Successive Negative Contrast (SNC) occurs when there is a reduction in the quantity or quality of a reward that is expected according to the presence of contextual cues. This induces an emotional response of frustration that is similar to stress. While this phenomenon has been observed in several mammal species, findings in domestic dogs have been inconsistent, although this issue has strong relevance in dog training. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of Successive Negative Contrast in two responses that had already been studied in this species, but with an increase in the methodological rigor and variations in the experimental conditions to examine the generalizability of the phenomenon. To this end, experimental dogs experienced a pre-shift phase in which they received a high-value reward (liver), followed by a post-shift phase in which they obtained a low-value reward (dry dog food), and then a re-shift phase in which the high-value reward was available again. Control dogs received dry food in all phases. The results show a contrast effect on the behavior of following human pointing to obtain food (Study 1). On the contrary, there were no differences in problem solving behavior after the de- and re-evaluation of the reward during a non-social task (Study 2). The results support that Successive Negative Contrast is not a consistent phenomenon in pet dogs. It is possible that certain characteristics of dogs such as the great availability of high-value rewards in their daily lives could attenuate the effects of a reduction in incentive value.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the routines of people, consequently changing the daily lives of their pets. Behavioral and emotional changes caused by the stress resulting from restrictions of social isolation and their consequences in the human-animal relationship have been discussed. However, there are still no studies that identify the factors that affect behavior and which are the most susceptible groups. The purpose of this study is to identify behavioral and emotional changes on dogs during the COVID-19 pandemic and their effects on the quality of life of animals and their owners. The methodology used was online questionnaires, which were posted on social networks aimed to dog owners in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. The results showed that age, sex, dog size, type of home, and restrictions imposed differently affected the type of behavioral change. However, the most frequent type of change was the worsening of previous conditions. Neutered behaviors directly interfered in the lives of owners and their pets, as owners managed the situation and sought information without guidance from a veterinarian, with the possibly consequence of worsening the situation in the future. Veterinarians should actively investigate behavioral changes that have occurred through anamnesis to avoid abandonment and instability in the human-animal relationship.

Medical detection dogs have potential to be used to screen asymptomatic patients in crowded areas at risk of epidemics such as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, the fact that SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs are in direct contact with infected people or materials raises important concerns due to the zoonotic potential of the virus. No study has yet recommended a safety protocol to ensure the health of SARS- CoV-2 detection dogs during training and working in public areas. This study sought to identify suitable decontamination methods to obtain nonpathogenic face mask samples while working with SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs and to investigate whether dogs were able to adapt themselves to other decontamination procedures once they were trained for a specific odor. The present study was designed as a four-phase study: (a) Method development, (b) Testing of decon- tamination methods, (c) Testing of training methodology, and (d) Real life scenario. Surgical face masks were used as scent samples. In total, 3 dogs were trained. The practical use of 3 different decontam- ination procedures (storage, heating, and UV-C light) while training SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs were tested. The dog trained for the task alerted to the samples inactivated by the storage method with a sensitivity of100 % and specificity of 98.28 %. In the last phase of this study, one dog of 2 dogs trained, alerted to the samples inactivated by the UV-C light with a sensitivity of 91.30% and specificity of 97.16% while the other dog detected the sample with a sensitivity of 96.00% and specificity of 97.65 %.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic changes to our lifestyle, particularly affecting our ability to interact "in person" with our social network. These changes have had a detrimental effect on the mental welfare of the global population. The international questionnaire "Pets in Lockdown" was designed to investigate whether feelings of loneliness were affecting the mood of people during the COVID-19 lockdown and whether pet ownership may have had a positive influence on both loneliness and general mood. As expected, higher loneliness scores were associated with higher negative and lower positive affective states. In addition, lower loneliness scores were associated with pet ownership and living with other people, but not with more frequent interactions with people from outside the household, suggesting that physical and close contact has an important role in decreasing feelings of loneliness. Besides the effects on the loneliness score, pet ownership was not associated with positive or negative affective states. The strength of the attachment to animals, measured as the amount of comfort that people obtain from their pets, was stronger in people with potentially limited access to affiliative physical human contact and was associated with both higher positive and negative affective states. Additionally, people obtained significantly more comfort from dogs and horses compared with other pet species. The results suggest that during the confinement period, pets may have benefited people with smaller social networks by alleviating loneliness and offering comfort and embodied close contact.

