Taylor Sienna, Madden Joah
Animal Behaviour and Welfare Research Group, Department of Animal and Land Sciences, Hartpury University Centre, Hartpury, Gloucestershire GL19 3BE, UK.
School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Building, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2016 Oct 25;6(11):64. doi: 10.3390/ani6110064.
Stress-affected behaviour in companion animals can have an adverse effect on animal health and welfare and their relationships with humans. This stress can be addressed using chemical treatments, often in conjunction with behavioural therapies. Here, we investigated the efficacy of one commercial pharmacological intervention, Pet Remedy, advertised as a natural stress relief product for mammals. We aimed to see whether the product lowered stress-affected behaviour in dogs placed in a non-familiar environment. Behavioural responses of 28 dogs were video recorded using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, and counterbalanced repeated measures design. Dogs were exposed to both a placebo and Pet Remedy plug-in diffuser for 30 min with an intervening period of approximately 7 days between conditions. Multivariate regression analysis identified no significant differences in behaviour in either the Pet Remedy or placebo condition. In conclusion, in the current study, Pet Remedy did not reduce behavioural indicators indicative of a stress response. To determine the effects of Pet Remedy, future research using a larger sample size and controlling for breed would be beneficial.
伴侣动物中受应激影响的行为会对动物健康和福利以及它们与人类的关系产生不利影响。这种应激可以通过化学治疗来解决，通常结合行为疗法。在此，我们研究了一种商业药理学干预措施——宠物舒缓剂（Pet Remedy）的功效，该产品被宣传为一种用于哺乳动物的天然缓解应激产品。我们旨在观察该产品是否能降低处于陌生环境中的犬的应激影响行为。采用双盲、安慰剂对照和平衡重复测量设计，对28只犬的行为反应进行了视频记录。犬只分别暴露于安慰剂和宠物舒缓剂插电式扩散器中30分钟，两种情况之间间隔约7天。多变量回归分析表明，在宠物舒缓剂组或安慰剂组中，行为均无显著差异。总之，在当前研究中，宠物舒缓剂并未降低表明应激反应的行为指标。为确定宠物舒缓剂的效果，未来使用更大样本量并控制品种的研究将是有益的。
