Trained Dogs Research Articles

Examination of the K-9 unit at Akagera National Park

Tracking and sniffer dogs have been employed in a variety of law enforcement roles world-wide and are increasingly utilized to combat wildlife crimes (i.e. poaching and trafficking). I examined the K-9 counter--poaching unit based at Akagera National Park in Rwanda. I discuss motivations and reasoning for the unit's creation, and examine the challenges faced and methods used to overcome these. I also highlight successes and best practices in place at the Park. The major challenge encountered is health issues related to the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma spp. Minor budgetary and facility challenges exist. Developing in-house solutions such as setting up a small clinic and basic veterinary training for handlers have reduced health risks and costs. Crossbreeding the original tracking dogs from Europe with local dogs from the communities around the park has been a success. Puppies bred and trained on-site offer affordable alternatives to purchasing additional dogs from abroad. The cross-bred dogs may also be better suited for working in the Akagera environment but further scientific study is needed to understand this. Additional successes include training dogs to track both on- and off-lead, allowing for a unit with multiple skill sets and more efficient, faster tracking.

Toward the use of medical scent detection dogs for COVID-19 screening.

Current testing for the presence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 virus), which causes the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection, is typically reliant upon collection of nasal swab samples from subjects. These tests (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR] and antigen) are intrusive, can take significant time to process, and can give deleterious false negative and false positive results. Alternative methods for COVID-19 testing and screening are being studied, including the use of trained scent detection dogs to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with the COVID virus. In August 2020 and October 2020, the first author (T.D.) searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and additional news articles using keyword phrases including "COVID scent dogs," "COVID sniffer dogs," and "COVID detection dog," returning a total of 13 articles, nine of which were duplicates. Four remaining peer-reviewed studies dedicated to determining the feasibility and efficacy of detecting and screening individuals who may be infected by the COVID-19 virus with scent detection dogs were then examined. In this narrative review, the authors describe the methodologies and results of the remaining four studies, which demonstrated that the sensitivity, specificity, and overall success rates reported by the summarized scent detection studies are comparable to or better than the standard RT-PCR and antigen testing procedures, meaning that scent detection dogs can likely be effectively employed to nonintrusively screen and identify individuals infected with the COVID-19 virus in hospitals, senior care facilities, schools, universities, airports, and even large public gatherings for sporting events and concerts.

How quoll-ified are northern and spotted-tailed quoll detection dogs?

Abstract Context Wildlife detection dogs have been used globally in environmental monitoring. However, their effectiveness in the Australian context has been only minimally researched. Increased understanding of detection dog accuracy and efficacy is required for their inclusion in survey guidelines used by proponents of referred actions potentially impacting Australia’s threatened mammals. Evaluation of new methods is also important for advancing population monitoring, particularly for threatened species. Aims To determine the efficacy of wildlife detection dogs as a survey tool for low-density, cryptic species, using northern (Dasyurus hallucatus) and spotted-tailed (D. maculatus) quolls as subjects. We compared detection dogs, human search effort and camera trapping results, in simulated accuracy and efficacy trials, and field surveys. Methods Two wildlife detection dogs’ scores for sensitivity (ability to identify a target species scat) and specificity (ability to distinguish target from non-target species scats) were calculated during accuracy trials. The dogs were tested using 288 samples, of which 32 were targets, where northern and spotted-tailed quoll scat were the targets in separate trials. Survey efficacy was determined following completing 12 simulated surveys (6 per target species) involving a single, randomly placed scat sample in a 1–1.5 ha search area. During the northern quoll simulated surveys the dogs’ survey efficacy was compared with that of a human surveyor. The dogs also undertook field surveys for both northern and spotted-tailed quolls, in conjunction with camera trapping for comparison. Key results During accuracy trials the dogs had an average sensitivity and specificity respectively of 100% and 98.4% for northern quoll, and 100% and 98% for spotted-tailed quoll. Their average search time in efficacy trials for northern quoll was 11.07 min (significantly faster than the human surveyor), and 2.98 min for spotted-tailed quoll in the 1–1.5 ha search areas. During field surveys, northern quoll scats were detected at sites where camera trapping failed to determine their presence. No spotted-tailed quoll scat was detected by the dogs during field surveys. Conclusions Trained and experienced detection dogs can work very accurately and efficiently, which is vital to their field success. Detection dogs are therefore capable of detecting evidence of species presence where alternative methods may be unsuccessful. Implications Our study supports the future use of highly trained detection dogs for wildlife surveys and monitoring in Australia. Our results demonstrate that detection dogs can be highly accurate and are a beneficial stand-alone or complimentary method.