Environmental contamination is commonly experienced by working canines deployed in the field. Unfortunately, data regarding safety and efficacy of cleansers recommended for decontamination is lacking. Client-owned canines recruited from the community (n = 43) were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: povidone-iodine scrub [60mL Betadine® 7.5% povidone-iodine surgical scrub (Avrio Health L.P, Stamford, CT)], chlorhexidine scrub [60 mL Nolvasan® 2% chlorohexidine surgical scrub (Zoetis, Kalamazoo, MI)], dish detergent [60mL Dawn® dish detergent (Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH)], or water alone (control). A visual score assessing removal of a fluorescent marker (GloGerm, Moab, UT) applied between the shoulder blades was used to rate effectiveness of decontamination. Cleanser effect on canine dermal barrier function was determined by measuring pre- and post-decontamination dermal pH and trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). Analysis of visual scores was performed using PROC FREQ and Chi Square. Significance was set at 0.05 for all tests. Efficacy of fluorescent marker removal was significantly affected by cleanser (P<0.0001). Dermal pH was also highly affected by cleanser (P < 0.0001). In contrast, TEWL was unchanged across cleansers (P = 0.2686). Common veterinary cleansers utilized for canine decontamination demonstrate similarity in effectiveness for removal of a simulated contaminant and negative impact on dermal barrier function.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a strict state of emergency on Belgrade residents with a curfew and restriction on movement. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine how the measures introduced as a consequence of this disease in the capital of Serbia affected the duration of walking time of owners and their dogs. The study allowed for sociodemographics of owners, characteristics of their homes and breeds of dog. The research was conducted in the period from March 22 to April 4, 2020. In general, the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions reduced the duration of dog walks and owners' walking time. Of the 216 adult dog owners, 59% walked their dogs successfully (≥150 min/week) before the state of emergency. The number of owners who walked their dogs for ≥150 min/week decreased to only 44% (N = 96) during the state of emergency. The pandemic also decreased the number of owners who achieved total walking times of ≥150 min/week, so only 56% of them were successful in total walking time during the state of emergency (100% were successful before the pandemic, as this was one of inclusion criteria). This difference was statistically significant ( 0.01). A Wilcoxon signed-rank test found significant differences in the total walking time before and during the state of emergency, with regard to characteristics of the owner, home and dog, with strong effect sizes for these differences ( 0.01). McNemar's test showed that female owners, owners aged 45-64 years and owners with high income who were previously successful in walking their dogs (≥150 min/week) were more affected by the pandemic in regard to walking time with dogs ( 0.01). Significant correlations ( 0.01) were observed between dog breed and walking time before the state of emergency; age and walking time with the dog during the state of emergency and; age and total walking time during the state of emergency. Comparisons between different categories within the same characteristics (owner demographics, home characteristics and dog breed) by Fisher's exact test found significant differences only between younger and older dog owners in total walking time during the state of emergency ( 0.01). Younger owners were significantly more successful in achieving ≥150 min/week total walking time than owners aged 45-64. The COVID-19 pandemic has left some owners jobless and allowed them to spend more time walking dogs. The occurrence of this disease has led to changes in the social structure of households and in the daily habits of household members. These factors have affected on the length of walking time of owners and their dogs in Belgrade.

