Wojtaś Justyna, Karpiński Mirosław, Czyżowski Piotr
Department of Animal Ethology and Wildlife Management, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland.
Animals (Basel). 2020 Apr 1;10(4):595. doi: 10.3390/ani10040595.
Search and rescue dogs are an important link in the search for missing persons. The aim of the study was to assess exam stress in search and rescue dogs and their guides. The study included 41 rescue teams taking exams of field and rubble specialties. The level of cortisol, which is the main glucocorticosteroid modulating stress reactions in humans and dogs, was analyzed. The biological material used to assess the hormone concentration was saliva collected in a non-invasive way. In total, 164 test samples were collected: two from the dog and two from the guide before and immediately after the exam. Rescue exams were shown to significantly increase salivary cortisol in both dogs and their guides. Strong interactions between cortisol levels in human-dog teams were also found with a more pronounced effect in female dog-female handler dyads.
搜救犬是寻找失踪人员的重要环节。本研究的目的是评估搜救犬及其训导员的考试压力。该研究纳入了41支参加野外和废墟专业考试的救援队伍。分析了皮质醇水平，皮质醇是调节人和犬应激反应的主要糖皮质激素。用于评估激素浓度的生物材料是通过非侵入性方式采集的唾液。总共收集了164份测试样本：在考试前和考试结束后立即分别从犬和训导员身上采集两份样本。结果显示，救援考试会显著增加犬及其训导员的唾液皮质醇水平。研究还发现，人犬组合中皮质醇水平之间存在强烈的相互作用，在雌犬-女训导员组合中这种作用更为明显。
