Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine whether cortisol and secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) could be used as an indicator of acute stress in both young and adult dogs. Seventeen German shepherd puppies were exposed to the Puppy test (challenge test) at the age of seven weeks. This test has been routinely used to assess the future working ability of potential police dogs. In addition, ten adult females were subjected to 4 minutes of defense training under stressful conditions. Saliva was collected from the puppies and adult females before testing and 20 minutes after the start of testing, using a cotton swab held for 1–2 minutes in each dog's mouth. Cortisol concentrations increased after the test compared to the control sample both in puppies and the adult females. However adult females showed a significant decrease in sIgA after defense training while puppies showed a tendency of increase in sIgA. We propose that salivary cortisol could be used as an indicator of stress in puppies during early ontogeny. It is not yet clear whether sIgA could be used as a useful indicator of short-term stress in dogs.

Highlights

  • There is an increasing need for specialized working dogs in human society

  • Cortisol and secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) after acute stress Cortisol concentration after the acute stress increased compared to the control sample in both, puppies and adults (F1,22 = 20.91, p,0.001, Fig. 1)

  • In accordance with reports on adult dogs and our results on adult females, the current pilot study has supported the suggestion that salivary cortisol concentration can be used as one indicator of acute stress in puppies at seven weeks post-partum

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Summary

Introduction

There is an increasing need for specialized working dogs in human society (e.g. personal detection, detection of dangerous substances, guide dogs, etc). Behavioral assessment of the working potential of dogs is a frequently used tool in the selection of suitable dogs for guide, police, and military work [2,3,4]. These assessments are based on measuring behavioral reactions towards various startling stimuli, novel situations, tactile/audio stimuli and willingness to fetch. Selection of the puppies for police work was done in accordance with the results of the tests, thereby helping to improve overall training results and identify methods for early detection of dogs with exceptional working potential [5,6,7]; factors which can help to reduce the cost of training. The predictive value of puppy tests has remained controversial and the results are not clear

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