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Training a New Trick Using No-Reward Markers: Effects on Dogs' Performance and Stress Behaviors
Theses | Contributor(s): Naomi Rotenberg
This study explored using no-reward markers (NRMs). Dogs were taught a novel trick. In the IG group dogs’ errors were ignored; in the NRM group they elicited a tone. Performance and stress were evaluated. IG dogs reached higher levels of performance, with no difference in the frequency of...
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The Impact of a Canine Assisted Reading Program on a Reluctant Reader's Literacy Learning
Theses | Contributor(s): Samantha Fitch
This capstone explores the opportunity to provide an alternate reading intervention program to reluctant readers in the comfort of their own home. Canine-assisted reading programs have been implemented in school districts around the country; providing students with a reading partner that will...
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Intra-rater and Inter-rater Reliability of the ASPCA's Behavior Evaluation of Fearful Dogs
Theses | Contributor(s): Sara Matters
Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the ASPCA Behavioral Evaluation of fearful dogs was measured. Raters watched recordings of 12 dogs and rated their behaviors. Ratings were analyzed for reliability within and between all raters. Results indicated that frequency of use of the evaluation...
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Bonds Beyond Time: Are There Differences In Well-Being, Autonomy, And Bond Between Visually Impaired Individuals With Guide Dogs Versus Pet Dogs?
Theses | Contributor(s): Nicole Yarmolkevich
Well-being is a broad umbrella term that encompasses an individual’s appraisal of situations and events and their satisfaction with life (Diener, 1994). Research has shown that having a severe disability can negatively impact a person’s sense of well-being. Specifically, research...
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Reward Preferences in Domestic Horses (Equus caballus)
Theses | Contributor(s): Elizabeth E. Jaeger
The present study examined stress response in domestic horses (Equus caballus) to determine if horses show preference for either traditional or natural horsemanship training methods to test the hypothesis that natural horsemanship would induce less stress. Our results show that natural...
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Displays of Jealousy in Dogs
Theses | Contributor(s): Cassandra D. Beck
Wolves (Canis Lupis) were domesticated into the common dog (Canis Familiaris) at least 15 thousand years ago. The domestication process changed wolves both physically and neurologically. Dogs now have a unique connection with humans, and display many of the same personality traits and cognitive...
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When Human-Leopard Conflict Turns Deadly: A Cross-Country Situational Analysis
Theses | Contributor(s): Julie S. Viollaz
Habitat destruction and pollution are two of the main causes for the decline of the planet’s biodiversity. Yet environmentalists are now recognizing that illegal wildlife killings, both poaching and retaliatory killings due to human-wildlife conflict, are perhaps the next major threat....
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Hippotherapy: An Alternative Treatment from the Perceptions of Practitioners
Theses | Contributor(s): Leah Tinkham
Hippotherapy can be defined as a dynamic service offered by occupational, physical, and speech-language pathologists that utilizes a horse’s unique movement to achieve functional outcomes. While there are an abundance of studies demonstrating the effectiveness of hippotherapy, very few...
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Carcass Feeding for Captive Vultures: Testing Assumptions about Zoos and Effects on Birds and Visitors
Theses | Contributor(s): Hannah Gaengler
Carcass feeding is a potentially controversial feeding method for zoo animals. The common assumption is that many North American zoos refrain from feeding large carcasses to their carnivorous animals because zoo visitors might not approve of this feeding method. However, since there are several...
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Service Animals in Elementary Classrooms: Examining Educator and Family Perspectives of a Working Service Animal in an Elementary Classroom
Theses | Contributor(s): Jenna Falldorf
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990 by President Bush. Although the ADA includes laws about public access rights for people with disabilities and their service animals, many schools are reluctant to have service animals (that are partnered with children with...
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The Dogs of Dickens: the Canine Presence in the Author's Works
Theses | Contributor(s): Christopher Koestner
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Contagious Yawning in the Domestic Cat (Felis catus)
Theses | Contributor(s): Ariel M. Lombardo Aghishian
This study investigates contagious yawning in domestic cats towards their owners, looking at potential links with empathy. Results showed no significant difference in yawning between conditions. The solitary nature of wildcats and their shared ancestor, and the unique social behavior in...
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The Behavioral Effects of Feeding Enrichment on a Zoo-Housed Herd of African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)
Theses | Contributor(s): Caroline Marie Driscoll
A comprehensive study on the behavioral effects of feeding enrichment was conducted on six African elephants housed at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, NC. The herd is comprised of are two adult males, three adult females, and one subadult female. The study was conducted over a...
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Public Perceptions: Risks in Dog and Coastal Wildlife Interactions
Theses | Contributor(s): Ian Banatoski, Bryanna Dellaripa, Samantha Hires, Larissa Naidoo, Elizabeth Rooney
The New Zealand Department of Conservation is seeking to better manage coastal wildlife interactions as dogs become more prevalent on beaches with vulnerable wildlife. We used site assessments, surveys, and interviews to assess the public’s perceptions of dog-wildlife encounters. Since...
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Canine for Disabled Kids Awareness Campaign Research and Implementation Plan
Theses | Contributor(s): Jiamin Gu, Kendall Harcourt, Chang Liu, Kiamu Liu, Jemmie Tejada
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service animals are: “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities” ( ADA, 2015). On the other hand, emotional support animals are: “dogs that provide comfort and support in...
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The Use of Trazodone Hydrochloride to Reduce Stress in Dogs During the Transition Period into a Municipal Animal Shelter: Impact on Incidence of Illness, Length of Stay, and Outcome
Theses | Contributor(s): Jennifer L. Abrams
A large municipal animal shelter in NYC gave dogs low doses of trazodone hydrochloride at the time of intake to evaluate its efficacy in reducing transitional stress. Statistically significant decreases in illness rate and length of stay and increase in adoption rate were observed in the dogs...
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Barriers to Sustainable Hunting-Based Conservation of Elephants in Zimbabwe
Theses | Contributor(s): Jessica Cusworth
The international demand for ivory has devastated African elephant populations. In 2015, more elephants were poached for ivory than were born. Many countries have sought to decrease poaching pressures through ivory trade bans. However, Zimbabwe, home to the second largest African elephant...
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The Effect of Play Group on the Behavior of Shelter Dogs
Theses | Contributor(s): Stephanie Flower
This study looked at two groups of dogs, one which attended play group prior to receiving their behavior evaluation and one that did not. The group that attended play group showed significantly lower scores when looking at the dog to dog portion of the behavior evaluation.
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Canines for Disabled Kids
Theses | Contributor(s): Erin Jerrett, Margarita Mnatsakanyan, Colleen Reynolds, Yin Wang
Canines for Disabled Kids have been working on behalf of children and their families to educate communities and promote service dog partnerships for almost twenty years. Their advocacy with local legislatures, business owners, and community leaders highlighted the difficulties encountered when...
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Tracing Economic, Ritual, and Social Pathways to Neolithization in the Southern Levant through Human-Animal Relationships at Kfar HaHoresh
Theses | Contributor(s): Jacqueline Suzanne Meier
During the transition to agriculture in the southern Levant of Southwest Asia, the PrePottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period is marked by the beginning of herd animal management, a fluorescence of ritual evidence and increasingly large settlements with diversified uses. These developments had...
