Amaya Veronica, Paterson Mandy B A, Phillips Clive J C
Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, University of Queensland, White House Building (8134), Gatton Campus, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.
Royal Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4076, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2020 Mar 30;10(4):581. doi: 10.3390/ani10040581.
Shelter environments are stressful for dogs, as they must cope with many stimuli over which they have little control. This can lead to behavioural changes, negatively affect their welfare and downgrade the human-animal bond, affecting re-homing success. Arousal is evident in their behaviour, particularly increased activity and frequent vocalisation. Environmental enrichment plays an important role in reducing arousal behaviour, either through direct physiological effects or by masking stressful stimuli. The present study focused on sensory environmental enrichment, using olfactory and auditory stimuli under shelter conditions. Sixty dogs were allocated to one of four treatments: three types of enrichment, Lavender, Dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) and Music, and a Control group. Stimuli were applied for 3 h/d on five consecutive days. Dogs exposed to DAP lay down more, and those exposed to Music lay down more with their head down, compared to the Control. Those in the Control stood more on their hind legs with their front legs on the exit door, compared to those exposed to Music and DAP, particularly if they had only been in the shelter for a short time. They also panted and vocalised much more than dogs in the three enrichment treatments, which tended to persist during the 4 h period post treatment, and in the case of vocalisation into the subsequent night. The study suggests that all three enrichments had some positive benefits for dogs in shelters, as well as being non-invasive and easy to apply in the shelter environment.
收容所环境对狗来说压力很大，因为它们必须应对许多几乎无法控制的刺激因素。这可能导致行为改变，对它们的福利产生负面影响，并削弱人与动物之间的联系，影响重新安置的成功率。它们的行为中明显表现出兴奋，特别是活动增加和频繁发声。环境丰富化在减少兴奋行为方面起着重要作用，要么通过直接的生理效应，要么通过掩盖压力刺激。本研究聚焦于感官环境丰富化，在收容所条件下使用嗅觉和听觉刺激。60只狗被分配到四种处理方式之一：三种丰富化处理方式，即薰衣草、犬安抚信息素（DAP）和音乐，以及一个对照组。连续五天每天施加刺激3小时。与对照组相比，接触DAP的狗躺卧时间更多，接触音乐的狗低头躺卧的时间更多。与接触音乐和DAP的狗相比，对照组的狗更多地用后腿站立，前腿放在出口门上，特别是如果它们在收容所的时间较短。它们喘气和发声也比接受三种丰富化处理的狗多得多，这种情况在处理后的4小时内往往会持续，并且在发声方面会持续到随后的夜晚。该研究表明，所有三种丰富化处理方式对收容所中的狗都有一些积极益处，而且是非侵入性的，易于在收容所环境中应用。
