scholarly journals Current Advances in Assessment of Dog’s Emotions, Facial Expressions, and Their Use for Clinical Recognition of Pain

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3334
Author(s):  
Daniel Mota-Rojas ◽  
Míriam Marcet-Rius ◽  
Asahi Ogi ◽  
Ismael Hernández-Ávalos ◽  
Chiara Mariti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcome ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Clinical Utility ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Animal Interaction

Animals’ facial expressions are involuntary responses that serve to communicate the emotions that individuals feel. Due to their close co-existence with humans, broad attention has been given to identifying these expressions in certain species, especially dogs. This review aims to analyze and discuss the advances in identifying the facial expressions of domestic dogs and their clinical utility in recognizing pain as a method to improve daily practice and, in an accessible and effective way, assess the health outcome of dogs. This study focuses on aspects related to the anatomy and physiology of facial expressions in dogs, their emotions, and evaluations of their eyebrows, eyes, lips, and ear positions as changes that reflect pain or nociception. In this regard, research has found that dogs have anatomical configurations that allow them to generate changes in their expressions that similar canids—wolves, for example—cannot produce. Additionally, dogs can perceive emotions similar to those of their human tutors due to close human-animal interaction. This phenomenon—called “emotional contagion”—is triggered precisely by the dog’s capacity to identify their owners’ gestures and then react by emitting responses with either similar or opposed expressions that correspond to positive or negative stimuli, respectively. In conclusion, facial expressions are essential to maintaining social interaction between dogs and other species, as in their bond with humans. Moreover, this provides valuable information on emotions and the perception of pain, so in dogs, they can serve as valuable elements for recognizing and evaluating pain in clinical settings.

scholarly journals Validation of the Human–Animal Interaction Scale (HAIS) in Czech Language

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7485
Author(s):  
Kristýna Machová ◽  
Veronika Juríčková ◽  
Tereza Nekovářová ◽  
Ivona Svobodová
Keyword(s):  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Semantic Differential ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Standardized Measures ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Human Animal Interaction ◽  
Animal Interaction

Human–Animal interaction (HAI) refers to any contact between humans and animals. Despite the lack of standardized measures of evaluation, one possible tool is the Human Animal Interaction Scale (HAIS). This study aimed to evaluate it in Czech language and to verify its use in clinical settings. One group of participants included 85 non-clinical volunteers; the second included 22 clinical participants, who were hospitalized in a long-term inpatient department All participants filled out the HAIS, the Companion Animal Bonding Scale (CABS) and the Companion Animal Semantic Differential (CASD). The Czech HAIS achieved similarly good psychometric properties as the original scale. The Cronbach’s alpha showed strong internal consistency (α = 0.920) in the sample of volunteers, but low internal consistency (α = 0.656) in the group of clinical participants. In non-clinical volunteers, all scales and subscales correlated mutually at the p < 0.01 level. In the group of clinical participants, the CABS did not show significant correlations with other scales and subscales, nor was there a correlation of total HAIS score with the perceived rapport with animals. The findings of this study suggest that the Czech HAIS may be an effective tool for evaluating HAI with non-clinical contingents, however careful modification is suggested before clinical use. One reason for this is the difficulty in conducting some activities assessed by the scale in a clinical practice or hospital setting.

Effects of an intensified human–animal interaction on tail biting in pigs during the rearing period

2018 ◽  
Vol 156 (8) ◽  
pp. 1039-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Büttner ◽  
Irena Czycholl ◽  
Heidi Basler ◽  
Joachim Krieter
Keyword(s):  
Daily Practice ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Trial Group ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Tail Biting ◽  
Welfare Problem ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Human Animal Interaction ◽  
Animal Interaction ◽  
And Performance