Controlling the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 via Sniffer Dogs

Abstract COVID-19 outbreak leads to morbidity and mortality. It is undeniable fact that both controlling infection and treatment are important for preventing the transmission of COVID-19. So, diagnosis of early stage of the disease and rapid identification of people who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 are vital. Various methods are currently used to diagnose of this disease, however there are limitations for current diagnostic methods such as cost, test results, time consuming, require specialized equipment and expertise. It is specified that a large number of human diseases have a specific smell. Probably each pathogen in individual can influence the released Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) signals/profiles. Tracing changes in VOCs associated with certain disease can be used as unique fingerprints; also it can provide clues for early disease detection in order to prevent further outbreaks of infectious diseases. Dogs are be trained for smelling/ identifying any scented materials. Innumerable scientific articles indicate the importance of sniffer dogs in a spectrum range of applications. In this study, we scrutinize the properties of trained dogs for detection infected people with COVID-19.

804. Use of a Trained Canine to Detect Clostridioides difficile in the Hospital Environment

Background Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the most common nosocomial infection in this country. The organism forms spores, which likely contribute to spread of infection in the hospital setting. Current guidelines call for special cleaning of rooms following discharge of patients who tested positive for CDI. There are currently no means to validate that cleaning has eradicated all of the spores. Canines (dogs) have been used to detect a variety of odors because of their superior olfactory abilities. A beagle was trained to detect the odor of C. difficile in the hospital setting.Harley the Clostridium difficile sniffing canine. Methods C. difficile was grown at the microbiology department at Vidant Medical Center (VMC). Culture plates containing the organism were used by a professional trainer to train a two-year old female beagle dog. The canine was taught to sit when she identified the odor. The canine was given positive reinforcement with oral treats each time she identified the odor. Once the dog was proficient in identifying the organism, the trainer used clinical stool specimens that tested either positive or negative for C. difficile. Prior to coming into the hospital setting, the canine was able to identify positive stool samples with near 100% accuracy. The dog was brought to search rooms occupied or previously occupied by patients who had CDI. The study was approved by the Animal Use and Care Committee at East Carolina University and took place between October 2019 and March 2020 at VMC.ResultsThe canine detected the presence of C. difficile in 51% of 47 rooms inhabited by patients currently being treated for CDI and in 46% of 28 rooms previously inhabited by patients that tested positive for CDI. In all positive rooms, the organism was detected on the bedrails. She did not detect C. difficile in any positive areas after they had been cleaned with bleach wipes.Rooms found to be positive by canine. ConclusionTraining a canine to detect C. difficile is an effective means of detecting the organism in the hospital environment. Use of a trained dog appears to be effective in validating the cleaning process of rooms that have been previously occupied by patients with CDI.Disclosures Paul P. Cook, MD, Contrafect (Grant/Research Support, Scientific Research Study Investigator)Gilead (Grant/Research Support, Scientific Research Study Investigator)Leonard-Meron (Grant/Research Support, Scientific Research Study Investigator)Lilly (Grant/Research Support, Scientific Research Study Investigator)

Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare.

