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Isparta S, Töre-Yargın G, Wagner SC, Mundorf A, Cinar Kul B, Da Graça Pereira G, Güntürkün O, Ocklenburg S, Freund N, Salgirli Demirbas Y. Measuring paw preferences in dogs, cats and rats: Design requirements and innovations in methodology. Laterality 2024:1-37. [PMID: 38669348 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2024.2341459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Studying behavioural lateralization in animals holds great potential for answering important questions in laterality research and clinical neuroscience. However, comparative research encounters challenges in reliability and validity, requiring new approaches and innovative designs to overcome. Although validated tests exist for some species, there is yet no standard test to compare lateralized manual behaviours between individuals, populations, and animal species. One of the main reasons is that different fine-motor abilities and postures must be considered for each species. Given that pawedness/handedness is a universal marker for behavioural lateralization across species, this article focuses on three commonly investigated species in laterality research: dogs, cats, and rats. We will present six apparatuses (two for dogs, three for cats, and one for rats) that enable an accurate assessment of paw preference. Design requirements and specifications such as zoometric fit for different body sizes and ages, reliability, robustness of the material, maintenance during and after testing, and animal welfare are extremely important when designing a new apparatus. Given that the study of behavioural lateralization yields crucial insights into animal welfare, laterality research, and clinical neuroscience, we aim to provide a solution to these challenges by presenting design requirements and innovations in methodology across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sevim Isparta
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
- Division of Experimental and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Gülşen Töre-Yargın
- Brunel Design School College of Engineering Design & Physical Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
- METU/BILTIR-UTEST Product Usability Unit, Department of Industrial Design, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Selina C Wagner
- Division of Experimental and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Annakarina Mundorf
- Institute for Systems Medicine and Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Bengi Cinar Kul
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Goncalo Da Graça Pereira
- Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CiiEM), Egas Moniz School of Health & Science, Almada, Portugal
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Research Center One Health Ruhr, Research Alliance Ruhr, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- ICAN Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nadja Freund
- Division of Experimental and Molecular Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Preventive Medicine, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Boonhoh W, Wongtawan T, Sriphavatsarakom P, Waran N, Chiawwit P, Tanthanathipchai N, Suttidate N. Effect of feeding toy and the presence of a dog owner during the feeding time on dog welfare. Vet World 2023; 16:1721-1726. [PMID: 37766708 PMCID: PMC10521181 DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1721-1726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and Aim A conventional feeding bowl is the primary method that dog owners use to feed their dogs, but this may not encourage natural behaviors and may even exacerbate unwanted behaviors. This study aimed to compare a conventional feeding bowl to a feeding toy in relation to behavior, cortisol levels, and heart rate variability (HRV). Materials and Methods The behaviors of four dogs were recorded and analyzed while being fed using either a stainless bowl (B) or a feeding toy (T) and either alone (A) or accompanied by a dog owner (O) for 30 min with each treatment (BA, BO, TA, and TO treatments). The dogs that were fed alone with the stainless bowl (BC) or the feeding toy (TC) were fed for 15 min/day for 7 days with their treatment, and serum cortisol levels measured on the first and last days of treatment. The dogs fed by the stainless bowl (BH) or the feeding toy (TH) with the owner present for 15 min for each treatment had their heart rate (HR) and HRV recorded by Polar® H10 during feedings The results were compared using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), repeated measure ANOVA, and Student's t-test. Results The dogs spent more time eating and interacting with the feeding toys than stainless bowls. The activity of the dogs was higher when using feeding toys, particularly with the TO treatment. Cortisol levels were significantly lower on day 7 than on day 1 of the TC treatment. The dogs' HR was higher during TH treatment than during BH treatment. All HRV parameters were decreased significantly when feeding the dog with the toys. Conclusion The results of this study support the idea that feeding enrichment supports the natural feeding behaviors of dogs as they mimic hunting and playing behaviors. This reduced unwanted behavior, cortisol levels, and HRV, and increased food consumption, eating duration, and active behaviors. The presence of the dog's owner is important because it can enhance feeding and active behaviors, and feeding enrichment can improve the dog's welfare and the dog-human relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Worakan Boonhoh
- College of Graduate Studies, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
- Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
- Center of Excellence in Innovation on Essential Oils and Bioactive Compounds, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
- One Health Research Center, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
| | - Tuempong Wongtawan
- College of Graduate Studies, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
- Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
- One Health Research Center, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
| | - Prarom Sriphavatsarakom
- Department of Preclinic and Applied Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand
| | - Natalie Waran
- Faculty of Education, Humanities and Health Science, Eastern Institute of Technology, Hawke’s Bay, 4142, New Zealand
| | - Phatcharaporn Chiawwit
- Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
| | | | - Naparat Suttidate
- College of Graduate Studies, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
- Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
- One Health Research Center, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, 80160, Thailand
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Novack LI, Schnell-Peskin L, Feuerbacher E, Fernandez EJ. The Science and Social Validity of Companion Animal Welfare: Functionally Defined Parameters in a Multidisciplinary Field. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:1850. [PMID: 37889767 PMCID: PMC10251938 DOI: 10.3390/ani13111850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Social validity refers to the social significance and acceptability of intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes. Animal practitioners, who are often guided by the principles of ABA, lack the benefit of verbal participants (at least with respect to target animals) with which to assess a client's needs and preferences. The study of a learner's welfare is useful for determining areas where intervention is needed or how the learner feels about an intervention that is underway. Three tenets of animal welfare measurement include physiological function, naturalistic behavior, and affect, where affect refers to private events, including emotions, which are a function of the same variables and contingencies responsible for controlling public behavior. The development of new technologies allows us to look "under the skin" and account for subjective experiences that can now be observed objectively. We introduce the reader to tools available from the animal welfare sciences for the objective measurement of social validity from the learner's perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren I. Novack