In mid-March 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Serbia in order to prevent the spread of COVID 19. Many activities of Serbian citizens were limited or completely stopped. Citizens had to spend most of their time confined in their homes. However, some still wanted and managed to acquire pets. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine which kinds of pets (dogs, cats and non-traditional animals) the residents of Serbia acquired during the first year of the COVID 19 pandemic and in which manner (purchase, adoption or gift). If the pets were acquired by adoption, the participants were asked from what sources they adopted them. Finally, how the characteristics of the owner and their household influenced the adoption of pets was examined. A total of 566 pet owners who acquired pets in the pre-COVID 19 and COVID 19 periods participated in the research. The COVID pandemic reduced the number of pet owners 2.7-fold in 2020 compared to 2019. Dogs were the most favourite pets acquired before (43%) and during (43%) the pandemic. During the pandemic, 61% of pets were acquired by adoption and the percentage of dogs, cats and non-traditional pets adopted directly from previous owners increased by 32%, 13% and 12%, respectively. The probability of acquiring pets by adoption was significantly increased by the presence of people older than 65 in the household (OR=2.56; =0.02), the absence of children up to 5 years of age (OR=0.17; <0.001) in the household, lower monthly incomes (OR=0.47; <0.001), the greater available free time of the owner (OR=2.09; <0.001), and the period of adoption (OR=2.42; <0.001).

An international online questionnaire Pets in Lockdown was conducted during the first COVID-19 lockdown during the months of April and May 2020 to assess how pet owners perceived some aspects of their relationship with their pets, including time spent together and how much they enjoyed it, difficulties taking care of their pets, the amount of comfort they obtained from interacting with their pets, and whether they had observed any changes in their pets' resting time and behavior. Most pet owners did not describe any changes in the relationship with their pets or in their pets' behaviour. Horse owners expressed more difficulties taking care of their animals than owners of other species. Approximately 20% of the animals had less time available to rest undisturbed. Of the animals that displayed behavioral changes, remaining closer to the owner was the most frequently described change followed by descriptions of higher arousal and increased negative affective states.

Few tests have been developed to test the cognitive and motor capabilities of domestic cats, in spite of the suitability of cats for specific studies of neuroanatomy, infectious diseases, development, aging, and behavior. The present study evaluated a T-maze apparatus as a sensitive and reliable measure of cognition and motor function of cats. Eighteen purpose-bred, specific-pathogen-free, male, neutered domestic shorthair cats (), 1-2 years of age, were trained and tested to a T-maze protocol using food rewards. The test protocol consisted of positional discrimination training (left arm or right arm) to criterion followed by two discrimination reversal tests. The two reversal tests documented the ability of the subjects to respond to a new reward location, and switch arms of the T-maze. Data were collected on side preference, number of correct responses, and latency of responses by the subjects. Aided by a customized computer program (CanCog Technologies), data were recorded electronically as each cat progressed from the start box to the reward arm. The protocol facilitated rapid training to a high and consistent level of performance during the discrimination training. This learning was associated with a decrease in the latency to traverse the maze to a mean of 4.80 ± 0.87 s indicating strong motivation and consistent performance. When the rewarded side was reversed in the test phase, cats required more trials to reach criterion, as expected, but again showed reliable learning. The latency to reward in the first session of reversal increased 86% from the first to the last trial indicating that it may provide a useful index of cognitive processing. Latencies subsequently decreased as the new reversal paradigm was learned. This paradigm provides a relatively rapid and reliable test of cognitive motor performance that can be used in various settings for evaluation of feline cognitive and motor function.

Working canines have the potential to be exposed to hazardous materials during search and rescue deployments. Unfortunately, little data are available regarding likely areas of contamination on working canines or effective techniques for substance removal. We describe recent work using an oil-based UV fluorescent marker pooled to mimic standing liquid hazards in a simulated disaster scene to characterize anatomical locations likely to be contaminated. This study utilized three simulated "contaminated" environments situated across a disaster training complex. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) working canines (n = 11) searched the simulated disaster scene and traversed each contaminated environment. Following the search, all canines were kenneled for 30 minutes and then photographed to capture anatomic locations of exposure. The canines were then taken immediately to the decontamination station where handlers' attempts at canine decontamination were recorded. Anatomical locations were coded as ventral or dorsal, and then further subdivided to the neck, chest, lower legs, and paws for ventral exposures; and back, head, face, and hips for dorsal exposures. Contamination occurred consistently on the paws and lower legs with overall ventral exposure occurring in 39 of 44 (89%) observations. Contamination of the back and head was infrequent, with overall dorsal exposure occurring in 11 of 44 (25%) observations. Despite handler awareness of the exact anatomical locations of exposure with a greater frequency of exposure involving ventral (78%) versus dorsal (22%) regions of the canine ( < 0.0001), time spent decontaminating the two regions did not differ ( = 0.881). These data indicate a need for additional research to identify effective decontamination techniques. Furthermore, the results suggest that additional training may be needed to educate handlers and veterinary personnel regarding anatomic locations on working canines likely to be contaminated during disaster operations in environments where standing liquid hazards are present.