Dog training methods range broadly from those using mostly positive punishment and negative reinforcement (aversive-based) to those using primarily positive reinforcement (reward-based). Although aversive-based training has been strongly criticized for negatively affecting dog welfare, there is no comprehensive research focusing on companion dogs and mainstream techniques, and most studies rely on owner-reported assessment of training methods and dog behavior. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of aversive- and reward-based training methods on companion dog welfare within and outside the training context. Ninety-two companion dogs were recruited from three reward-based schools (Group Reward, n = 42), and from four aversive-based schools, two using low proportions of aversive-based methods (Group Mixed, n = 22) and two using high proportions of aversive-based methods (Group Aversive, n = 28). For evaluating welfare during training, dogs were video recorded for three sessions and six saliva samples were collected, three at home (baseline levels) and three after training (post-training levels). Video recordings were used to examine the frequency of stress-related behaviors (e.g., lip lick, yawn) and the overall behavioral state of the dog (e.g., tense, relaxed), and saliva samples were analyzed for cortisol concentration. For evaluating welfare outside the training context, dogs participated in a cognitive bias task. Results showed that dogs from Group Aversive displayed more stress-related behaviors, were more frequently in tense and low behavioral states and panted more during training, and exhibited higher post-training increases in cortisol levels than dogs from Group Reward. Additionally, dogs from Group Aversive were more 'pessimistic' in the cognitive bias task than dogs from Group Reward. Dogs from Group Mixed displayed more stress-related behaviors, were more frequently in tense states and panted more during training than dogs from Group Reward. Finally, although Groups Mixed and Aversive did not differ in their performance in the cognitive bias task nor in cortisol levels, the former displayed more stress-related behaviors and was more frequently in tense and low behavioral states. These findings indicate that aversive-based training methods, especially if used in high proportions, compromise the welfare of companion dogs both within and outside the training context.

Sensory Perception of Non-Deuterated and Deuterated Organic Compounds.

The chemical background of olfactory perception has been subject of intensive research, but no available model can fully explain the sense of smell. There are also inconsistent results on the role of the isotopology of molecules. In experiments with human subjects it was found that the isotope effect is weak with acetone and D6‐acetone. In contrast, clear differences were observed in the perception of octanoic acid and D15‐octanoic acid. Furthermore, a trained sniffer dog was initially able to distinguish between these isotopologues of octanoic acid. In chromatographic measurements, the respective deuterated molecule showed weaker interaction with a non‐polar liquid phase. Quantum chemical calculations give evidence that deuterated octanoic acid binds more strongly to a model receptor than non‐deuterated. In contrast, the binding of the non‐deuterated molecule is stronger with acetone. The isotope effect is calculated in the framework of statistical mechanics. It results from a complicated interplay between various thermostatistical contributions to the non‐covalent free binding energies and it turns out to be very molecule‐specific. The vibrational terms including non‐classical zero‐point energies play about the same role as rotational/translational contributions and are larger than bond length effects for the differential isotope perception of odor for which general rules cannot be derived.

89 Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product on fecal microbiota populations of dogs subjected to exercise challenge

Abstract Previously, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (SCFP) was demonstrated to positively alter fecal microbiota, fecal metabolites, and circulating immune cell functionality in adult dogs. The objective of this study was to determine the fecal characteristics, microbiota, and metabolites of trained dogs subjected to an exercise challenge. All procedures were approved by the Four Rivers Kennel IACUC prior to experimentation. Thirty-six adult dogs (mean age: 7.1 y; mean BCS: 4.9) were used. Dogs were randomly assigned to control or SCFP-supplemented (250 mg/d) diets, trained, and fed for a few mo prior to exercise challenge. Fresh fecal samples were collected for the measurement of fecal characteristics, microbiota, and metabolites before and after an exercise challenge (10 mile run). Fecal microbiota data were evaluated using QIIME2. All other data were analyzed using the Mixed Models procedure of SAS, with treatment and exercise as fixed effects, dog as random effect, and P < 0.05 considered significant. For both treatments, fecal scores and butyrate and propionate concentrations were lower and fecal pH and ammonia, isobutyrate, isovalerate, and total BCFA concentrations were higher after exercise challenge. SCFP did not affect fecal scores, pH, dry matter, or fermentative end-product concentrations after exercise challenge. Alpha-diversity or beta-diversity (unweighted PCoA plot) were not affected by SCFP before or after exercise challenge. The weighted PCoA plot, however, showed clustering of dogs before exercise and after exercise, regardless of treatment. Fecal Collinsella, Slackia, Turicibacter, Blautia, Dorea, Ruminococcus, Faecalibacterium, Catenibacterium, Clostridium (Erysipelotrichaceae family), and Eubacterium relative abundances were higher, while fecal Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, Prevotella (Prevotellaceae family), Phascolarctobacterium, Fusobacterium, Suttella and Anaerobiospirillum relative abundances were lower after exercise challenge. SCFP increased fecal Lactobacillus compared to controls. Our data demonstrate that exercise and SCFP alter fecal microbiota in dogs. Higher SCFP dosages may provide greater changes and may be of interest in future studies.

