Exploring and Developing the Questions Used to Measure the Human-Dog Bond: New and Existing Themes.

Dogs play an important role in many western societies, providing companionship, emotional support, and assistance, as well as other more specialist roles. The literature reveals that many human-animal interaction (HAI) questionnaires exist to measure the human-dog bond (HDB). The first part of this study assessed how far existing questionnaires went in measuring HDB (defined as the unique, dynamic and reciprocated relationship between a person and dog, one in which each member can influence the other's psychological and physiological state). A systematic literature review revealed that a common limitation in HDB questionnaires was a lack of questions based on the dog's investment in the bond and, therefore, a failure to measure the two-way characteristic of the HDB. This led to the second part of the study: to identify novel themes relating to dog investment in the HDB from which new tool questions could be developed. This was investigated qualitatively using twelve semi-structured interviews on HDB, undertaken with participants from a variety of dog-guardian relationship types. HDB themes that emerged included 'adaptation', 'understanding of a dog's preferences, likes, and dislikes', and 'affirmation'. Subthemes included 'boundaries' and 'expectations' (within adaptation), 'excitement', 'proximity', 'affection', and 'recall' (within affirmation). The themes that arose provide a foundation from which to build new lines of questioning within HDB tools. Such questioning can better represent a dog's investment in the HDB and, therefore, help create tools that reflect the reciprocal nature of a bond more accurately.

Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Dog Behaviour: Pilot Study.

Environmental enrichment (EE) can be used to enhance the environment of various animals. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of seven EE activities (Bonding, Bubble machine, Conspecific play, Interactive toy, Playhouse, Stuffed food toy and Tug play) on dog behaviour, pre- and post-EE for dogs housed in an office environment during training as part of an assistance dog training programme. EE activities resulted in a significant increase in the frequency of relaxation behaviours (p < 0.01) and a significant reduction in alert (p < 0.01) and stress behaviours (p = 0.02). Results suggest various benefits of the different activities with Conspecific Play and Playhouse activities having the greatest overall positive behaviour change when compared to the other activities. The food-based EE activities (Interactive toy and Stuffed food toy) had the least behaviour change of all the activities provided. Findings will be of interest to pet owners, animal rescue centres, dog trainers and working dog organisations.

Concurrent and Predictive Criterion Validity of a Puppy Behaviour Questionnaire for Predicting Training Outcome in Juvenile Guide Dogs.

Working dog organisations regularly assess the behaviour of puppies to monitor progression. Here, we tested the predictive validity (for predicting success in guide dog training) of a shortened version of a previously developed juvenile dog behaviour questionnaire (the refined puppy walker questionnaire, r-PWQ) and compared it with the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). The r-PWQ is used by Guide Dogs UK, whereas the C-BARQ was designed for pet dogs and is used by some other guide dog schools internationally. A cohort of dogs aged eight months (n = 359) were scored concurrently on the r-PWQ and C-BARQ. Analogous traits between the questionnaires were evaluated for internal consistency and association with training outcome and compared for concurrent validity. The r-PWQ was associated with training outcome for five scales (r-Excitability, Trainability, Animal Chase, r-Attachment and attention seeking and Distractibility) and the C-BARQ for two scales (Excitability and Separation-related behaviour). There were significant correlations between analogous C-BARQ and r-PWQ trait scores (p < 0.001) except for Separation-related behaviour and questionnaire scales had similar internal consistencies. The r-PWQ may be more suitable to use with guide dog schools. However, due to the correlation between analogous scales (except for "Distractibility") some scales could be substituted for one another when reviewing the behaviour of dogs between guide dog schools using different questionnaires.

Prevalence of ultrasound-determined cystic endometrial hyperplasia and the relationship with age in dogs.

To investigate the potential relationship between age and diagnosis of cystic endometrial hyperplasia (CEH) in the bitches, 348 ultrasound examinations from 240 bitches (Labradors, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Flat Coated Retrievers, or crosses of those breeds aged between 1.6 and 7.2 years at examination) were examined. A subpopulation of 32 bitches that had completed their breeding careers at 6 years or more of age was also identified. Of all, 18.3% of the bitches were diagnosed with CEH; these cases were newly diagnosed when bitches were between 2.5 years and 7.3 years of age. The proportion of ultrasound examinations in which CEH was identified increased from 6.8% of examinations on 2-year-old breeding bitches to 60.0% of examinations on 6-year-old bitches. Logistic regression identified a positive correlation between mean age at the examination and presence of CEH (χ(2) = 30.74, degrees of freedom = 1, P < 0.001). For 32 bitches that had completed their breeding career, the prevalence of CEH was 56.3%, age at the diagnosis ranged from 3.8 to 7.3 years, and the proportion of bitches affected with CEH increased from 6.3% at 3 years of age to 56.3% at 7 years of age. These data support the contention that the prevalence of CEH increases with age.

Mother knows best: dominant females determine offspring dispersal in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

BACKGROUND: Relatedness between group members is central to understanding the causes of animal dispersal. In many group-living mammals this can be complicated as extra-pair copulations result in offspring having varying levels of relatedness to the dominant animals, leading to a potential conflict between male and female dominants over offspring dispersal strategies. To avoid resource competition and inbreeding, dominant males might be expected to evict unrelated males and related females, whereas the reverse strategy would be expected for dominant females. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used microsatellites and long-term data from an urban fox (Vulpes vulpes) population to compare dispersal strategies between offspring with intra- and extra-group fathers and mothers of differing social status in red foxes. Relatedness to the dominant male had no effect on dispersal in offspring of either sex, whereas there was a strong effect of relatedness to resident females on offspring dispersal independent of population density. Males with dominant mothers dispersed significantly more often than males with subordinate mothers, whereas dispersing females were significantly more likely to have subordinate mothers compared to philopatric females. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study to demonstrate that relatedness to resident females is important in juvenile dispersal in group-living mammals. Male dispersal may be driven by inbreeding avoidance, whereas female dispersal appears to be influenced by the fitness advantages associated with residing with the same-sex dominant parent. Selection pressure for paternal influence on offspring dispersal is low due to the limited costs associated with retaining unrelated males and the need for alternative inbreeding avoidance mechanisms between the dominant male and his female offspring. These findings have important implications for the evolution of dispersal and group living in social mammals, and our understanding of a key biological process.