The hierarchical structure of dog personality in a new behavioural assessment: A validation approach

Methods of behavioral testing in dogs: a scoping review and analysis of test stimuli

Background

Behavioral testing is widely used to measure individual differences in behavior and cognition among dogs and predict underlying psychological traits. However, the diverse applications, methodological variability, and lack of standardization in canine behavioral testing has posed challenges for researchers and practitioners seeking to use these tests. To address these complexities, this review sought to synthesize and describe behavioral testing methods by creating a framework that uses a "dog-centric" perspective to categorize the test stimuli used to elicit responses from dogs.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted to identify scientific literature that has reported behavioral testing to assess psychological traits in dogs. Five online databases were systematically searched. Following this, an inductive content analysis was conducted to evaluate and summarize the behavioral testing methods in the literature.

Results

A total of 392 publications met the selection criteria and were included in the analysis, collectively reporting 2,362 behavioral tests. These tests were individually evaluated and categorized. Our content analysis distinguished 29 subcategories of behavioral testing stimuli that have been used, grouped into three major categories: human-oriented stimuli; environmental stimuli; and motivator-oriented stimuli.

Conclusion

Despite the methodological heterogeneity observed across behavioral testing methods, our study identified commonalities in many of the stimuli used in test protocols. The resulting framework provides a practical overview of published behavioral tests and their applications, which may assist researchers in selecting and designing appropriate tests for their purposes.

Street-wise dog testing: Feasibility and reliability of a behavioural test battery for free-ranging dogs in their natural habitat

Behavioural scientists are increasingly recognizing the need to conduct experiments in the wild to achieve a comprehensive understanding of their species' behaviour. For domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), such progress has been slow. While the life in human households is often regarded as dogs' natural habitat, this classification disregards most of the global dog population. The value of experimentally testing free-ranging dogs' cognition and behaviour is increasingly being recognized, but no comprehensive test batteries have been conducted on those populations so far, leaving the feasibility and reliability of such endeavours unknown. This study is the starting point to fill this gap by pioneering and validating an elaborate behavioural test battery on street-living dogs. Therein, six common temperament tests (human-/conspecific-directed sociability, neophobia, tractability) and dog-human communication paradigms (pointing, inaccessible object) were adapted to the street conditions. We evaluated the feasibility of the test battery, the coding reliability of the measures, and investigated their temporal consistency in a retest of the same individuals six weeks later (test-retest reliability). The test battery proved feasible with most dogs participating in all subtests, and it showed satisfactory inter- and intra-rater reliability (0.84 and 0.93 respectively), providing evidence that complex behavioural tests can be conducted even in highly variable street conditions. Retesting revealed that some behaviours could be captured reliably across time, especially when the subtest was particularly engaging (e.g., human approach, point following). In contrast, the low retest reliability for subtests relying on sustained novelty and behaviours that were highly susceptible to disturbances (e.g., gazing) reflects the difficulties of street dog testing, including standardisation in disturbance-prone environments, ecology-dependent adaptation of methods, and intrinsic differences between pet and free-ranging dogs. With some adaptations, this test battery can be valuable in investigating cognition and behavioural profiles in such an understudied population as free-ranging dogs.

Injuries and Associated Factors in Swedish Sporting and Utility Trial Dogs-A Cross-Sectional Study

Canine sporting competitions, e.g., agility, obedience, rally obedience, and utility trials, e.g., protection, tracking, search, and messenger, are physically and mentally demanding disciplines. This study aimed to describe the types and frequencies of injuries experienced amongst Swedish sporting and utility trial dogs and to explore associations between discipline, breed, sex, neuter status, age, and injury history. Dog handlers provided information on competition-level dogs (n = 1582) through a cross-sectional survey. The overall proportion of dogs sustaining any injury during their lifetime, whether it was during competition, training, or outside of sport, was 58.7% (n = 928). Muscular, joint, and dermatologic injuries were most commonly reported and the most common injury locations were the thoracic, lumbar and lumbosacral spine, paw, head, shoulder, and stifle. According to multivariate analysis, Border Collie (adjusted OR 1.93), Belgian Malinois (adjusted OR 2.51) and higher age at the time of report (adjusted OR 1.81-9.67) increased the odds of injury history. Our results provide more understanding of injuries in sporting and utility dogs and contribute to injury prevention strategies that potentially enhance canine welfare.

The Importance of Evaluating Positive Welfare Characteristics and Temperament in Working Therapy Dogs

To date, investigations of the welfare of therapy dogs have focused largely on examining physiological and behavioral measures that could indicate if the animal is experiencing stress or distress. However, this approach does not fully address the definition of welfare which is often described as existing on a continuum from negative (or stressful) to positive. With therapy dogs, it would be worth addressing if they experience positive emotional affect while working since the quality and efficacy of animal-assisted interventions for the human recipient is likely to be influenced by the animal's emotional state during the interaction. The purpose of this review is to articulate how objective measurements of the HPA axis and measurements of behavioral observations and standardized questions can be used to evaluate positive welfare in therapy dogs. A potentially relevant indicator of positive welfare is the peripheral concentration of the neurohormone oxytocin, which has been found to increase in systemic circulation within a variety of species during positive social and affiliative contexts, including during human-dog interaction. Oxytocin is also a negative-feedback regulator of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, which culminates with the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is widely used as a physiological indicator to assess negative welfare states in animals, including therapy dogs. Observable behavior during interactions with humans that may convey enjoyment could provide indicators of positive welfare in dogs such as engagement in play, or human-directed affiliative behaviors including leaning against, nudging, or licking the patient. However, in assessing positive welfare, it is also critical to consider that all animal behavioral displays and physiological responses are dependent on the dog's individual (and breed) temperament. Temperament directly drives how the animal copes and responds to its current physical and social environment, including during stressful situations such as when therapy dogs interact with unfamiliar humans in novel healthcare settings. Coupled with both positive and negative physiological and behavioral welfare indicators, questionnaire data can provide further context to, and enhance interpretations of, therapy dog welfare assessment results. Overall, to date, no studies have measured all of these factors to assess therapy dog welfare.