The Trained Sniffer Dog Could Accurately Detect the Urine Samples from the Patients with Cervical Cancer, and Even Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Grade 3: A Pilot Study.

Simple SummaryTumor detection by dog sniffing is a possible new method in cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study is to assess whether a trained dog can distinguish urine samples from cervical cancer patients. Urine samples were collected from 34 with cervical cancer, 49 patients with CIN3, 49 with benign uterine diseases, and 63 healthy volunteers. In all 83 test runs, one positive sample among five samples were presented to the dog. The trained dog accurately distinguished the urine sample of a cancer patient from those of the controls. This study showed that cancer detection by dog sniffing can be a non-invasive, cost-effective screening technique for cervical cancer.(1) Background: Previous reports have indicated that cancers of the stomach, lung, and pancreas can be detected by dog sniffing, but results have been varied. Here, a highly trained dog was used to determine whether urine from patients with cervical premalignant lesions and malignant tumors have a cancer-specific scent. (2) Methods: A total of 195 urine samples were collected from patients with cervical cancer, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3), benign uterine diseases, and healthy volunteers. Each test was performed using one urine sample from a cancer patient and four samples from different controls. Each of the five urine samples was placed in a separate box. When the cancer sniffing dog stopped and sat in front of the box with a sample from a cancer patient, the test was considered as positive. (3) Results: 83 patients with cervical cancer (34 cases of cervical cancer and 49 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3), 49 patients with uterine benign diseases, and 63 healthy volunteers were enrolled, and their urine samples were collected. In 83 times out of 83 runs in a double-blind test, the trained dog could correctly identify urine samples of cervical cancer patients. (4) Conclusion: A trained dog could accurately distinguish the urine of all patients with cervical cancer or CIN3, regardless of the degree of cancer progression.

Service Dogs for PTSD Sufferers

Emerging evidence suggests that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) benefit from having a service dog. These trained dogs perform

Cryptosporidium parvum in brown brocket (Mazama gouazoubira) from Brazil: First report of the subtype IIaA16G3R1 in cervids.

This research had as objective to evaluate the occurrence and to characterize genetically the infections by Cryptosporidium in Mazama gouazoubira. By a non-invasive harvest methodology using trained sniffer dogs to locate fecal samples of cervids, 642 fecal samples were obtained from six Brazilian localities. The cervids species responsible for the excretion of each fecal sample were identified by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), using the mitochondrial cytochrome b target gene (cyst b) and the restriction enzymes Sspl, AflIII and BstN. From this identification, 437 fecal samples of M. gouazoubira were selected for research of Cryptosporidium spp. performed through negative staining with malachite green and polymerase chain reaction (nPCR), with the subunit of 18S rRNA gene, followed by sequencing the amplified products. In the samples that were diagnosed the presence of parasite species with zoonotic potential, genotyping was also performed using nPCR with the subunit of GP60 gene. Statistical analysis consisted of the Fisher exact test to verify the association of the presence of the enteroparasite in relation to the presence of cattle in each locality, and the McNemar tests and Kappa correlation coefficient used to compare the results obtained between the two diagnostic techniques. In the fecal samples of M. gouazoubira the occurrences of Cryptosporidium were diagnosed in 1.6% (7/437) and 1.1% (5/437), respectively, through nPCR and microscopy. Cryptosporidium. parvum was diagnosed in 100% (7/7) of the samples submitted to sequencing (18S gene). The IIaA16G3R1 subtype was diagnosed in five of the C. parvum samples submitted to genotyping (GP60 gene). This is the first world report of C. parvum in M. gouazoubira and subtype IIaA16G3R1 in cervids.

