Companion Animal Psychology

Photo: Mila Atkovska / Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD A big thank you to all of our readers! We wish you a very happy and healthy 2014!! The most popular posts of the year were: 1. Are Young Children More Interested in Animals Than Toys? A set of three studies by Vanessa LoBue et al looked at young children in a naturalistic play environment in which they could choose to interact with animals or toys. 2. The End for Shock Collars? Research funded by Defra in the UK found that electronic collars do not work better than positive reinforcement training for recall and chasing, and have negative welfare consequences for some dogs, even when used by qualified trainers. In addition, "some end-users either fail to read the instructions, misunderstand or deliberately disregard the advice in the manuals." 3.  How Do Hand-Reared Wolves and Dogs Interact with Humans? The question of how dogs evolved from wolves is complicated, but it is clear there a

Photo: Eric Isselee / Shutterstock Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year  from  Companion Animal Psychology Blog! By Zazie Todd, PhD

A sobering new report shows such tragic attacks are a multi-factorial problem. Dogs should be part of family life. Photo: V.J. Matthew / Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD Cases of humans being killed by dogs are investigated in a new paper by lead author Gary Patronek (Center for Animals and Public Policy, Tufts University).The scientists analyzed dog bite fatalities in the United States from 2000 to 2009, and discovered there are usually multiple contributing factors, many of them preventable. During this time, there was an average of 25.6 dog bite fatalities per year, equivalent to 0.087 fatal bites per one million people per year. To put this in context, it is much less than the risk of being struck by lightning in the United States, which is estimated at 1 in 775,000 people per year.     Previous research has relied on media reports, which may not be entirely accurate or provide the full story. In this study, although the scientists used the media to help identify

Dogs are social creatures, but while some dogs clearly love to visit dog parks, others seem less happy about it. New research investigates whether the dog park is stressful, and what dogs do there. Photo: Gerald Marella / Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD Dog parks are open spaces, usually fenced, where dogs can be off-leash. They are particularly useful in municipalities where leash laws mean there are few spaces for dogs to run free. Researchers at the Memorial University of Newfoundland (Ottenheimer Carrier et al) set out to find out how dogs find the dog park. They recruited owners at a dog park and asked if their dogs could take part.    Eleven dogs took part in the first study, in which saliva samples were collected before and after a walk, before arrival at the dog park, and after being in the dog park for about twenty minutes. Because some samples did not get enough saliva, full results were available for six dogs. The results showed that salivary cortisol levels w

What does a study of attention tell us about the domestication of dogs? By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Theories about the domestication of dogs often say they have evolved to pay more attention to humans than their wolf forebears. But the experimental evidence tends to only look at dogs. A new study by Friederike Range (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna) and Szófia Virányi (Wolf Science Centre) compares the abilities of dogs and hand-reared wolves to utilize observations of human or dog behaviour to find food. Photo: Holly Kuchera / Shutterstock Eleven wolves and fourteen dogs took part in the study. They were hand-reared in similar conditions, and all were taught basic obedience such as sit, down, and how to walk on a leash. They were tested at 4, 5 and 7 months of age. The study took place in a meadow. A dead chick was used as food in the experiment.   Each wol

Do dogs prefer nice people? Researchers look at whether dogs notice who is 'nice' and 'not nice', and how they respond. Photo: Sophie Louise Davis / Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD Several studies suggest that dogs pay attention when humans are nice to someone, and preferentially approach the ‘nice’ rather than ‘not nice’ person. A new study by Esteban Freidin et al investigates dogs’ eavesdropping abilities in the search for further evidence on this ability. Studies of canine eavesdropping typically involve a scenario in which two people have food and another person, playing the role of ‘beggar’, approaches to ask for some. One person gives food to the beggar, while the other refuses. After observing this, dogs are released to see which person they will approach first. In a study by Sarah Marshall-Pescini et al (2011), dogs that observed generous versus selfish donors later chose to approach the generous person. This preference was strongest when both

Research shows that if a scratching post is available, cats will use it. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Scratching is a normal behaviour for a cat, but can be problematic for owners if a cat chooses to scratch the wrong items. A new study by Manuel Mengoli et al in Italy investigates feline scratching behaviour amongst a mixed sample of cats . Photo: Imageman / Shutterstock Cats scratch for a variety of reasons, including communicating with other cats via visible scratch marks and olfactory signals left behind from glands in the plantar pads. It may also keep their claws sharp and healthy. Although scratching is a normal behaviour, it can also be a sign of stress. As the authors say, “the use of scratching as a marking signal is normal in a wide territory, but when it is observed repeatedly inside the house, it is reasonable to conclude that the animal is not feeling safe