The need for a cheap, ubiquitous, sensitive, rapid, noninvasive means of screening large numbers of presymptomatic and asymptomatic samples at departure or arrival into ports of countries, high-risk areas, and within communities forms the subject of this review. The widely used diagnostic test for the SARS-CoV 2 is the real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay while antibody-based techniques are being introduced as supplemental tools, but the lack of specialized nucleic acid extraction and amplification laboratories hampers/slows down timely large-scale testing. The use of animals with sensitive olfactory cue as an alternate testing model could serve as an alternative to detect COVID-19 in the saliva of carriers. The African giant rats are highly versatile and detect odorant molecules from carriers of pathogens with high percentage success after few months of training, hence can be taught to detect odor differences of COVID-19 in asymptomatic and presymptomatic individuals. If these are trained, they could help to curtail further spread of COVID infections.

Previous studies have shown that the playing of thunderstorm recordings during an open-field task elicits fearful or anxious responses in adult beagles. The goal of our study was to apply this open field test to assess sound-induced behaviors in Labrador retrievers drawn from a pool of candidate improvised explosive devices (IED)-detection dogs. Being robust to fear-inducing sounds and recovering quickly is a critical requirement of these military working dogs. This study presented male and female dogs, with 3 minutes of either ambient noise (Days 1, 3 and 5), recorded thunderstorm (Day 2), or gunfire (Day 4) sounds in an open field arena. Behavioral and physiological responses were assessed and compared to control (ambient noise) periods. An observer blinded to sound treatment analyzed video records of the 9-minute daily test sessions. Additional assessments included measurement of distance traveled (activity), heart rate, body temperature, and salivary cortisol concentrations. Overall, there was a decline in distance traveled and heart rate within each day and over the five-day test period, suggesting that dogs habituated to the open field arena. Behavioral postures and expressions were assessed using a standardized rubric to score behaviors linked to canine fear and anxiety. These fear/anxiety scores were used to evaluate changes in behaviors following exposure to a sound stressor. Compared to control periods, there was an overall increase in fear/anxiety scores during thunderstorm and gunfire sound stimuli treatment periods. Fear/anxiety scores were correlated with distance traveled, and heart rate. Fear/anxiety scores in response to thunderstorm and gunfire were correlated. Dogs showed higher fear/anxiety scores during periods after the sound stimuli compared to control periods. In general, candidate IED-detection Labrador retrievers responded to sound stimuli and recovered quickly, although dogs stratified in their response to sound stimuli. Some dogs were robust to fear/anxiety responses. The results suggest that the open field sound test may be a useful method to evaluate the suitability of dogs for IED-detection training.

Less than 20% of the domestic dogs on tribal lands in the United States are vaccinated against rabies. One method to increase vaccination rates may be the distribution of oral rabies vaccines (ORVs). ONRAB (Artemis Technologies, Inc., Ontario, Canada) is the primary ORV used in Canada to vaccinate striped skunks and raccoons. To investigate the potential use of ONRAB ORV baits to vaccinate feral domestic dogs against rabies on tribal lands and beyond, we performed a flavor preference study. A total of 7 bait flavors (bacon, cheese, dog food, hazelnut, sugar-vanilla, peanut butter, and sardine) were offered in pairs to 13 domestic dogs. Each dog was offered all possible combinations of bait pairs over a period of 10 days, with each bait offered 6 times. The proportion of times each bait was consumed first by individual dogs was calculated and comparisons among dogs were conducted using the MIXED procedure in SAS (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Pairwise comparisons between baits were performed using "contrast" statements with sugar-vanilla flavor as the default for comparison. Type 3 tests of fixed effects showed a significant treatment effect (  = 9.74,  < 0.0001). Sugar-vanilla was selected first during 14% of the offerings and exhibited the least preference among all bait types (  = 22.46,  < 0.0001). Dog food was selected first 56% of the time, and more frequently than all other bait types (  = 13.09,  = 0.0005).