Sniffer Dogs as a Screening/Diagnostic Tool for COVID-19: A Proof of Concept Study

Background: Sniffer dogs have been shown to detect certain chemical particles and help to diagnose many diseases and complications such as colorectal cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, and even dangerous state such as hypoglycemia in DM-1 patients. With the spread of the COVID-19 throughout the world and the need to have a real time-screening of the population, especially in crowded places, we aimed to investigate the applicability of these Sniffer dogs.Methods: The study was done in two phases. In the first step, three dogs (including one German shepherd, one German black, one Labrador) were intensively trained in seven weeks by the classical conditioning method. Human specimens were obtained from the throat culture, pharyngeal secretions of both definitely positive and negative COVID-19 participants of our study. During the first seven weeks, each dog underwent the conditioning process on average about 1000 times during the course. In the verification process, 80 pharyngeal secretions samples consisting of 26 positive samples of hospitalized patients and 54 negative samples of hospitalized patients for other medical reasons and provided to the training team in a single-blind manner. The verification test was done using three dogs (Lexi, Sami, and Kozhi). Another similar conditioning process underwent using COVID-19 patients’ clothes and masks and the verification test was done using 50 positive and 70 negative samples, by three other trained dogs (one Labrador, one Border gypsy and one Golden retriever).Results: In the pharyngeal secretions verification test, the sniffer dogs could obtain 65% in sensitivity and 89% in specificity. In this process, they could identify 17 out of total 26 true positive samples and 48 out of total 54 true negative samples. According to this results, the PPV and NPV levels for this experiment were 74% and 84%, respectively. In the next verification test for face mask and clothes of patients, 43 samples were correctly identified out of 50 positive samples by dogs. Moreover, out of 70 negative samples, 65 samples were correctly found to be negative by canines. The sensitivity of this method was high as 86%, and the specificity was 92·9%. Concerning the positive and negative predictive values, the numbers are high as 89·6% and 90·3%, respectively.Conclusion: Dogs are capable of being trained as an identifier of people with COVID-19 by detecting their odor and can be used as a reliable tool in limited screening.Funding Statement: This project has been partly supported by a grant from the AJA University of Medical Sciences.Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education of Iran has approved the study with the ethics code of IR.AJAUMS.REC.139.055.

Development of distance glove for blind people as an alternative tool

The eye was one of the senses that functions to record a state or condition so that humans could know the object they see. However, not all humans were created with normal eye conditions; some had visual disturbances from birth. Blind people generally use a walking aid in the form of a cane or a trained dog to help with movement and increase safety and independence during activities. This research aimed to produce gloves as a tool for blind people who had a distance accuracy from the ultrasonic sensor. This research was a research development (RD at that distance, the two ultrasonic sensors will work properly. For distances above the maximum distance, the ultrasonic sensor cannot do.

Cardiovascular Clinical Assessment in Greyster Dogs in Bikejöring Training.