Being able to communicate with people is just one of the ways dogs show how clever they are.  By Zazie Todd, PhD In the process of domestication, it seems that dogs have become especially attuned to human communication. Does this mean they can cooperate with a human to solve a problem? And what if they need to cooperate with another dog instead? A study in press by Ostojić and Clayton investigates. Photo: Jim Parkin / Shutterstock The study is based on a “string task” in which two dogs (or a dog and a human) have to pull each end of a string in order to gain access to food that is otherwise out of reach on a platform.  The dogs were trained initially on a task they could solve on their own, because both ends of the string were close enough together. Some dogs opened their mouths very wide to get both ends in at once, while others used their paw to bring the ends closer together to make them fit in their jaw. When they pulled, a treat fell off the platform for them to ea

Photo: Mila Atkovska / Shutterstock Can dogs be trained to alert diabetics when their blood sugar levels fall too low or too high?  By Zazie Todd, PhD . A new study by Nicola Rooney (University of Bristol) et al investigates the success of just such a program. Medical Detection Dogs is a charity in the UK that trains dogs to detect disease. For example, they are investigating whether it is possible to train dogs to help with the early diagnosis of cancer, such as detecting prostate cancer from urine samples. They have bedbug detection dogs, who raise money to support the charity, which is reliant on public donations. And they also have medical alert dogs, trained to alert diabetics when their blood sugar becomes dangerously low. Type 1 diabetes is a serious medical condition in which the pancreas is not able to produce enough insulin. Consequently, there is not enough insulin to get sugar into the cells. The symptoms include increased thirst, hunger, fatigue and blurred

Photo: dezi / Shutterstock Can social psychological theories of stereotypes about people also explain people’s attitudes and stereotypes of different breeds of dog? By Zazie Todd, PhD That’s the fascinating question posed in a new study by Tracey Clarke, Jonathan Cooper and Daniel Mills of the University of Lincoln. Some jurisdictions have breed-specific legislation that bans particular breeds of dog , usually those of pit bull type. This includes the UK, where this study took place. Stories of attacks by this kind of dog also often get significant media attention. One question behind this research is whether people’s beliefs about certain breeds of dog are influenced by stereotypes. The “contact hypothesis” is a well-known and well-tested idea in social psychology. It says that our attitudes towards other groups of people – such as those of a different race to ourselves – are influenced by contact with that group. In particular, if people have positive contact with mem

We know that adults prefer animals with a baby face. Research shows this applies to children too. Photo: Hriana/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD It’s widely known that adults find a baby-face attractive, whether on a human baby or an animal such as a puppy or kitten. There’s a neural basis for this, which makes us want to care for babies and things that resemble them. A new study by Marta Borgi and Francesca Cirulli (2013) asks if young children show the same preference as adults for neoteny in cats and dogs. Several research studies have found that children are attracted to animals. For example, LoBue et al   (2013) found that young children have apreference for live animals over an attractive set of toys . In this study, children spent more time interacting with the animals, and also more time talking about them, than the toys. The new study asked children aged three to six about their preferences for dogs vs puppies, cats vs kittens, and dogs or cats with baby-face fe

The lessons we can learn from a study of homeless cats in Australia. Photo: joyfuldesigns/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD Although there are many un-owned cats , surprisingly little is known about the cats taken in by shelters and rescues. Without this information, it is difficult to design strategies to tackle the problem. A study in the Australian Journal of Veterinary Medicine by Alberthsson et al investigates the source and characteristics of cats admitted to RSPCA shelters in Queensland from July 2006 to June 2008. All eleven RSPCA shelters in Queensland took part. During this time period, a total of 33,736 cats were admitted. Of these, 54% were kittens, defined as three months or under. The source of the cats was defined as brought in by a person, which included owner surrenders and cats that people had found as strays, or brought in by a member of staff. The vast majority (85%) were brought in by the public. The sad outcome is that 65% of the cats were eutha

Photo: Sofya Apkalikova/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD An assessment of how parents behave when an unknown dog is near their child shows much still needs to be done to prevent dog bites in children. Children are at greater risk of dog bites than adults. The Canada Safety Council estimates that 460,000 Canadians are bitten by dogs every year, of whom 75% are children under the age of ten. If bitten, children are more likely than adults to be hospitalized because of their small size and the closeness of their face to a dog’s mouth.  The Blue Dog Project was designed to increase children’s knowledge about dogs and alter the behaviour of both children and their parents. While earlier studies show it successfully increases children’s knowledge, little is known about whether parents are more cautious around dogs as a result. Barbara Morrongiello (University of Guelph, Ontario) et al set out to evaluate its effect on the behaviour of a parent when their child is in the presen