Companion Animal Psychology

A survey of homeless youth finds that pets bring benefits – and difficulties. Photo: Brad Steels/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. 23% of homeless youth have pets, according to research by Harmony Rhoades et al ( University of Southern California ). The team surveyed 398 homeless youth at two drop-in centres in Los Angeles. While previous studies have shown that pets can be very important to homeless young people , this is the first quantitative study to look at pet ownership, mental health, and the use of services amongst this group. 88% of the young people in the study had attended the drop-in for food during the previous month. Other services they had used included clothes (69%), job help (52%), housing (49%) and health services (47%). Of those with pets, dogs were most common (53%) followed by cats (22%). Other pets included a hamster, rat, chinchilla an

Testing behaviour in the shelter is tricky, but most people who adopt a dog would do so again.  Photo: Julia Siomuha/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Animal shelters often assess the behaviour of dogs before rehoming them, but because the tests are not always scientifically validated, Mornement et al (2014) developed the B.A.R.K. protocol . Results of the B.A.R.K. on 74 shelter dogs successfully predicted in-home ratings for fear and friendliness after the dogs had been adopted, but not anxiety, activity level or compliance. A follow-up paper by Kate Mornement ( Monash University ; Pets Behaving Badly ) et al takes a closer look at how the shelter assessment compares to new owners’ ratings about four months after adoption. First, the good news. All the new owners said their dog was part of the family, 96% said their new dog adapted to their home well or v

Research shows the challenges of assessing behaviour in shelter dogs. Kellymmiller73 (Shutterstock.com) By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. We know our pets well. My dog Bodger is bouncy and friendly; he sits to be patted, then jumps up with a surreptitious kiss; he likes zucchini and hates thunder. We form these observations through time spent with our dogs. But at animal shelters it’s not so easy. How do you assess the temperament of a dog you’ve only just met? Research by Kate Mornement ( Monash University ; Pets Behaving Badly ) et al investigates this problem. Many shelters in Australia (and elsewhere) use assessments that are not scientifically validated, so the team set out to develop and assess a new test of canine behaviour. Such tests are often used to make decisions about whether or not dogs are adoptable, but the results show they may not be as useful as people

New research shows listening to audiobooks can help dogs waiting for adoption. Photo: Janis Maleckis (shutterstock.com) By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Imagine how it must feel to be a dog at a shelter, taken from your normal environment for reasons you don’t understand, with unfamiliar smells and noises, including other dogs barking. Could the sounds of music or a person reading help? A new study by Clarissa Brayley and Tamara Montrose ( Hartpury Animal Behaviour College ) tests audiobooks and music to see if they calm the dogs, and finds beneficial results from audiobooks.   The study compared an audiobook – specifically Michael York reading C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – to classical music ( The Best of Beethoven ), pop music ( Now 88 ), specially-designed dog music ( Through a Dog’s Ear ), and a control condition of no added sound.   “Shelters fr

Scots and Canadians have the chance to support controls on electronic collars. Rohappy (Shutterstock.com) By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Electronic collars for dogs and cats are already banned in many jurisdictions (including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland , Wales , Quebec , and parts of Australia ). Now, people in Scotland and Canada have the chance to let their governments know how they feel. Please support these campaigns to ban shock collars by taking part and sharing with friends and family. The Scottish Government consultation, “ potential controls or prohibition of electronic training aids in Scotland ”, is open for comment until 29 th January 2016. The website says, “This consultation seeks views on whether some or all electronic training aids should be subject to tighter controls in Scotland or whether they should be ban

By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Happy New Year! Good health and happiness to all our readers in 2016. These were the top posts of 2015. Which were your favourite? And what would you like to see covered here in 2016? 1. Different dog breeds, different sensitive period? A study of three breeds finds differences in the sensitive period, and shows socialization should begin before you even take your puppy home. - See more at: http://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2015/04/different-dog-breeds-different.html#sthash.yaKUk2kL.dpuf A study of three breeds finds differences in the sensitive period, and shows socialization should begin before you even take your puppy home. 2. Re-arranging metaphors for dogs The problems with the wolf pack metaphor go deeper than you think. 3. What do young children learn from pets? Is a better understan

Pavel Sepi/Shutterstock Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year to all our readers from Companion Animal Psychology. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy . She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, writes The Pawsitive Post premium newsletter, and also has a column at Psychology Today . Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and two cats.  Useful links: Companion Animal Psychology merch   Companion Animal Psychology's Amazon store As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an Etsy affiliate and Marks and Spencer affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.