Dog

Effects of olfactory and auditory enrichment on the behaviour of shelter dogs

Shelter environments are stressful for dogs, as they must cope with many stimuli over which they have little control. This can lead to behavioural changes, negatively affect their welfare and downgrade the human‐animal bond, affecting re-homing success. Arousal is evident...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Amaya, V., Paterson, M. B. A., Phillips, C. J. C. 2020. Effects of olfactory and auditory enrichment on the behaviour of shelter dogs. Animals 10(4), 581.

Human proximity seeking in family pigs and dogs

Family dogs (Canis familiaris) seek human contact from an early age, can discriminate and prefer their caregivers over other humans. To investigate if being kept as a family animal is sufficient to induce similar early human proximity-seeking in another domestic...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Dog, Pig

Citation: Pérez Fraga, P., Gerencsér, L., Andics, A. 2020. Human proximity seeking in family pigs and dogs. Scientific Reports 10(1), 20883.

It’s Okay to Cry – Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows the international animal care community...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Animal Training, Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Drug/Substance Administration, Environmental Enrichment, External Bodily Equipment, Housing, Human-Animal Interaction, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Cat, Chinchilla, Dog, Ferret, Guinea Pig, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Musical dogs: A review of the influence of auditory enrichment on canine health and behavior

Music therapy yields many positive health outcomes in humans, but the effects of music on the health and welfare of nonhuman animals vary greatly with the type of music played, the ethology of the species, and the personality and learning...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Lindig, A., McGreevy, P., Crean, A. 2020. Musical dogs: A review of the influence of auditory enrichment on canine health and behavior. Animals 10(1), 127.

Non-contact vital signs monitoring of dog and cat using a UWB radar

As pets are considered members of the family, their health has received widespread attention. Since pets cannot talk and complain when they feel uncomfortable, monitoring vital signs becomes very helpful in disease detection, as well as observing their progression and...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, External Bodily Equipment, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat, Dog

Citation: Wang, P., Ma, Y., Liang, F. et al. 2020. Non-contact vital signs monitoring of dog and cat using a UWB radar. Animals 10(2), 205.

Pain and problem behavior in cats and dogs

We argue that there is currently an under-reporting of the ways in which pain can be associated with problem behavior, which is seriously limiting the recognition of this welfare problem. A review of the caseloads of 100 recent dog cases...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat, Dog

Citation: Mills, D., Demontigny-Bédard, I., Gruen, M. et al. 2020. Pain and problem behavior in cats and dogs. Animals 10(2), 318.

Psychological stress, its reduction, and long-term consequences: What studies with laboratory animals might teach us about life in the dog shelter

There is a long history of laboratory studies of the physiological and behavioral effects of stress, its reduction, and the later psychological and behavioral consequences of unmitigated stress responses. Many of the stressors employed in these studies approximate the experience...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Hennessy, M. B., Willen, R. M., Schiml, P. A. 2020. Psychological stress, its reduction, and long-term consequences: What studies with laboratory animals might teach us about life in the dog shelter. Animals 10(11), 2061.

An adapted Qualitative Behavioural Assessment of dogs’ facial expressions of fear and frustration

Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) involves the quantification of people’s holistic interpretations of the style and quality of movement and has been used to assess the emotional states of many species, including dogs. Faces are a rich source of emotional expression,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Wilson, B. M., Correia-Caeiro, C., Mills, D. S. 2025. An adapted Qualitative Behavioural Assessment of dogs’ facial expressions of fear and frustration. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 292, 106828.

Advancing canine welfare assessment in kennels: Evaluating the validity of Field Instantaneous Dog Observation (FIDO) scoring in commercial breeding kennels

Accurate assessment of social fear in dogs housed in commercial breeding kennels is necessary to inform their behavioral management, including interventions needed to support their welfare. The Field Instantaneous Dog Observation (FIDO) tool, which was developed to quickly identify areas...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Mugenda, L., Shreyer, T., Croney, C. 2025. Advancing canine welfare assessment in kennels: Evaluating the validity of Field Instantaneous Dog Observation (FIDO) scoring in commercial breeding kennels. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 292, 106770.

The effects of music designed for canine and human relaxation on short-term stress in dogs

Auditory stimuli such as music can be an inexpensive and accessible option to help relieve stress for pet dogs. In some studies, classical music has been shown to have a stress-relieving effect on dogs experiencing a long-term stressor. However, the...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Beecy, S. J., Dowling-Guyer, S., Patel, A. D. et al. 2025. The effects of music designed for canine and human relaxation on short-term stress in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 292, 106766.