AbstractTail biting in pigs is a serious welfare problem with multifactorial causes. Several risk factors are described in the literature ranging from environmental factors including stocking densities, deficiencies in feed quality or accessibility, to internal factors such as poor health status, genetics or sex. Also, the human–animal relationship can have an effect on behaviour and performance of the animals. Thus, the aim of the current study was to evaluate whether intensified human–animal interaction in the rearing period can reduce the occurrence of tail biting in weaned piglets. For this, two treatment groups were established. The trial group differed only in intensified human–animal interaction (e.g. calm speech, petting, food provision) from the control group, which was carried out three times a week by one person for 15 min in each pen. Once a week the animals’ tails were scored regarding tail lesions and losses and a human approach test was performed. The intensified human–animal interaction influenced the animals’ behaviour towards the human as well as towards their pen mates. The trial group showed significantly better results compared with the control group, i.e. fewer tail lesions and more animals with intact tails. Also, the results of the human approach test in the trial group showed a lower latency to approach compared with the control group. Thus, integration of an intensified human–animal interaction into the daily practice of pig farms could be one possibility for enhancing the human–animal relationship and reducing occurrence of tail biting.

scholarly journals The Influence of Human–Animal Interactions on Mental and Physical Health during the First COVID-19 Lockdown Phase in the U.K.: A Qualitative Exploration

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Shoesmith ◽  
Lion Shahab ◽  
Dimitra Kale ◽  
Daniel S. Mills ◽  
Catherine Reeve ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Human Animal Interaction ◽  
Animal Interaction ◽  
The Impact

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents an opportunity to explore the role of animals as sources of emotional and physical support during a period when most of the population is experiencing social and environmental challenges. We investigated how companion animal owners perceived the influence of human–animal interaction on their physical and mental health during the first COVID-19 lockdown phase in the U.K., and what concerns they had regarding their animals at this time. We also explored the impact of participants’ interaction with non-companion animals during this phase. A cross-sectional online survey of U.K. residents aged over 18 was conducted between April and June 2020. The final item of the survey invited open-ended free-text responses, allowing participants to describe any experiences and/or perceptions of their human–animal relationships during the COVID-19 lockdown phase. A qualitative thematic analysis of responses was undertaken. Four main themes related to the following aspects of human–animal interactions during the COVID-19 lockdown phase were identified: the positive impact of animal ownership during the COVID-19 lockdown (e.g., amelioration of wellbeing and mental health), concerns relating to animal ownership during the COVID-19 lockdown (e.g., concerns over animals carrying the COVID-19 virus), grief and loss of an animal during the COVID-19 lockdown and the impact of engaging with non-companion animals during the COVID-19 lockdown. The findings complement and extend previous insights into the impact of human–animal interaction with both companion and non-companion animals. They also highlight the challenges of caring for an animal during the lockdown phase and indicate the need to consider the development of further targeted support strategies, such as “day care” for the companion animals of key workers in this context.

Human–Animal Interaction in the Aging Boom

2019 ◽  
pp. 313-327
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Johnson ◽  
Jessica L. Bibbo ◽  
Lynette Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Human Animal ◽  
Human Animal Interaction ◽  
Animal Interaction

scholarly journals Animals in our Lives: An Interactive Well-Being Perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 027614672098481
Author(s):  
Nancy V. Wünderlich ◽  
Jill Mosteller ◽  
Michael B. Beverland ◽  
Hilary Downey ◽  
Karen Kraus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Public Consumption ◽  
Marketing Systems ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Human Animal Interaction ◽  
Animal Interaction ◽  
Mental Well Being

Humans have long interacted with animals. Recently, market-based responses to societal challenges, including loneliness and mental well-being include the use of animals. Considerable research concerning consumer–animal relationships has also examined the benefits (micro, meso, and macro) of human-animal interaction and companionship. However, much of this research is fragmented and lacks a broader organizing framework. It also suffers from an anthropomorphic bias, whereby the interests of animals are excluded. To address this, we provide a macromarketing perspective on consumer–animal relations and explore the interdependencies of consumer–animal relationships on consumer, animal, and community well-being. We introduce and apply the Interactive Well-Being framework to four contexts –ranging from private to public consumption spaces– that highlight the interdependencies and systems involved in consumer–animal relationships: (1) co-habitation with animals, (2) emotional support animals, (3) working with animals, and (4) animals in commercial service contexts. We discuss the implications of our framework for the resilience of marketing systems and how the framework aligns with alternative economy development.

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