Grigg Emma K, Chou Juliann, Parker Emily, Gatesy-Davis Anwyn, Clarkson Sara T, Hart Lynette A
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
Animal Biology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Nov 8;8:760845. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.760845. eCollection 2021.
Sudden, loud noises are one of the most common triggers for fearful behaviors in dogs, and many companion dogs suffer from noise sensitivity. Existing research focuses on dramatic infrequent sounds (e.g., thunderstorms, fireworks). Anecdotally, and based on reports of undesirable behaviors in response to noises in the home, many common household noises may also be causing fear and anxiety in companion dogs. However, these responses have not yet been studied in home environments. We surveyed 386 dog owners about their dogs' responses to household sounds, and recorded dog behaviors and human reactions from 62 videos and compilations available on an online video sharing platform, featuring dogs reacting to common household noises. Numerous signs of canine fear and anxiety were reported by survey respondents and observed in the videos, in response to both daily, and irregular but "normal," household noises. Responses were significantly stronger to sounds characterized as high frequency intermittent than to sounds characterized as low frequency continuous. Respondents appeared to underestimate their dogs' fearfulness, and the majority of humans in the videos responded to their dogs' behaviors with amusement; welfare concerns were rarely expressed. While these videos cannot be used to calculate actual prevalence of these issues, our data support that some owners are underestimating fearfulness in their dogs in response to household noises, and responding inappropriately to dogs' expressions of fear and anxiety. Better education is required for dog owners to accurately interpret canine body language, to both safeguard dogs' welfare and minimize development of anxiety-related behavior problems.
突然发出的巨大声响是引发狗狗恐惧行为最常见的因素之一，许多宠物犬都患有噪音敏感症。现有研究聚焦于罕见的剧烈声响（如雷暴、烟花）。根据坊间传闻以及关于宠物犬对家中噪音产生不良行为的报告，许多常见的家庭噪音也可能使宠物犬感到恐惧和焦虑。然而，这些反应尚未在家庭环境中得到研究。我们就宠物犬对家庭声音的反应对386位犬主进行了调查，并从一个在线视频分享平台上的62段视频及合集中记录了犬类行为和人类反应，这些视频展示了宠物犬对常见家庭噪音的反应。调查对象报告了许多犬类恐惧和焦虑的迹象，并且在视频中也观察到，宠物犬对日常的以及不规律但“正常”的家庭噪音都会产生这些反应。与低频持续声音相比，宠物犬对高频间歇声音的反应明显更强烈。调查对象似乎低估了自家宠物犬的恐惧程度，视频中的大多数人对宠物犬的行为报以娱乐的态度；很少有人表达对宠物犬福利的担忧。虽然这些视频无法用于计算这些问题的实际发生率，但我们的数据表明，一些犬主低估了宠物犬对家庭噪音的恐惧程度，并且对宠物犬恐惧和焦虑的表现反应不当。犬主需要接受更好的教育，以便准确解读犬类的肢体语言，从而保障宠物犬的福利，并尽量减少与焦虑相关的行为问题的产生。
