Oxytocin and Cortisol Levels in Dog Owners and Their Dogs Are Associated with Behavioral Patterns: An Exploratory Study

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

We have previously shown that dog–owner interaction results in increasing oxytocin levels in owners and dogs, decreasing cortisol levels in owners but increasing cortisol levels in dogs. The present study aimed to further investigate whether oxytocin and cortisol levels in the previously...

Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Human Directed Social Behavior in Dogs (Canis familiaris)

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

The oxytocin system has a crucial role in human sociality; several results prove that polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene are related to complex social behaviors in humans. Dogs' parallel evolution with humans and their adaptation to the human environment has made them a useful...

A Multivariate Model of Stakeholder Preference for Lethal Cat Management

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Identifying stakeholder beliefs and attitudes is critical for resolving management conflicts. Debate over outdoor cat management is often described as a conflict between two groups, environmental advocates and animal welfare advocates, but little is known about the variables predicting...

Cortisol and Secretory Immunoglobulin A Response to Stress in German Shepherd Dogs

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

The aim of the study was to determine whether cortisol and secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) could be used as an indicator of acute stress in both young and adult dogs. Seventeen German shepherd puppies were exposed to the Puppy test (challenge test) at the age of seven weeks. This test has...

Training Reduces Stress in Human-Socialised Wolves to the Same Degree as in Dogs

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

The welfare of animals in captivity is of considerable societal concern. A major source of stress, especially for wild animals, is the lack of control over their environment, which includes not being able to avoid contact with human beings. Paradoxically, some studies have shown that...

An Owner-Independent Investigation of Diabetes Alert Dog Performance

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Objective: To quantify Diabetes Alert Dog (DAD) performance by using owner-independent measures. Research Design and Methods: Eight owners of accredited DADs used a FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System (FGMS). Concurrent Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage was...

Online videos indicate human and dog behaviour preceding dog bites and the context in which bites occur

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

YouTube videos of dog bites present an unexplored opportunity to observe dog bites directly. We recorded the context of bites, bite severity, victim and dog characteristics for 143 videos and for 56 videos we coded human and dog behaviour before the bite. Perceived bite severity was derived...

The impact of atypical early histories on pet or performer chimpanzees

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

  It is widely accepted that an animal’s early history, including but not limited to its rearing history, can have a profound impact on later behavior. In the case of captive animals, many studies have used categorical measures such as mother reared or human reared that do not...

Judgement bias in goats (Capra hircus): investigating the effects of human grooming

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

  Animal emotional states can be investigated by evaluating their impact on cognitive processes. In this study, we used a judgement bias paradigm to determine if short-term positive human-animal interaction (grooming) induced a positive affective state in goats. We tested two groups of...

An unexpected acoustic indicator of positive emotions in horses

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Indicators of positive emotions are still scarce and many proposed behavioural markers have proven ambiguous. Studies established a link between acoustic signals and emitter’s internal state, but few related to positive emotions and still fewer considered non-vocal sounds. One of them,...

The Days and Nights of Zoo Elephants: Using Epidemiology to Better Understand Stereotypic Behavior of African Elephants (Loxodonta africana) and Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in North American Zoos

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Stereotypic behavior is an important indicator of compromised welfare. Zoo elephants are documented to perform stereotypic behavior, but the factors that contribute to performance have not been systematically assessed. We collected behavioral data on 89 elephants (47 African [Loxodonta...

Creating Junior Ethologists

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Parent perceptions of the quality of life of pet dogs living with neuro-typically developing and neuro-atypically developing children: An exploratory study

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

There is growing scientific and societal recognition of the role that pet dogs can play in healthy development of children; both those who are neuro-typically developing and those who live with a neuro-developmental disorder, such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However,...

Identifying and Resolving End of Session Cues in Substance Detection Canine Training

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

When training and working a substance detection canine, a trained final response should be performed immediately upon recognition of odor (Generally, a 1–3 s window is preferred within our detection practices). Typical canine training places much emphasis on planning and setting up...

The technician's role in the behavior consultation

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Relinquishment of sheltered animals: how the behavioral data can inform the veterinary role in prevention and successful rehoming

Conference Papers | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Canine separation anxiety: strategies for treatment and management

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Evaluation of a behavioral assessment tool for dogs relinquished to shelters

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

No better than flipping a coin: Reconsidering canine behavior evaluations in animal shelters

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)

Use of behavior evaluations for shelter dogs has progressed despite their lack of scientific validation as reliable diagnostic tools. Yet results of these evaluations are often used to make life-and-death decisions. Despite acknowledging the significant limitations of evaluations, most authors...

Prevalence of owner-reported behaviours in dogs separated from the litter at two different ages

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Alison E. Ries, Catherine Marrs Fuchsel (adviser)