Bikejöring is a type of dryland mushing requiring high-intensity aerobic effort, with speed peaks close to 42 km/h. Greysters (crosses between the German Shorthaired Pointer and the Greyhound) often participate in such events and perform well. The objective of this comparative study was to evaluate the clinical use of non-invasive methods in assessing the cardiovascular health of 22 Greyster dogs in physical training, by determining the differences between different cardiovascular parameters before and after physical training. Blood pressure, heart rate and echocardiographic results were compared. The mean age of the dogs was 4.4 years ± 1.8% and 54.5% were female. All participating dogs regularly participated in bikejöring. Post-exercise increases were observed in systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean arterial pressure (MBP) and pulse pressure (SBPD), with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) remaining stable. Changes of clinical interest were observed in numerous echocardiographic variables such as left ventricle fractional shortening (LVFS), left ventricule ejection fraction (LVEF), E-point to septal separation (EPSS), cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI), posterior wall thickness at end-diastole (PWd) and major/minor axis ratio (MA/ma), including a decrease in the shortening fraction and an increase in EPSS after exercise. These clinical findings were observed in both males and females; they do not appear to be associated with dilated cardiomyopathy, but rather with a cardiovascular response to physical training. This study derives from the real interest of clinical veterinarians who care for highly trained canine athletes. It contributes to an increase in knowledge of the different cardiac adaptations of such dogs after intense exercise and serves to differentiate these from pathologic conditions.

Value of trained service dogs for US veterans with PTSD to be assessed

Value of trained service dogs for US veterans with PTSD to be assessed

The Penn Vet Working Dog Center Fit to Work Program: A Formalized Method for Assessing and Developing Foundational Canine Physical Fitness.

Fit to Work is a formalized working dog foundational physical fitness assessment and development program. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center developed this program to address the needs of working dog handlers, trainers, and programs for simple, effective, and efficient methods to develop and assess working dog physical fitness. Fit to Work focuses on the foundational fitness modalities of strength, stability, mobility, and proprioception. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center piloted and refined this program over 3 months in a closed population of 31 working dogs in training. Fit to Work consists of posture development and maintenance, warm-up and cool-down routines, training exercises, and assessment methods. To simplify implementation for dogs and personnel, the foundational training program incorporates a discrete number of exercises, standardized progression steps, defined criteria for progression, and a reduced emphasis on learned behaviors. Fit to Work also enables safe and progressive assessment of foundational fitness through a tiered and inexpensive process. Future research will focus on validation of training and assessment methods, development of assessment standards, and correlation of physical fitness with operational performance.

Scent dog identification of samples from COVID-19 patients \u2013 a pilot study

BackgroundAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, early, ideally real-time, identification of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals is pivotal in interrupting infection chains. Volatile organic compounds produced during respiratory infections can cause specific scent imprints, which can be detected by trained dogs with a high rate of precision.MethodsEight detection dogs were trained for 1 week to detect saliva or tracheobronchial secretions of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in a randomised, double-blinded and controlled study.ResultsThe dogs were able to discriminate between samples of infected (positive) and non-infected (negative) individuals with average diagnostic sensitivity of 82.63% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 82.02–83.24%) and specificity of 96.35% (95% CI: 96.31–96.39%). During the presentation of 1012 randomised samples, the dogs achieved an overall average detection rate of 94% (±3.4%) with 157 correct indications of positive, 792 correct rejections of negative, 33 incorrect indications of negative or incorrect rejections of 30 positive sample presentations.ConclusionsThese preliminary findings indicate that trained detection dogs can identify respiratory secretion samples from hospitalised and clinically diseased SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals by discriminating between samples from SARS-CoV-2 infected patients and negative controls. This data may form the basis for the reliable screening method of SARS-CoV-2 infected people.

Defining the PTSD Service Dog Intervention: Perceived Importance, Usage, and Symptom Specificity of Psychiatric Service Dogs for Military Veterans.

