Abstract

BackgroundCanine separation-related problems (SRP) (also described as “separation anxiety” or “separation distress”) are among the most common behavioural complaints of dog owners. Treatment with psychoactive medication in parallel with a behaviour modification plan is well documented in the literature, but it is unknown if this is associated with an improvement in underlying affective state (emotion and mood) or simply an inhibition of the behaviour. Cognitive judgement bias tasks have been proposed as a method for assessing underlying affective state and so we used this approach to identify if any change in clinical signs during treatment was associated with a consistent change in cognitive bias (affective state).Five dogs showing signs of SRP (vocalising – e.g. barking, howling-, destruction of property, and toileting – urination or defecation- when alone) were treated with fluoxetine chewable tablets (Reconcile™) and set on a standard behaviour modification plan for two months. Questionnaires and interviews of the owners were used to monitor the clinical progress of the dogs. Subjects were also evaluated using a spatial cognitive bias test to infer changes in underlying affect prior to, and during, treatment. Concurrently, seven other dogs without signs of SRP were tested in the same way to act as controls. Furthermore, possible correlations between cognitive bias and clinical measures were also assessed for dogs with SRP.ResultsPrior to treatment, the dogs with SRP responded to ambiguous positions in the cognitive bias test negatively (i.e. with slower running speeds) compared to control dogs (p < 0.05). On weeks 2 and 6 of treatment, SRP dogs displayed similar responses in the cognitive bias test to control dogs, consistent with the possible normalization of affect during treatment, with this effect more pronounced at week 6 (p > 0.05). Questionnaire based clinical measures were significantly correlated among themselves and with performance in the cognitive bias test.ConclusionThese results demonstrate for the first time that the clinical treatment of a negative affective state and associated behaviours in a non-human species can produce a shift in cognitive bias. These findings demonstrate how the outcome of an intervention on a clinical problem can be evaluated to determine not only that the subject’s behaviour has improved, but also its psychological state (welfare)Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0373-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

  • IntroductionCanine separation-related problems (SRP) ( described as “separation anxiety” or “separation distress”) are among the most common behavioural complaints of dog owners

  • Canine separation-related problems (SRP) are among the most common behavioural complaints of dog owners

  • It has been found that dogs in rescue kennels with SRP-like behaviour tested on a modified spatial cognitive bias test appear to have more negative underlying affective state than dogs not showing this behaviour [18]

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Canine separation-related problems (SRP) ( described as “separation anxiety” or “separation distress”) are among the most common behavioural complaints of dog owners. It has been found that dogs in rescue kennels with SRP-like behaviour tested on a modified spatial cognitive bias test appear to have more negative underlying affective state than dogs not showing this behaviour [18]. It is not known whether these findings are transferable to the clinical condition of household pets

Objectives
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.