248 research outputs found
SEX DIFFERENCES IN THE ACQUISITION OF SPATIAL INFORMATION FROM HUMAN DEMONSTRATORS BY DOGS
No full textIn deferred imitation tasks, dogs typically act in the location, rather than on the object, where the demonstrator acted. However it is not known what kind of spatial information (allocentric or egocentric) dogs use to encode and recall the location of the demonstration and whether this differs between sexes.
We tested 15 dogs (8 females, 7 males), previously trained with the Do as I Do method (Fugazza and Miklósi 2014), in a deferred imitation task. A human demonstrator approached one of two identical targets, at two different locations; after a short interval, the dog was required to imitate the action, facing a direction opposite to that faced during the demonstration, thereby with conflicting allocentric and egocentric information. We used the number of allocentric or egocentric choices in 6 trials to classify dogs as egocentric or allocentric. Subsequently dogs were tested on their ability to resort to the non-preferred strategy.
Dogs preferentially used an allocentric strategy in the first phase (median allocentric choices = 5, min = 5, max = 6); when such strategy became unsuitable to solve the task, males outperformed females, reaching the set criterion of 3 egocentric choices in a row in fewer trials (median trials to criterion: males = 3, females = 9, Mann-Whitney U Test P = 0.04). Results demonstrate a general preference by dogs for acquiring allocentric information from humans. The higher flexibility shown by males supports the existence of sex-related differences in spatial cognition in dogs, as observed in other species (Rodriguez at al. 2010)
‘Interventi assistenziali e terapeutici che prevedono l’intervento di animali’. Linee Guida
No full textIl legame uomo-animale: un rapido sguardo alla sua ricchezza e complessità
No full textL’obiettivo principale della medicina veterinaria nell’ambito comportamentale è rafforzare e proteggere il legame uomo-animale garantendo sia all’uomo sia all’animale una qualità di vita elevata. La forza del legame uomo-animale è, infatti, direttamente correlata al comportamento dell’animale. Un animale che si comporta in maniera appropriata migliora la vita delle persone promuovendo il loro stato di salute generale e di benessere. D’altra parte, problemi del comportamento dell’animale mettono a dura prova il legame uomo-animale e spesso sono la causa di abbandono degli animali da compagni
MOTION PREDICTION IN DOGS
No full textBeing able to predict the future position of a moving object is crucial to hunt a prey and also to communicate and interact with partners. The aim of this study was to investigate a) if the violation of expectancy about movement speed modifies the dogs’ attention and b) the effect of previous stimulus exposure. We developed an inferred motion task, using a projected animation and a real 3D barrier, where the dogs’ orientation toward a moving stimulus was compared among three different test conditions: anticipated, delayed and congruent reappearance of a ball from behind the barrier. Twelve adult pet dogs were enrolled for the study and were divided between two experimental groups. Dogs of the EXP group were presented with the congruently moving object twice before observing each test condition, while UNEXP dogs were randomly presented with the test stimuli without pre-exposure. The duration of dogs orientation toward the reappearing ball did not differ among test conditions for both UNEXP (F = 0.25, P = 0.78) and EXP dogs (F = 0.46, P = 0.64). However, latency to orient toward the reappearing ball was affected by test condition in both UNEXP (F = 16.7, P < 0.001) and EXP dogs (F = 6.07, P = 0.048), with a shorter latency for delayed re-appearance of the ball compared to congruent condition (EXP: P = 0.24; UNEXP: P < 0.001). The results suggest that dogs are able to predict the future position of an object moving with constant speed regardless of pre-exposure
DOGS OBEY BETTER TO GESTURAL THEN VOCAL STIMULI BY STRANGERS
No full textWhen communicating with dogs, humans often combine verbal and gestural cues. Here we compared the relative relevance of gestural versus verbal stimuli in relation with the familiarity of the cue-giver. Fifteen water rescue dogs were asked to perform four actions (SIT, LIE DOWN, STAY and COME), by providing them only gestural, only verbal and contrasting stimuli (i.e. a gestural and a verbal stimulus indicating different actions). Each dog underwent the procedure twice, once with the owner and once with a stranger providing stimuli. Dogs’ responses to the presented stimuli were collected as a binomial variable (expressed / did not express the requested behavior); for the contrasting condition response to the