Research suggests that psychiatric service dogs may be an effective complementary treatment option for military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although this practice continues to increase in popularity and research has reached the rigor of clinical trials, the components of the PTSD service dog intervention remain largely undefined. This research aimed to (1) quantify the importance, usage, and PTSD symptom specificity of service dog trained and untrained behaviors, (2) explore how PTSD severity, time since receiving the service dog, and the veteran-dog relationship relate to outcomes, and (3) compare expectations of veterans on the waitlist to experiences of veterans with service dogs. In a cross-sectional design, 217 post-9/11 military veterans with PTSD were recruited from a national service dog provider, including n = 134 with a service dog and n = 83 on the waitlist. Results showed that the service dog’s trained tasks of calming and interrupting anxiety were perceived as the most important for veterans’ PTSD, the most frequently used in a typical day, and as helping the most PTSD symptoms. Trained tasks were most helpful to the PTSD symptoms of hypervigilance and intrusion, and least helpful toward the symptoms of amnesia and risk-taking. Although all trained tasks were helpful toward PTSD symptoms, veterans rated the service dog’s untrained behaviors on average as more important for their PTSD. After controlling for covariates, there was no relationship between a veteran’s PTSD severity and perceived importance or frequency of task use. However, veterans who reported feeling closer to their service dogs reported using trained tasks more often, and veterans who had their service dogs for longer reported using trained tasks less often. Finally, veterans on the waitlist reported higher expectations regarding task use and importance than described by veterans with a service dog. In conclusion, findings describe the core components of the PTSD service dog intervention by quantifying the use and value of trained and untrained dog behaviors. Overall, this study helps explain the PTSD service dog’s clinically relevant value while contributing to the scientific understanding of this emerging practice.

A pilot study of animal assisted activity among hospitalized older adults

Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) is a non-medical intervention that has been shown to reduce anxiety among nursing home patients in various settings. However, AAA has not been tested among acute care hospitalized older adult patients ages 65 and older. This pilot study explored if a visit from a trained dog and its handler would decrease anxiety among hospitalized, older adult patients ages 65 and greater. The participants were recruited from medical surgical/oncology units, and the Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) 6-item short form was used to measure anxiety both pre- and post-interactions with the AAA-team. The data revealed that a one-time, 12–20-min visit, allowing the patients to pet and to interact with the dog, reduced (p = .000) the participants’ self-reported anxiety.

Using Owner Return as a Reinforcer to Operantly Treat Separation-Related Problem Behavior in Dogs.

Simple SummarySeparation-related problem behavior in dogs is a challenging behavioral issue, often manifesting as destructive behavior or excessive vocalization when the dog is left alone. More knowledge is needed on effective treatments. In this study, we explored whether we could train dogs to engage in desirable behavior over increasing durations of owner absence by rewarding the dog with the owner returning. After collecting baseline data, dogs started treatment. When the dogs showed no problem behavior or a specific desirable behavior, the owner returned as a reward for the good behavior. We gradually increased the time the dog was left alone based on their observed performance in earlier trials. We demonstrated that dogs’ ability to stay alone without problem behavior increased compared to baseline. Nevertheless, after four sessions, only one dog was able to stay alone for at least 5 min, demonstrating how challenging this behavioral issue is to treat and how much time might be involved in improving behavior. While our research helps fill the many gaps in this field, it also points to the need for more research to further increase treatment efficacy.Separation-related problem behavior (SRPB) is a severe behavioral issue in which dogs engage in a variety of undesirable behaviors when the owner is absent, such as destructive behavior and excessive vocalization. Given the severity and high prevalence of SRPB, finding effective treatments is crucial. To date, most treatments have relied on habituation to increase tolerance to owner absence. Additionally, research has typically not utilized direct observations of the dog’s behavior and the treatment implemented with unknown treatment integrity. We evaluated an operant approach to SRPB using owner return as the reinforcer. After collecting baseline, we enrolled five dogs for treatment. Treatment involved differential reinforcement of either absence of problem behavior or occurrence of specific desirable behaviors. Behavioral criteria for delivering reinforcement changed based on the dog’s performance assessed through direct observation. We coached owners to ensure treatment integrity on each trial. From baseline, mean time to SRPB was 27.1 s. During treatment, all dogs increased their ability to stay alone without SRPB compared to baseline, indicating that contingent owner return can be a useful treatment. However, despite four training sessions, only one dog was able to stay alone for over 5 min. Our data demonstrate the slow-going progression of this SPRB treatment and the challenges of this behavioral issue.