Beatrice Carlone

Effects of petting before a brief separation from the owner on dog behavior and physiology: a pilot study

Abstract Human physical contact is known to be effective in decreasing dogs’ level of stress, assessed through endocrine, physiological, and behavioral parameters. Gentle touching has been found to be beneficial for dogs while experiencing or after having experienced a stressful event. The aim of the present study was to assess if dog behavior and physiology during a brief separation from the owner were modified by being petted before owners departure. Ten dogs, not affected by separation‐related problems, were tested twice while separated for 3 minutes from the owner: before separation, dogs once were petted for 1 minute and once were not petted. During each test, dog behavior was measured by continuous sampling and saliva collected 15 minutes after separation for cortisol determination. Findings show that, during both procedures, dogs spent a long time looking for the owner (median 84.5 and 87.5 seconds, respectively) and did not seem highly stressed by separation (low salivary cortisol levels and relatively low intensity and frequency of stress signals). When dogs were petted before separation, they displayed behaviors indicative of calmness for a longer period while waiting for the owners return (Z = −1.955; P = 0.049), and their heart rate showed a marked decrease after the test (Z = −1.682; P = 0.073). This pilot study suggests that petting a dog before a brief separation from the owner may have a positive effect, making the dog calmer during the separation itself. Further studies are needed to analyze more in depth its effectiveness, especially in dogs affected by separation anxiety.

Level of anxiety and perception of dog stress in human mothers and non-mothers

The aim of the current study was to assess whether and how the presence of a dog can influence the level of anxiety in mothers with a child and women without children. Moreover, the ability of female dog owners with or without children to recognize sign of stress and to assess the level of stress in their pet was evaluated. For these purposes, 58 mothers of a child (0-6 years old), owning a dog, 84 mothers of a child (0-6 years old) who did not own a dog, and 87 women with a dog but without children filled in two questionnaires. The first questionnaire was the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (STAI-Y), consisting of 20 questions for the evaluation of the state anxiety and 20 for the trait anxiety. The second questionnaire was aimed at analysing owner’s perception of stress in their dog. It was found that female dog owners without children showed a lower trait anxiety. Mothers perceived a lower stress level in their dogs, compared to owners without children. However, mothers resulted less able to identify the canine signs of stress and the potentially stressful situations for dogs and this could explain the previous result. This lack of communication between owners (in particular mothers) and dogs may lead to a condition of poor dog welfare and turn into canine aggression and dangerous behaviors towards family members, especially children.