible correlations between dog owners' relationships with their dogs, as measured with the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS), and oxytocin and cortisol levels in both the owners and their dogs. Ten female owners of male Labrador Retrievers completed the MDORS. The scores obtained from the single items, subscales, and total score of the MDORS were calculated. Ten blood samples were collected from each dog owner and her dog during a 60-minute interaction. Blood samples were analyzed for oxytocin and cortisol by Enzyme Immuno Assay (EIA) and mean values of oxytocin and cortisol were calculated in both owners and dogs. The MDORS scores obtained were correlated with basal and mean oxytocin and cortisol levels. The correlation analysis revealed some relationships between the scores of items in the MDORS that reflect the character of the dog-owner-relationship and the owners' hormone levels. For example, higher oxytocin levels in the owners were associated with greater frequency in kissing their dogs (r s = 0.864, p = 0.001). Lower cortisol levels in the owners were associated with their perception that it will be more traumatic when their dog dies (r s = -0.730, p = 0.025). The correlation analysis also revealed some relationships between the scores of items in the MDORS and the dogs' hormone levels. For example, greater frequency in owners kissing their dogs was associated with higher oxytocin levels in the dogs (r s = 0.753, p = 0.029). Six items in the subscale Perceived Costs, as well as the subscale itself, correlated significantly with the dogs' oxytocin levels (r s = 0.820, p = 0.007), that is, the lower the perceived cost, the higher the 215 Anthrozoös dogs' oxytocin levels. In addition, significant correlations between the oxytocin levels of the owners and the dogs were demonstrated. Possible mechanisms behind these correlations are discussed. In conclusion, the scores of some items and the subscales of the MDORS correlated with oxytocin, and to a lesser extent cortisol, levels in both the owners and dogs.
2009
The aim of my diploma thesis was to examine whether and how interaction style, relationship, attachment, owner and dog personality and stress coping influence each other. Since all vertebrates share the same basic social brain structures and functions, "truly" social relationships among different vertebrates, e.g. between humans and dogs, are possible. Particularly, the relationship between owner and dog seems to play an important role in modulating hormones. Within our frame stress coping is defined as the amount of behavioural and physiological effort to master challenge situations. Data were collected in three sessions with 22 humans, 10 male and 12 female owners aged 23-68, with their medium to large intact male dogs, 1.5 to 6 years of age. During one session at the owner's home and two in a standard test room, interactions of the owner-dog dyads were observed and video-taped in different challenge situations. Interaction style and performance of the challenges tas...
Scientific Reports, 2016
It is challenging to measure long-term endocrine stress responses in animals. We investigated whether cortisol extracted from dog hair reflected the levels of activity and stress long-term, during weeks and months. Hair samples from in total 59 German shepherds were analysed. Samples for measuring cortisol concentrations were collected at three occasions and we complemented the data with individual scores from the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). Generalised linear mixed model (GLMM) results showed that hair cortisol varied with season and lifestyle: competition dogs had higher levels than companion, and professional working dogs, and levels were higher in January than in May and September. In addition, a positive correlation was found between the cortisol levels and the C-BARQ score for stranger-directed aggression (r = 0.31, P = 0.036). Interestingly, the factor "playing often with the dog" (r = −0.34, P = 0.019) and "reward with a treat/toy when the dog behaves correctly" (r = −0.37, P = 0.010) correlated negatively with cortisol levels, suggesting that positive human interactions reduce stress. In conclusion, hair cortisol is a promising method for revealing the activity of the HPA-axis over a longer period of time, and human interactions influence the cortisol level in dogs.
Human interaction and cortisol: can human contact reduce stress for shelter dogs?
Physiology & behavior, 2006
Animal shelters are an extremely stressful environment for a dog, most specifically due to social isolation and novel surroundings. The stress response of dogs housed in this environment may be alleviated through human interaction shortly after arrival. During their second day in a public animal shelter, adult stray dogs were either engaged in a human contact session or not. The session involved taking the dog into an outdoor enclosure, playing with the dog, grooming, petting and reviewing basic obedience commands. Each dog interacted with a human for approximately 45 min. Salivary cortisol levels were examined from each dog on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 9th day of housing. Animals that engaged in a human contact session had lower cortisol levels on day 3 than animals that did not. Breed type, sex and age did not have an effect on cortisol levels on any day measured. A human interaction session can be beneficial to both animal welfare and adoption procedures. The current study not only...
Hormones and Behavior, 2008
It has been shown that cortisol concentrations change characteristically in the course of agonistic interactions; our aim was to find out how a playful situation may affect concentrations of this hormone in the saliva. We studied dogs' behavior and the changes of cortisol concentrations in a play situation, where the dogs played with their handler for 3 min with a tug toy. In this experiment working dogs were divided into two groups by the type of their work, namely police dogs and border guard dogs. We found that the cortisol concentrations of old police dogs significantly increased, while the adult border guard dogs' hormone levels decreased, which shows that playing with the handler has an effect on both groups, but interestingly this effect was opposite. Behavior analysis showed differences only in the behavior of the human handlers during the play sessions, while the behavior analysis did not reveal significant differences in the two groups of dogs, except that old border guard dogs generally needed more time to begin playing than old police dogs. During the play sessions police officers were mainly disciplining their dogs, while the border guards were truly playing with them (including affiliative and affectionate behavior). Our results are in accordance with those of recent studies, which show that behaviors associated with control, authority or aggression increase cortisol concentrations, while play and affiliative behavior decrease cortisol levels.
Long-term stress in dogs is related to the human–dog relationship and personality traits
Scientific Reports, 2021
Previously, we found that dogs belonging to the herding breed group, selected for human cooperation, synchronise their long-term stress levels with their owners. The aim of the current study was to investigate features that could influence long-term stress levels in ancient dog breeds, genetically closer to wolves, and dogs specifically selected to work independently of their owner. Twenty-four ancient breed dogs and 18 solitary hunting dogs were recruited and hair samples were obtained from both dogs and owners from which hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was analysed. Additionally, the owners completed lifestyle surveys, the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale (MDORS) on human–dog relationship, and both dog and owner personality questionnaires (Dog Personality questionnaire and Big Five Inventory survey). The results from the MDORS indicate that the subscale Perceived cost correlated to the dog HCC of tested breed groups: solitary hunting breeds (χ2 = 4.95, P = 0.026, β = 0.055), ...