Preventing dog bites is an increasingly important public health and political issue with implications for both human and animal health and welfare. Expert opinion is that most bites are preventable. Intervention materials have been designed to educate people on how to assess the body language of dogs, evaluate risk, and take appropriate action. The effectiveness of this approach is rarely evaluated and the incidence of dog bites is thought to be increasing. Is the traditional approach to dog bite prevention working as well as it should? In this novel, small scale qualitative study, the perceptions of victims regarding their dog bite experience were explored in-depth. The study recruited 8 female participants who had been bitten by a dog in the past 5 years. In-depth, one-to-one interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that dog bites may not be as easily preventable as previously presumed, and that education about dog body language may not prevent some types of dog bites. The reasons participants were bitten were multifaceted and complex. In some cases, there was no interaction with the dog before the bite so there was no opportunity to assess the situation and modify behavior around the dog accordingly. Identifying who was to blame, and had responsibility for preventing the bite, was straightforward for the participants in hindsight. Those bitten blamed themselves and/or the dog owner, but not the dog. Most participants already felt they had a theoretical knowledge that would allow them to recognize dog aggression before the dog bite, yet participants, especially those who worked regularly with dogs, routinely believed, "it would not happen to me." We also identified an attitude that bites were "just one of those things," which could also be a barrier prevention initiatives. Rather than being special to the human-canine relationship, the attitudes discovered mirror those found in other areas of injury prevention. A new approach to dog-bite prevention may now be required, drawing on other injury prevention strategies including awareness-raising and minimizing the damage caused by a bite when it happens.

Exposure to contaminants in the field is a reality for deployed canines. To date, there is no data evaluating the benefits of training for handlers associated with canine decontamination efforts. The objective of our work was to investigate the impact of handler training on the reduction of oil-based contaminants in working canines. Canine teams ( = 10) were randomly assigned to either TRAINED or UNTRAINED groups. Each team (handler and dog) in the TRAINED group received 30-minutes of interactive training using an illustrated guide on proper utilization of equipment provided. Teams in the UNTRAINED group received the same equipment and illustrated guide but no interactive training. Decontamination efforts were measured using an oil-based pseudo-contaminant (GloGerm®, Moab, UT) topically applied to four anatomical locations: cranial neck, between the shoulder blades, left medial hindlimb and left hind paw with pre- and post-washing images collected from a fixed distance of 20 inches. Visual assessment of contaminant reduction was scored as follows: 0 = <24% contaminant reduction; 1 = 25-50% contaminant reduction; 2 = 51-75% contaminant reduction; and 3 = >76% contaminant reduction. No score discrepancies >1 were reported between reviewers. Trained handlers were more effective at contamination reduction (P = .0093) as compared to their untrained counterparts. These results indicate that handlers, when properly trained, can achieve reduction of oil-based contaminants with a disposable decontamination kit and a garden hose.

Behavioral and spinal problems have been reported to be important causes of early retirement in military working dogs, however studies on possible relationships between these two problems are currently lacking. The aim of this retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study was to test associations between reported behavioral problems and computed tomographic (CT) diagnoses of lumbosacral (LS) stenosis in a sample of military working dogs. . For each included dog, an observer unaware of CT findings reviewed medical records and recorded dog signalment data. A second observer reviewed medical records and assigned . The number of behavioral problems were significantly associated with number of vertebral locations with LS stenosis (ordinal logistic fit, p=0.011) and positively correlated (rho = 0.37, p = 0.006). Problems involving behavioral concerns were more likely to be exhibited if dogs had multi-level stenosis (≥3 vertebral levels, Kappa = 0.06, p>0.05; Bowker's test statistics 26.26, P<0.05). The most common behavior problems in dogs with multi-level stenosis were "unwilling or reluctant to jump up onto objects/into vehicles" (3/8, 38%), "sudden onset of aggressive behaviors" (2/8, 25%), "self-mutilation in the lower back region, tail, or hind legs "(2/8, 25%), "increase in anxiety" (2/8, 25%), "sudden decrease in appetite" (2/8, 25%), "unwilling or reluctant to sit" (2/8, 25%), and "handler-reported unusual behaviors" (2/8, 25%). .

