Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Dog Behaviour: Pilot Study

Environmental enrichment (EE) can be used to enhance the environment of various animals. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of seven EE activities (Bonding, Bubble machine, Conspecific play, Interactive toy, Playhouse, Stuffed food toy and Tug play) on dog behaviour, pre- and post-EE for dogs housed in an office environment during training as part of an assistance dog training programme. EE activities resulted in a significant increase in the frequency of relaxation behaviours (p < 0.01) and a significant reduction in alert (p < 0.01) and stress behaviours (p = 0.02). Results suggest various benefits of the different activities with Conspecific Play and Playhouse activities having the greatest overall positive behaviour change when compared to the other activities. The food-based EE activities (Interactive toy and Stuffed food toy) had the least behaviour change of all the activities provided. Findings will be of interest to pet owners, animal rescue centres, dog trainers and working dog organisations.

Clinical, zootechnical and behavioral evaluation of litters of dogs born in the guide dog program of the ‘Instituto Federal Goiano’, Campus Urutaí, Brazil

The Brazilian population with low vision or blindness is approximately six and a half million people. This scenario is intricate because of the existence of only six Guide Dog Training Centers and, consequently, few Guide Dogs performing the role of assistive therapy as a guide for blind people in Brazil. The objective was to comparatively characterize the clinical, zootechnical, and behavioral profile of three litters of dogs born at the Guide Dog Training Center of the Federal Institute of Goiás, Campus of Urutaí, Brazil, from conception to the forty-ninth day of life. The number of live births, stillbirths, average daily weight gain, the incidence of congenital diseases, and acquired diseases were surveyed. The performance of puppies obtained in the Volhard and Behavior Checklist tests was also obtained. Litter B presented higher stillbirths. A higher average daily weight gain was also observed in litter B and, consequently, a higher weight of pups at all evaluation moments. Litter E differed from the others regarding the behavioral parameters, showing better results in terms of hyper-attachment, fear of strangers, and anxiety in unknown places. Therefore, a difference was observed between litters regarding the evaluated zootechnical and behavioral aspects. Furthermore, an evolution was observed over time, with the last litter, whose parents were animals from the kennel, presenting the best behavioral profile.

Working Dog Training for the Twenty-First Century

Dogs are trained for a variety of working roles including assistance, protection, and detection work. Many canine working roles, in their modern iterations, were developed at the turn of the 20th century and training practices have since largely been passed down from trainer to trainer. In parallel, research in psychology has advanced our understanding of animal behavior, and specifically canine learning and cognition, over the last 20 years; however, this field has had little focus or practical impact on working dog training. The aims of this narrative review are to (1) orient the reader to key advances in animal behavior that we view as having important implications for working dog training, (2) highlight where such information is already implemented, and (3) indicate areas for future collaborative research bridging the gap between research and practice. Through a selective review of research on canine learning and behavior and training of working dogs, we hope to combine advances from scientists and practitioners to lead to better, more targeted, and functional research for working dogs.

Utilizing Odor-Adsorbed Filter Papers for Detection Canine Training and Off-Site Fire Ant Indications

The red imported fire ant (RIFA, Solenopsis invicta) is an exotic aggressive pest that is notorious for its ability to seriously harm humans and animals, cause economic loss to agriculture, and damage ecosystems. This is the first study to validate the capability of filter paper adsorption as a feasible odor bearer of RIFAs and evaluate its use in detection dog training. Two live RIFA-experienced detection dogs achieved a mean 92% positive indication rate (PIR) on RIFA-scented papers with a relatively low false response rate (0.8%). The similar accuracies in recognizing live RIFAs (96%) and scented papers (92%) suggest that a filter paper is an effective odor reservoir. After training with live RIFA and scented filter papers, both RIFA-experienced and inexperienced detection dogs successfully indicated filter papers that were scented with at least 10 RIFAs for 4 h with a high PIR (>93%) and low false response rate (2%). Detection dogs correctly recognized the filter papers scented by 10 RIFAs for 24 h with a 97.6% PIR. Even for scented samples stored at −20 °C and 4 °C for 13 weeks, the positive indication rates (PIRs) were as high as 90%. These results suggest that filter paper is an effective RIFA odor bearer, and the scent can be maintained at least 13 weeks for dog identification. After RIFA-scented paper training, detection dogs showed high (>95%) PIRs for both RIFA-scented paper and live RIFAs and also successfully performed field studies. Using filter paper as a RIFA odor bearer is an effective and economical method for detection dog training and RIFA identification.

COVID-19 Sniffer Dog experimental training: which protocol and which implications for reliable identification?

The introduction of trained sniffer dogs for COVID-19 disease detection could be an opportunity, as previously described for other diseases. Dogs could be trained to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the whiff of COVID-19 disease. Dogs involved in the study were three one male and two females from different breeds, Black German Shepherd, German Shepherd and Dutch Shepherd. The training was performed using sweat samples from COVID-19 positive apteints and from covid-19 free patients admitted at the University Hospital Campus Bio-medico of Rome. Gauze with sweat were collected in glass jar with metal top and put in metal boxes used for dog training. The dog training protocol was performed in two phase: the olfactory conditioning and the olfactory discrimintaion research. The training palnning was focused on the switch moment for the sniffer dog, the moment when the dog was able to identify VOCs specific for COVID-19 disease. At this time the dog was able to identify VOCs specific for COVID-19 disease with significant reliability, in terms of number of correct versus uncorrect (p<0.0001) reporting. In conclusion, this protocol could provide a useful tool for sniffer dogs training and their introduction in mass screening context, cheaper and faster than a conventional testing method.

KINOLOGY CENTER OF BORDER SERVICE BODIES: ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

The dog training center is a training unit of the border service authorities, and is intended for the training, retraining and advanced training of dog handlers and the training of service dogs in various types of services, such as the search (search for a person by odor print), watchdog, and special (search for narcotic drugs and psychotropic sub-stances, weapons, ammunition and explosives), guard (object protection), as well as for breeding and raising dogs of service breeds.