Abstract
This study investigated whether stress responsiveness (in one context) can be used to predict dog behavior in daily life. On two occasions (NT1 = 32 puppies; NT2 = 16 young adults), dogs’ physiological stress response after a behavioral test at home was measured in terms of reactivity (10 min post-test) and recovery (40 min post-test) for three salivary markers: cortisol, chromogranin A (CgA) and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA). For each marker, it was determined whether dogs with a strong physiological response displayed different behavior in daily life compared to dogs with a weaker physiological response. The results revealed three main findings: first, for CgA and cortisol, different patterns were identified according to sample time. High reactivity related to desirable traits, whereas slow recovery after the behavioral test related to undesirable traits. The findings suggest that increased levels of CgA and cortisol 10 minutes after the behavioral test reflected an adaptive stress response, whereas elevated levels 40 minutes after the test reflected unsuccessful coping. Second, patterns for sIgA differed from CgA and cortisol: significant associations were only found with behavioral traits at T2, mostly considered desirable and related to Trainability. Possibly, the delayed reaction pattern of sIgA caused this difference between markers, as sIgA reflects the (secondary) immune response to stress, due to immunosuppressive effects of cortisol. Third, predictive capacity of puppies’ physiological stress response (T1) was inconclusive, and contrary relations were found with behavioral traits at T2, suggesting that developmental factors play an important role. This study provides new insights about the relation between stress physiology and behavioral traits, and methodological advice is given to study these patterns further. In conclusion, physiological markers could provide additional insights in dogs’ tendencies to display certain behaviors, especially at the young adult stage. Further studies are needed to confirm these patterns.
Highlights
We found that a strong physiological response 40 minutes after the test was associated with more undesirable behaviors in daily life, as reported by the dog owners
The results revealed three main findings: 1) for chromogranin A (CgA) and cortisol, different patterns were identified according to sample time post-test, 2) patterns for secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) differed from CgA and cortisol, and 3) predictive capacity of puppies’ physiological stress response (T1) was inconclusive, and ambiguous relations were found with behavioral traits at test stage 2 (T2)
For CgA and cortisol, high reactivity at 10 minutes after the behavioral test related to desirable traits, whereas slow recovery 40 minutes after the test related to undesirable traits
Summary
The owners received two months of free dog food from a well-known brand upon completion of their participation, and the veterinarians received a gift voucher for an online general goods store. At test stage 1 (T1), saliva was collected from 32 puppies (mean age ± SD: 17.57 ± 2.94 weeks) subjected to a behavioral test at home, and owner ratings were available for 31 of these puppies (procedures described below). At test stage 2 (T2), 9.91 (± 0.61) months later, 16 dogs were tested a second time at home (age: 60.85 ± 2.64 weeks), and owner ratings were available for all 16 dogs. The higher the score, the more present a particular trait is in a dog according to the owner
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