- Department of Special Education, Hunter College, New York, NY 10022, USA;
| | | | - Erica Feuerbacher
- Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA;
| | - Eduardo J. Fernandez
- School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia;
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Salgirli Demirbas Y, Isparta S, Saral B, Keskin Yılmaz N, Adıay D, Matsui H, Töre-Yargın G, Musa SA, Atilgan D, Öztürk H, Kul BC, Şafak CE, Ocklenburg S, Güntürkün O. Acute and chronic stress alter behavioral laterality in dogs. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4092. [PMID: 36906713 PMCID: PMC10008577 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31213-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Dogs are one of the key animal species in investigating the biological mechanisms of behavioral laterality. Cerebral asymmetries are assumed to be influenced by stress, but this subject has not yet been studied in dogs. This study aims to investigate the effect of stress on laterality in dogs by using two different motor laterality tests: the Kong™ Test and a Food-Reaching Test (FRT). Motor laterality of chronically stressed (n = 28) and emotionally/physically healthy dogs (n = 32) were determined in two different environments, i.e., a home environment and a stressful open field test (OFT) environment. Physiological parameters including salivary cortisol, respiratory rate, and heart rate were measured for each dog, under both conditions. Cortisol results showed that acute stress induction by OFT was successful. A shift towards ambilaterality was detected in dogs after acute stress. Results also showed a significantly lower absolute laterality index in the chronically stressed dogs. Moreover, the direction of the first paw used in FRT was a good predictor of the general paw preference of an animal. Overall, these results provide evidence that both acute and chronic stress exposure can change behavioral asymmetries in dogs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sevim Isparta
- Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
| | - Begum Saral
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Nevra Keskin Yılmaz
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Deniz Adıay
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Hiroshi Matsui
- Center for Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Gülşen Töre-Yargın
- Department of Industrial Design, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Saad Adam Musa
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Durmus Atilgan
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Hakan Öztürk
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Bengi Cinar Kul
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - C Etkin Şafak
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- ICAN Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Biopsychology, Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Marcato M, Kenny J, O’Riordan R, O’Mahony C, O’Flynn B, Galvin P. Assistance dog selection and performance assessment methods using behavioural and physiological tools and devices. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Limb Preference in Animals: New Insights into the Evolution of Manual Laterality in Hominids. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14010096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Until the 1990s, the notion of brain lateralization—the division of labor between the two hemispheres—and its more visible behavioral manifestation, handedness, remained fiercely defined as a human specific trait. Since then, many studies have evidenced lateralized functions in a wide range of species, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In this review, we highlight the great contribution of comparative research to the understanding of human handedness’ evolutionary and developmental pathways, by distinguishing animal forelimb asymmetries for functionally different actions—i.e., potentially depending on different hemispheric specializations. Firstly, lateralization for the manipulation of inanimate objects has been associated with genetic and ontogenetic factors, with specific brain regions’ activity, and with morphological limb specializations. These could have emerged under selective pressures notably related to the animal locomotion and social styles. Secondly, lateralization for actions directed to living targets (to self or conspecifics) seems to be in relationship with the brain lateralization for emotion processing. Thirdly, findings on primates’ hand preferences for communicative gestures accounts for a link between gestural laterality and a left-hemispheric specialization for intentional communication and language. Throughout this review, we highlight the value of functional neuroimaging and developmental approaches to shed light on the mechanisms underlying human handedness.
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Highlights of published papers in applied Animal Behaviour Science in 2021. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Bray EE, Otto CM, Udell MAR, Hall NJ, Johnston AM, MacLean EL. Enhancing the Selection and Performance of Working Dogs. Front Vet Sci 2021; 8:644431. [PMID: 34055947 PMCID: PMC8149746 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.644431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Dogs perform a variety of integral roles in our society, engaging in work ranging from assistance (e.g., service dogs, guide dogs) and therapy to detection (e.g., search-and-rescue dogs, explosive detection dogs) and protection (e.g., military and law enforcement dogs). However, success in these roles, which requires dogs to meet challenging behavioral criteria and to undergo extensive training, is far from guaranteed. Therefore, enhancing the selection process is critical for the effectiveness and efficiency of working dog programs and has the potential to optimize how resources are invested in these programs, increase the number of available working dogs, and improve working dog welfare. In this paper, we review two main approaches for achieving this goal: (1) developing selection tests and criteria that can efficiently and effectively identify ideal candidates from the overall pool of candidate dogs, and (2) developing approaches to enhance performance, both at the individual and population level, via improvements in rearing, training, and breeding. We summarize key findings from the empirical literature regarding best practices for assessing, selecting, and improving working dogs, and conclude with future steps and recommendations for working dog organizations, breeders, trainers, and researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily E Bray
- Arizona Canine Cognition Center, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.,Canine Companions for Independence, National Headquarters, Santa Rosa, CA, United States
| | - Cynthia M Otto
- Penn Vet Working Dog Center, Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Monique A R Udell
- Human-Animal Interaction Laboratory, Department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
| | - Nathaniel J Hall
- Canine Olfaction Lab, Department of Animal and Food Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States
| | - Angie M Johnston
- Boston College Canine Cognition Center, Psychology and Neuroscience Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States
| | - Evan L MacLean
- Arizona Canine Cognition Center, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.,Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.,Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.,College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
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