gestural stimulus was arbitrarily considered as the requested one. When stimuli were provided by the owner, the highest probability of observing the requested behavior was observed in the gestural than vocal (P=0.020; adjusted P after Generalized Estimation Equations model) or contrasting (P<0.001) conditions; the lowest probability was observed in the vocal condition (vs. contrasting: P<0.001). With the stranger, the vocal condition showed a lower probability than the gestural (P<0.001) and contrasting (P=0.01) conditions. The probability of expressing the requested behavior was higher if the owner provided stimuli than if the stranger provided stimuli in the vocal (P<0.001) and contrasting conditions (P<0.001). Conclusion: the gestures of the handler and the stranger were both equally effective on dog responses, whereas vocal stimuli were more difficult to generalize
THE EFFECTS OF SEX AND GONADECTOMY ON A SPATIAL NAVIGATION TASK IN DOGS
No full textSex differences in spatial cognition have been demonstrated in many mammal species, but not widely studied in dogs. Sixty-four pet dogs divided in four equally sized groups (intact males, orchiectomized males, intact females, ovariectomized females) were tested in a T-maze task consisting of three stages. In the first learning test, dogs had to learn which of the two arms led out of the maze. After 2 weeks, memory was assessed. In the last, reversal-learning test, the correct exit arm was inverted compared to the learning test.
The whole task was successfully completed by 81.3% of intact and 56.3% ovariectomized females, 62.5% of intact and 50% of orchiectomized males. Intact females made fewer errors than intact males in the learning and memory tests (adjusted P<0.05, t-test) and chose with a lower latency in trials of the reversal-learning test (adjusted P<0.05, GLMM). The effect of gonadectomy was separately assessed within each sex. Intact females made fewer errors in learning and memory tests (adjusted P<0.05) and chose with a lower latency in trials of the reversal-learning test (adjusted P<0.05) than ovariectomized females. Intact males showed higher latency than orchiectomized males in reversal-learning test (P<0.05).
Results show clear sex-related differences in spatial cognition. Gonadectomy mainly affected females, inducing a general worsening of performance in ovariectomized subjects. Findings underline the role of sex on spatial cognition in dogs, which may be relevant for specific training where good navigation skills are required. Results also raise questions about the possible consequences of gonadectomy on dog’s cognitive abilities
Endocrinologia e fisiologia riproduttiva dello stallone
No full textQuesta rassegna ha messo in evidenza la complessità della regolazione funzionale della risproduzione nello stallone, sottolineandone la dipendenza, nella sua corretta estrinsecazione, da delicati equilibri ormonali e comportamentali
Comparison between plasma prolactin concentration in spontaneous and cabergoline induced oestrous cycles in the bitch
No full textMETABOLIC FACTORS, RATHER THAN NONSELECTIVE FOOD INTAKE MIGHT AFFECT OBESITY IN DOGS
No full textAlthough obesity represents a widespread problem in companion dogs, the contribution of breed-specific behavioral patterns to obesity are less investigated. In this study we compared the performance of dogs belonging to breeds that are considered more (Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Beagle; N=25) or less (Border Collie, Mudi; N=23) prone to obesity. Dogs were enrolled in a two-way object choice test where they had to find hidden food following the visual cue given by the experimenter. The indicated bowl contained always food of low incentive value. In group ‘empty alternative’ (EA) the non-indicated bowl was empty (N=22), while in group ‘reward alternative’ (RA) it contained food of high incentive value (N=26). The EA group showed a decline in their motivation along the trials, as they approached the target bowls with longer latencies (P=0.022) than dogs in RA, and this effect was even more pronounced during the last three trials (P=0.001). Number of correct choices (choosing the indicated bowl) in the last three trials showed also a trend-like decline (P=0.069) in the EA group compared to RA. Obesity proneness of dog breed did not affect the latency of approach (P=0.251), nor the performance (P=0.478).
Our results show that dogs, irrespectively of their breed predisposition towards developing obesity, react with declining motivation to repeated encounters with food reward of low incentive value. Based on these findings, we may draw a cautious conclusion that canine obesity is not promoted by the invariable attraction to all kinds of food
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