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On-farm testing of dairy calves' avoidance response to human approach effects of sex, age and test order
| Contributor(s):: Ellingsen-Dalsjau, K., Dean, K. R., Rousing, T.
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Aspects of juvenile and adolescent environment predict aggression and fear in 12-month-old guide dogs
| Contributor(s):: Serpell, J. A., Duffy, D. L.
Maturational changes in behavior, and the possible influence of the puppy-raising environment on behavioral development, were investigated in a total sample of 978 prospective guide dogs belonging to four different breeds/crosses. All dogs belonged to the same guide dog organization, and had...
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Interaction between sows’ aggressiveness post mixing and skin lesions recorded several weeks later
| Contributor(s):: Tönepöhl, Björn, Appel, Anne K., Voß, Barbara, König von Borstel, Uta, Gauly, Matthias
Group housing of pigs leads inevitably to more or less serious agonistic interactions during the establishment of the social rank order of the group. In order to reduce the number of severe agonistic interactions and thus the negative effects on well-being and performance, the use of genetic...
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Immunocastration with Improvac™ reduces aggressive and sexual behaviours in male pigs
| Contributor(s):: Brewster, Veronica, Nevel, Amanda
Surgical castration of male pigs is a common practice to reduce the risk of boar taint, an accumulation of pheromones in the muscles of pigs giving an undesirable odour to the pork of entire boars. Castration is not widely practiced in the UK for welfare reasons and indeed, assurance schemes...
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A modeling approach for estimating seasonal dietary preferences of goats in a Mediterranean Quercus frainetto–Juniperus oxycedrus woodland
| Contributor(s):: Manousidis, T., Malesios, C., Kyriazopoulos, A. P., Parissi, Z. M., Abraham, E. M., Abas, Z.
Goats are characterized as selective feeders due to their specific feeding behavior, thus the study of their seasonal preferences in a Mediterranean oak-juniper ecosystem is of great interest. The current research was conducted in an open oak forest in Megalo Dereio region, northeastern Greece...
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Impact of structural and cognitive enrichment on the learning performance, behavior and physiology of dwarf goats (Capra aegagrus hircus)
| Contributor(s):: Oesterwind, Susann, Nürnberg, Gerd, Puppe, Birger, Langbein, Jan
Intensive husbandry usually offers only limited opportunities for animals to perform their characteristic species–specific behavior and can lead to boredom, stress or frustration. The positive impact of structural forms of environmental enrichment on animal welfare is well investigated...
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"Who's been a good dog?" - Owner perceptions and motivations for treat giving
| Contributor(s):: White, G. A., Ward, L., Pink, C., Craigon, J., Millar, K. M.
Complex relationships commonly exist between owners and their companion animals, particularly around feeding behaviour with an owner's affection or love for their animal most pronounced through the provision of food. It is notable that the pet food market is experiencing strong year-on-year...
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Food puzzles for cats: feeding for physical and emotional wellbeing
| Contributor(s):: Dantas, L. M. S., Delgado, M. M., Johnson, I., Buffington, C. A. T.
Practical relevance: Many pet cats are kept indoors for a variety of reasons (eg, safety, health, avoidance of wildlife predation) in conditions that are perhaps the least natural to them. Indoor housing has been associated with health issues, such as chronic lower urinary tract signs, and...
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Does group size have an impact on welfare indicators in fattening pigs?
| Contributor(s):: Meyer-Hamme, S. E. K., Lambertz, C., Gauly, M.
Production systems for fattening pigs have been characterized over the last 2 decades by rising farm sizes coupled with increasing group sizes. These developments resulted in a serious public discussion regarding animal welfare and health in these intensive production systems. Even though large...
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Interaction with shelter dogs reduces negative affect of adolescents in substance use disorder treatment
| Contributor(s):: Ellsworth, L. M., Tragesser, S., Newberry, R. C.
We investigated the effectiveness of a human-animal interaction program, involving dogs from an animal shelter, in improving affect of adolescent males in inpatient treatment for substance use disorder (SUD). We hypothesized that adolescents would experience improvements in affect and attitudes...
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Behavioral responses of nursing home residents to visits from a person with a dog, a robot seal or a toy cat
| Contributor(s):: Thodberg, K., Sorensen, L. U., Videbech, P. B., Poulsen, P. H., Houbak, B., Damgaard, V., Keseler, I., Edwards, D., Christensen, J. W.
