Paws to Care: Implementation of a Novel Medical Dog Office Hours Program to Foster Pediatric Health Care Staff Resilience and Joy

Burnout and resiliency are significant challenges among health care workers. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has shown to improve patient-level outcomes; however, AAT research involving hospital staff is limited. Our novel Medical Dog ("MD") Office Hours Program aimed to provide support to pediatric hospital staff and explore the program's impact on burnout. Participant surveys described work role and years of experience, well-being, and emotional/physical descriptions and symptoms. Of 149 participants, 85% endorsed baseline distress/burnout; nearly half had at-risk Well-Being Index scores. Compared with baseline, postintervention participants endorsed significantly fewer negative (more positive) emotions; greater feelings of comfort and energy; and decreased tiredness and pain (P < .0001). Readiness to return to work scores were high (M = 78.1, SD = 18.4). Our Medical Dog ("MD") Office Hours Program resulted in improvements in emotional descriptions and physical symptoms among pediatric health care staff. Leveraging AAT among health care staff may help mitigate burnout and increase resiliency.

Shared reproductive disruption, not neural crest or tameness, explains the domestication syndrome

Altered neural crest cell (NCC) behaviour is an increasingly cited explanation for the domestication syndrome in animals. However, recent authors have questioned this explanation, while others cast doubt on whether domestication syndrome even exists. Here, we review published literature concerning this syndrome and the NCC hypothesis, together with recent critiques of both. We synthesize these contributions and propose a novel interpretation, arguing shared trait changes under ancient domestication resulted primarily from shared disruption of wild reproductive regimes. We detail four primary selective pathways for 'reproductive disruption' under domestication and contrast these succinct and demonstrable mechanisms with cryptic genetic associations posited by the NCC hypothesis. In support of our perspective, we illustrate numerous important ways in which NCCs contribute to vertebrate reproductive phenotypes, and argue it is not surprising that features derived from these cells would be coincidentally altered under major selective regime changes, as occur in domestication. We then illustrate several pertinent examples of Darwin's 'unconscious selection' in action, and compare applied selection and phenotypic responses in each case. Lastly, we explore the ramifications of reproductive disruption for wider evolutionary discourse, including links to wild 'self-domestication' and 'island effect', and discuss outstanding questions.

Serum Oxytocin, Cortisol and Social Behavior in Calves: A Study in the Impossible Task Paradigm

In this study, we explored the correlations between circulating levels of oxytocin, cortisol, and different social behaviors toward humans in 26 Italian Red Pied calves (all females, with an average age of 174 ± 24 days) using the impossible task paradigm. This paradigm has proved fruitful in highlighting the effect of socialization on the willingness to interact with humans in several domesticated species. The test consists of the violation of an expectation (recovering food from an experimental apparatus) while a caregiver and a stranger are present. Immediately after the end of the test (less than one minute), blood was collected from the coccygeal vein. Statistics were performed by the Spearman's rank correlation; significant differences were adjusted according to Bonferroni's correction. Cortisol correlates positively (ρ = 0.565; p < 0.05) with the latency of behaviors directed at the caregiver, and the duration of behaviors directed at the apparatus correlates negatively with both the caregiver (ρ = -0.654; p < 0.05) and a stranger (ρ = -0.644; p < 0.05). Contrary to what is reported in the literature on cows, no correlations were found between oxytocin levels and direct behaviors toward the caregiver. This highlights a different behavioral strategy between calves and cows when placed in front of an impossible task.

'They ask no questions and pass no criticism': A mixed-methods study exploring pet ownership in autism

Many autistic people cite a strong attachment to animals, and some studies suggest they may even show a bias towards animals over people. This mixed-methods study explored companion animal attachment in the adult autistic community. In a quantitative study with 735 people, we found that autistic adults were equally attached to their pets as neurotypicals but were less likely to own them, even though pet ownership corresponded with better mental health outcomes. Substituting pets for people also served as a compensatory mechanism for social contact in the autistic sample. In a second qualitative study, we explored the lived experiences of 16 autistic pet owners. The interpretive phenomenological analysis highlighted the benefits and the barriers to animal companionship. Together these mixed methods findings underline how pets improve the lives of their autistic owners. We conclude with specific recommendations for increasing animal companionship opportunities for autistic adults.

Serum Oxytocin in Cows Is Positively Correlated with Caregiver Interactions in the Impossible Task Paradigm

Simple Summary

A possible relationship between circulating hormones (e.g., oxytocin and cortisol) and social behaviors toward humans in cows was studied using the impossible task paradigm test. Serum oxytocin levels correlated positively with the duration and negatively correlated with the latency of the cows’ social interactions with the caregiver. The implications of these findings for productivity as well as for animal welfare can be numerous and worth further investigation.

