Why do people buy dogs with potential welfare problems related to extreme conformation and inherited disease? A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds

A number of dog breeds suffer from welfare problems due to extreme phenotypes and high levels of inherited diseases but the popularity of such breeds is not declining. Using a survey of owners of two popular breeds with extreme physical features (French Bulldog and Chihuahua), one with a high load of inherited diseases not directly related to conformation (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), and one representing the same size range but without extreme conformation and with the same level of disease as the overall dog population (Cairn Terrier), we investigated this seeming paradox. We examined planning and motivational factors behind acquisition of the dogs, and whether levels of experienced health and behavior problems were associated with the quality of the owner-dog relationship and the intention to re-procure a dog of the same breed. Owners of each of the four breeds (750/breed) were randomly drawn from a nationwide Danish dog registry and invited to participate. Of these, 911 responded, giving a final sample of 846. There were clear differences between owners of the four breeds with respect to degree of planning prior to purchase, with owners of Chihuahuas exhibiting less. Motivations behind choice of dog were also different. Health and other breed attributes were more important to owners of Cairn Terriers, whereas the dog's personality was reported to be more important for owners of French Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels but less important for Chihuahua owners. Higher levels of health and behavior problems were positively associated with a closer owner-dog relationship for owners of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Chihuahuas but, for owners of French Bulldogs, high levels of problems were negatively associated with an intention to procure the same breed again. In light of these findings, it appears less paradoxical that people continue to buy dogs with welfare problems

Changes in blood testosterone concentrations following surgical and chemical sterilization of male free-roaming dogs in southern Chile

There is a growing interest in chemical sterilization as an alternative to surgical castration in large-scale sterilization campaigns to control canine populations. An important step toward understanding the short- and long-term effect of chemical sterilants is to determine their impact on blood testosterone concentrations, particularly as these could influence dog behavior post-treatment. A field trial was conducted with 118 free-roaming male dogs in the Chilean Patagonia, where 36 dogs were chemically sterilized using EsterilSolTM, 39 dogs were surgically castrated, and 43 dogs remained intact as controls. Blood testosterone levels were determined at four time periods: upon enrollment six months prior to treatment (t-6m), at the time of treatment (t0, within one hour after surgical castration or chemical sterilization and during a concurrent two-week period for the control group), four (t+4m), and six (t+6m) months post-treatment. Intrinsic and temporal factors were evaluated: age was significantly associated with testosterone, where dogs 2 to 4 years old had the highest testosterone concentrations (P=0.036), while body weight and body condition scores were not associated with testosterone; testosterone concentration was not influenced by time of day, month, or season. After treatment (t+4m and t+6m), all of the surgically castrated dogs had testosterone concentrations below 1.0 ng/ml. Based on this cut point (<1 ng/ml), testosterone remained unchanged in 66% of the chemically sterilized dogs at both t+4m and t+6m; remained low for 22% of dogs at both t+4m and t+6m; was unchanged at t+4m but low at t+6m in 9% of dogs; and, was low at t+4m but reverted back to unchanged at t+6m in one dog (3%). Incidentally, testosterone in chemically sterilized dogs increased dramatically within 1 h of treatment (t0), more than doubling (131%) the concentration of control dogs at the time of treatment (t0), likely due to severe necrosis of interstitial cells. The use of EsterilSolTM as a method of sterilizing dogs had a variable effect on blood testosterone concentrations. Approximately 30% of chemically sterilized dogs had a reduced testosterone concentration (actual maximum 1 ng/ml) after six months, similar to that of surgically castrated dogs. The majority of the chemically sterilized dogs, however, showed no long-term changes in blood testosterone concentrations

First evidence for an association between joint hypermobility and excitability in a non-human species, the domestic dog

There is a well-established relationship between joint hypermobility and anxiety in humans, that has not previously been investigated in other species. A population of 5575 assistance dogs were scored for both hip hypermobility and 13 behaviour characteristics using previously validated methods. Our results suggest a positive association between hip joint hypermobility and emotional arousal in domestic dogs, which parallel results found in people

Evaluation of the C-BARQ as a measure of stranger-directed aggression in three common dog breeds

Volume 124, Issue 3, Pages 136-141 (May 2010) 8 of 12 Evaluation of the C-BARQ as a measure of stranger-directed aggression in three common dog breeds Stéphanie M. van den Berga, Henri C.M. Heuvenb1, Linda van den Bergc2, Deborah L. Duffyd3, James A. Serpelld3 Accepted 11 February 2010. published online 16 March 2010 Abstract Most test development in animal behaviour research is based on classical test theory. Modern test theory, also known as item-response theory, has however a number of advantages. Here, item-response theory was applied to confirm the stranger-directed aggression subscale of the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ). The sample consisted of a total of 1000 German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers. Results showed a good fit for a 1-parameter (Rasch) model. Although there were statistically significant violations of the measurement invariance assumption across breeds, the violations were only minor and without practical consequence. It is therefore concluded that the subscale consisting of 10 items can be used to quantify stranger-directed aggression in these three breeds, and that scores of different dogs can be compared meaningfully regardless of the dogs’ sex, breed or neutering status. Keywords: Item Response Theory, IRT, Rasch, C-BARQ, Canine, Aggression a University of Twente, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Department of Research Methodology, Measurement and Data Analysis, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands b Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, P.O. Box 80163, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands c Leiden University Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics and Department of Human Genetics, S4-P, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands d University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Clinical Studies VHUP, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6010, USA Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 53 489 2422; fax: +31 53 489 4239. 1 Tel.: +31 30 2539782. 2 Tel.: +31 71 526 9400. 3 Tel.: +1 21 5898 1004. PII: S0168-1591(10)00069-9 doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2010.02.005 © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserve

A survey investigation of the effects of music listening on chronic pain

Research interest into alternatives to analgesic medication has grown substantially during the past two decades. Moreover, a number of studies have provided empirical evidence that music listening, and in particular listening to our own preferred music, may provide an emotionally engaging distraction capable of reducing both the sensation of pain itself and the accompanying negative affective experience. The current study is a survey of 318 chronic pain sufferers, which aimed to (i) give a detailed description of the music listening behaviour of this group and relate this to experience of pain and quality of life, and (ii) indicate the numbers who consider music listening to be part of their pain management and investigate their perceptions of the benefits. Results indicated distraction and relaxation to be the most frequently perceived benefits of music reported by participants. Both frequent music listening and a perception of music as personally important were further found to relate to higher quality of life. Also, personal importance of music was significantly related to listening to help pain. These findings suggest beneficial effects of music listening to long-term pain