Previous studies suggest that contact with dogs can positively affect the wellbeing of elderly people in nursing homes, but there is a lack of research investigating the causal pathways of these effects. One such pathway may relate to the behavioral responses of the elderly when interacting with...
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A randomized cross-over exploratory study of the effect of visiting therapy dogs on college student stress before final exams
| Contributor(s):: Barker, S. B., Barker, R. T., McCain, N. L., Schubert, C. M.
This exploratory study investigated the effect of visiting therapy dogs on college-student perceived and physiological stress the week prior to final exams. Students ( n=78) were randomly assigned to order of a therapy-dog intervention and attention-control condition, each 15 minutes long....
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Environmentally enriching American mink (Neovison vison) increases lymphoid organ weight and skeletal symmetry, and reveals differences between two sub-types of stereotypic behaviour
| Contributor(s):: Diez-Leon, M., Bursian, S., Galicia, D., Napolitano, A., Palme, R., Mason, G.
Enrichment studies for wild carnivores (e.g., in zoos) are often short-term, use enrichments of unknown motivational significance, and focus on glucocorticoids and stereotypic behaviour (SB), ignoring other stress-relevant variables. Our study assessed the broad behavioural and physiological...
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Prevalence of stereotypies and its possible causes among captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Tamil Nadu, India
| Contributor(s):: Vanitha, Varadharajan, Thiyagesan, Krishnamoorthy, Baskaran, Nagarajan
Animals in captivity are often confined in small barren enclosures, preventing adequate exercise, and socialization with conspecifics. Captivity is also known for depriving young individuals' association with maternal relatives by weaning away from their mothers' earlier than what their...
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Individual differences in visual and olfactory cue preference and use by cats (Felis catus)
| Contributor(s):: Mayes, E. R. E., Wilkinson, A., Pike, T. W., Mills, D. S.
Animals are constantly presented with stimuli through different sensory challenges, which may sometimes contain contradictory information and so they must decide which is more salient in a given situation. Both vision and olfaction are extensively utilised by the domestic cat (Felis catus) in a...
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Behavioural response of pure Ankole and crossbred (Ankole * Holstein) cows to seasonal pasture variations in south-western Uganda
| Contributor(s):: Idibu, J., Kabi, F., Mpairwe, D.
This study evaluated the effects of season and pasture species on variations in sward composition, pasture quantity (plant-height and biomass) and quality [crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD)]. Behavioural responses of a group of 10...
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The effect of reward-handler dissociation on dogs' obedience performance in different conditions
| Contributor(s):: Gerencser, L., Kosztolanyi, A., Delanoeije, J., Miklosi, A.
Dogs' responsiveness to instructions of the handler is known to be influenced by several factors. In this study we examined whether reward-handler dissociation has an effect on the obedience performance of family dogs with basic training history. We looked at situations involving human-dog...
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The effects of radar on avian behavior: implications for wildlife management at airports
| Contributor(s):: Sheridan, E., Randolet, J., DeVault, T. L., Seamans, T. W., Blackwell, B. F., Fernandez-Juricic, E.
Airports often contain foraging, breeding, and roosting resources for wildlife. Airports also have different types of radars to assist with air traffic control, monitoring weather, and tracking wildlife that could become a risk for collision with aircraft. The effect of radar electromagnetic...
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The avoidance of farmyards by European badgers Meles meles in a medium density population
| Contributor(s):: Mullen, E. M., MacWhite, T., Maher, P. K., Kelly, D. J., Marples, N. M., Good, M.
Mycobacterium bovis (TB) in cattle is a disease with far-reaching economic effects throughout Europe but especially in Great Britain and Ireland. Wildlife reservoirs, in particular the European badger Meles meles, continue to play an important role in the transmission of the disease, although the...
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Welfare outcomes for 3- and 6-month-old beef calves in a tropical environment castrated surgically or by applying rubber rings
| Contributor(s):: Petherick, J. C., Small, A. H., Reid, D. J., Colditz, I. G., Ferguson, D. M.
Castration of cattle using rubber rings is becoming increasingly popular due to the perceived ease of the procedure and greater operator safety when compared with surgical castration. Few comparative studies have investigated the effects of different castration methods and calf age on welfare...