Abstract

This study explored a possible relationship between the circulating oxytocin, cortisol, and the willingness of dairy cows to engage in social behaviors with humans in an experimental context. The behaviors of twenty-nine cows were recorded during the impossible task paradigm, a procedure aimed at creating a violation of expectancy, in the presence of the caregiver and a stranger. The results showed that serum oxytocin levels were positively correlated with duration and negatively correlated with the latency of the cows’ social interactions with the caregiver. This research provides a clear correlation between circulating oxytocin and a willingness to engage in social contact with the caregiver, excluding the possible effect of different cortisol levels on such behavior.

Endocrine changes related to dog domestication: Comparing urinary cortisol and oxytocin in hand-raised, pack-living dogs and wolves

Dogs are exceptionally well adapted to life close to humans, and alterations in their endocrine system during the domestication process may be an underlying mechanism. In particular, it has been suggested that low circulating cortisol concentrations in conjunction with simultaneously high oxytocin concentrations may have resulted in dogs' increased docility ('selection for tameness' hypothesis) and heightened propensity to interact and form relationships with humans ('hypersociability' hypothesis) compared to wolves. To investigate this, we analyzed cortisol and oxytocin metabolite concentrations from urine samples of hand-raised, pack-living domestic dogs and their non-domestic relatives, grey wolves. Based on the hypotheses outlined above, we predicted lower cortisol but higher oxytocin concentrations in dogs than wolves. In contrast to our prediction, we found higher cortisol concentrations in dogs than wolves. However, oxytocin concentrations were higher in dogs compared to wolves although the effect was relatively small. Indeed, male dogs had the highest oxytocin concentrations while female dogs' oxytocin concentrations were comparable to wolves'. Feeding status, reproductive phase, and conspecific social interactions also significantly affected cortisol and oxytocin concentrations. Furthermore, we compared two methods of correcting for variable water content of urine samples. We discuss our results in light of physiological and behavioral changes during domestication and highlight the importance of accounting for confounding variables in future studies.

Dilemmas for Natural Living Concepts of Zoo Animal Welfare

This ethical discourse specifically deals with dilemmas encountered within zoological institutions, namely for the concept of natural living, and a new term-wilding. It is agreed by some that zoos are not ethically wrong in principle, but there are currently some contradictions and ethical concerns for zoos in practice. Natural living is a complicated concept, facing multiple criticisms. Not all natural behaviours, nor natural environments, are to the benefit of animals in a captive setting, and practical application of the natural living concept has flaws. Expression of natural behaviours does not necessarily indicate positive well-being of an animal. Herein it is suggested that highly-motivated behaviours may be a better term to properly explain behaviours of more significance to captive animals. Wilding refers to extrapolation of the natural living concept to treating an animal as wild, residing in a wild habitat. This definition is intrinsically problematic, as quite literally by definition, captivity is not a wild nor natural environment. Treating a captive animal exactly the same as a wild counterpart is practically impossible for many species in a few ways. This article discusses complexities of natural living versus natural aesthetics as judged by humans, as well as the possibility of innate preference for naturalness within animals. Zoos nobly strive to keep wild animals as natural and undomesticated as possible. Here it is argued that unintended and unavoidable genetic and epigenetic drift favouring adaptations for life in a captive environment may still occur, despite our best efforts to prevent this from occurring. This article further discusses the blurred lines between natural and unnatural behaviours, and the overlaps with more important highly-motivated behaviours, which may be better predictors of positive affective states in captive animals, and thus, better predictors of positive well-being and welfare. Finally, as we are now in the Anthropocene era, it is suggested that human-animal interactions could actually be considered natural in a way, and notwithstanding, be very important to animals that initiate these interactions, especially for "a life worth living".

Dairy cattle welfare as a result of human-animal relationship – a review

Despite the various concepts of human-animal relationship, the welfarist approach to this problem is one of the most often considered in theory and used in practice. When dealing with issues related to dairy cattle welfare (DCW), it is necessary to take into account both the reality characteristic for animals used to obtain milk (e.g. the problem of automatic milking of cows) and for slaughter cattle (e.g. slaughter of culled animals). It is not surprising, therefore, that issues related to DCW are the focus of the attention of the public, researchers, breeders as well as the dairy and meat industries. The aim of this article was to possibly most comprehensively cover the above-mentioned issues, although due to its huge scope it was obviously necessary to limit the article to what I think are currently most important issues. That is why in the review I (1) characterized the issues related to the division of human responsibility for DCW; (2) discussed the importance of technology to human-animal relationship; (3) elaborated the matter of stress, emotionality of animals and their cognitive abilities in the aspect of “negative” and “positive” DCW; (4) considered the possibilities of non-invasive assessment of animal welfare in the future and (5) discussed topics related to improving the conditions of the slaughter of animals. In summary, it was proposed paying more attention than has been paid until now, to the assessment of positive DCW in scientific research and breeding practice. I also drew attention to the necessity of reliable information flow on the line of the breeder/milk producer - industry - consumer, as negligence in this area is one of the reasons for public disinformation regarding the level of animal welfare.