Lumbosacral (LS) stenosis is a cause of lower back pain, loss of mission readiness, and early retirement in military working dogs (MWDs). Aims of the present two-part study were to evaluate a sample of German Shepherd MWDs using standard clinical criteria for LS pain, standard qualitative computed tomographic (CT) criteria for LS stenosis, novel quantitative CT criteria for LS stenosis, and novel behavioral classification criteria for LS pain. Data were retrieved from archives of a tertiary referral MWD hospital. Study 1 was a retrospective, observational, two-group design with a hypothesis that there would be a significant difference in the percentage of affected German Shepherd MWDs with multilevel stenosis (affecting ≥ 3 vertebrae) between LS pain groups, based on standard clinical and qualitative CT criteria. Study 2 was a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional, two- and three-group study design with a hypothesis that quantitative CT measurements would significantly differ between LS pain groups, assigned based on 3 classification systems. The 1st classification system used standard clinical criteria, while the 2nd and 3rd novel classifications included behavioral signs of LS pain. The following quantitative CT measures were recorded without knowledge of behavioral classification: vertebral foramen area, vertebral foramen volume, vertebral foramen fat area; and ratios of vertebral foramen area/vertebral body area (foramen area ratio), cranial vertebral foramen area/caudal vertebral foramen area (cranial:caudal foramen area ratio), and vertebral fat area/vertebral body area (fat area ratio). Study 1 findings did not support the hypothesis in that there was no significant difference in the percentage of dogs affected with multilevel stenosis between LS pain groups ( = 0.6567). Findings for study 2 supported the hypothesis in that dogs with LS pain were significantly more affected by multilevel stenosis ( = 0.0273). Significant differences occurred between LS pain groups in select vertebral locations for all measurements ( ≤ 0.05) except vertebral foramen area and vertebral foramen volume ( > 0.05). Comparisons using novel quantitative CT measures and behavioral classification criteria identified significant differences between LS pain groups that were not detected using standard qualitative criteria. These novel quantitative and behavioral classification criteria may be helpful in future research on causes for early retirement in German Shepherd MWDs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Spanish confinement for the control of the COVID-19 pandemic on the behavior of pet cats and dogs, and the support that pets provided to their owners. We found that the quality of life of owners was strongly influenced by the lifestyle and emotional effects of the confinement, and that pets provided them with substantial support to mitigate those effects. However, pets showed signs of behavioral change that were consistent with stress, with dogs that had pre-existing behavioral problems being the most affected.

The world was taken aback after the corona pandemic started from China and soon engulfed the whole of the world. Strict restrictions were in place since the beginning, and people were confined to their homes; only emergency services were allowed to work. The study's objectives were to see the effect of lockdown on the number of dog bite cases being reported to our antirabies clinic. The study was conducted in the antirabies clinic of the Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. This study involved a dog bite victim who approached the said clinic during the lockdown, which was implemented in the wake of COVID-19 from March 21, 2020 to June 03, 2020. We included all the dog bite victims living in the Srinagar city and from the adjoining districts who had been bitten by the street dog during the lockdown phase. Over 5 years, 4,670 (73.6%) dog bites among males were reported. The proportion of dog bites among males varies from 72% to 81% in the 5 years. It can be observed that a maximum of 783 (81.1%) dog bites were reported from males during the lockdown period in 2020. Moreover, 2,847 (44.9%) bites were category II dog bites, while 3,392 (55.1%) were category III dog bites. There were fewer dog bites reported at the first, fourth, seventh, eighth, and ninth weeks while there was a little surge in cases on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 10th week. Lockdown had indirectly reduced the number of dog bite cases reported to the clinic during different lockdown phases than the previous year's data.