Emily J. Blackwell

Controlled trial of behavioural therapy for separation-related disorders in dogs

A generic programme of behavioural modification for the clinical treatment of separation-related behaviours in dogs was assessed in a controlled replicated trial. After 12 weeks of treatment, 56 per cent of the owners of the treated dogs reported significant improvements in their dogs’ behaviour, and a further 25 per cent reported a slight improvement. The owners’ reports were generally supported by changes in the behaviour of the dogs as recorded on video when they were left alone. The majority of the untreated dogs continued to show the same degree of separation-related behaviour throughout the 12 weeks of the trial. In a supplementary set of 30 case studies, treated with a behavioural programme tailored to the specific diagnosis for each dog, all the owners reported improvements in their dogs’ behaviour after 12 weeks of treatment.

The use of electronic collars for training domestic dogs: estimated prevalence, reasons and risk factors for use, and owner perceived success as compared to other training methods

BackgroundThe use of electronic training devices for dog training is controversial. The aims of this study were to give an indication of the extent to which dog owners use these devices in England, identify factors associated with their use, and compare owner report of outcomes. A convenience sample of dog owners in England was used to identify numbers using electronic training devices and identify reasons for use. Factors associated with use of remote e-collars only were determined by comparing dogs trained using these devices with two control populations matched for reason of use (recall / chasing problems). Comparison groups were: those using other ‘negative reinforcement / positive punishment’ training techniques, and those using ‘positive reinforcement / negative punishment’ based methods. A multinominal logistic regression model was used to compare factors between categories of training method. Owner reported success for use was compared using chi-squared analysis.ResultsFor England only, 3.3% (n = 133) owners reported using remote activated e-collars, 1.4% (n = 54) reported use of bark activated e-collars, and 0.9% (n = 36) reported using electronic boundary fences. In comparison with the e-collar group, owners using reward based training methods for recall / chasing were 2.8 times more likely to be female and 2.7 times less likely to have attended agility training. Owners using other aversive methods for recall / chasing were 2.8 times more likely to have attended puppy classes than those using e-collars. However, the model only explained 10% variance between groups. A significantly higher proportion of owners in the reward group reported training success than those in the e-collar group.ConclusionsIn conclusion, a fairly low proportion of owners select to use electronic training devices. For a population matched by reason for training method use, characteristics of dogs, including occurrence of undesired behaviours do not appear to distinguish between training methods. Rather, owner gender and attendance at training classes appear more important, although explaining a relatively small amount of variance between groups. More owners using reward based methods for recall / chasing report a successful outcome of training than those using e-collars.

Overweight dogs exercise less frequently and for shorter periods: results of a large online survey of dog owners from the UK.

Canine obesity is now the number one health concern in dogs worldwide. Regular physical activity can improve health, and owners are advised to exercise their dogs on a regular basis. However, limited information exists about associations between overweight status of dogs and walking activity. An online survey was conducted between June and August in 2014, coinciding with the broadcast of a national UK television programme, exploring dog behaviour. Information gathered included signalment, overweight status, and owner-reported information on duration and frequency of dog walking. The University of Liverpool Ethics Committee approved the project, and owners consented to data use. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations between overweight status and dog walking activity. Data were available from 11 154 adult dogs, and 1801 (16·1 %) of these were reported as overweight by their owners. Dogs reported to be overweight dogs were more likely to be neutered (P < 0·0001) and older (P < 0·0001). Various breeds were over-represented including beagle, Cavalier King Charles spaniel, golden retriever, Labrador retriever and pug (P < 0·0001 for all). Both frequency and duration of walking were negatively associated with overweight status (P < 0·0001 for both). On multiple regression analysis, duration and frequency were independently and negatively associated with the odds of being overweight, along with a range of other factors including age, neuter status and breed. This study has identified associations between overweight status and exercise. In the future, studies should determine the reason for this association, and whether changes in walking activity can influence weight status.

Risk factors for human-directed aggression in a referral level clinical population

Risk factors for human-directed aggression were investigated using retrospective analysis of data from a referral-level clinical behaviour population in the UK. A sample of 200 cases involving human-directed canine aggression and 200 control cases involving no instance of human-directed aggression were selected at random from a population of 746 cases. The final model suggested that clinical cases with human-directed aggression were significantly younger than those presenting with other undesired behaviours (P=0.008) and that male dogs were 1.4 times more likely to be aggressive towards human beings than female dogs (P=0.019). Dogs were 1.7 times more likely to be aggressive towards people if they had attended more than five puppy classes than if they had never attended puppy class (P=0.015) and that dogs were 2.8 times more likely to be aggressive towards human beings if there was another dog between 0 months and 24 months of age in the home (P=0.004). These factors only account for 7 per cent to 10 per cent of the variance between the human-directed aggression population and the control population, but factors such as attendance at puppy classes and numbers of dogs in the household suggest the need for longitudinal studies to investigate temporal relationships.

Contributing to study of cats with allergic skin disease

Researchers at the University of Bristol’s veterinary school are looking for owners of cats that have been diagnosed with allergic skin disease (excluding those with flea allergy) to contribute …