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Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Burgeoning interest in the emotional experiences and cognitive abilities of dogs has led to novel methods to measure and improve canine welfare. Dog toys, in particular, are commonly thought to benefit dogs’ mental and physical health. In this study, we examined the effect of introdu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Chan, Kelly, Arellano, Carol, Horowitz, Alexandra
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10648485/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37958095
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13213340
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author Chan, Kelly
Arellano, Carol
Horowitz, Alexandra
author_facet Chan, Kelly
Arellano, Carol
Horowitz, Alexandra
author_sort Chan, Kelly
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Burgeoning interest in the emotional experiences and cognitive abilities of dogs has led to novel methods to measure and improve canine welfare. Dog toys, in particular, are commonly thought to benefit dogs’ mental and physical health. In this study, we examined the effect of introducing new toys to companion dogs. Our results showed a slight improvement in some positive welfare measures in dogs who received more complex toys when compared to dogs who received less complex toys and those who received no toys. However, this difference was not statistically significant and we found no differences in subjects’ eating rate or activity levels. While research has found that toys may improve the welfare of kenneled dog populations (shelter- and laboratory-housed dogs), our findings did not find the same to hold with pet dog populations. We discuss the relevance of the study population and the welfare measures used in attempts to study “enrichment” in animals. ABSTRACT: Retail dog toys are often provided to companion animals to provide cognitive and physical stimu- lation and improve the animals’ quality of life. These toys, sometimes known as “enrichment toys”, have been shown to play a role in increasing appetite and activity levels and decreasing undesirable behaviors (e.g., barking, self-isolating behaviors) in some domestic dog (Canis familiaris) populations. In this study, we evaluate the effect of toys on appetite, activity levels, and positive affective states as measures of well- being in companion dogs. Behaviors were compared before and after regular interactions with different types of toys over twelve days. We found that provisioning companion dogs with toys did not significantly alter their activity level, rate of food consumption, or cognitive bias. While dogs who received more complex toys showed a slightly improved cognitive bias, there were no significant differences in behaviors be- tween the subjects who received “less complex” toys (e.g., a bone, ball) and “more complex” toys (e.g., puzzle toys). We conclude with reflections on the relevance of our subject population to the result seen, and on the different forms of the cognitive bias test.
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spelling pubmed-106484852023-10-27 Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs Chan, Kelly Arellano, Carol Horowitz, Alexandra Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Burgeoning interest in the emotional experiences and cognitive abilities of dogs has led to novel methods to measure and improve canine welfare. Dog toys, in particular, are commonly thought to benefit dogs’ mental and physical health. In this study, we examined the effect of introducing new toys to companion dogs. Our results showed a slight improvement in some positive welfare measures in dogs who received more complex toys when compared to dogs who received less complex toys and those who received no toys. However, this difference was not statistically significant and we found no differences in subjects’ eating rate or activity levels. While research has found that toys may improve the welfare of kenneled dog populations (shelter- and laboratory-housed dogs), our findings did not find the same to hold with pet dog populations. We discuss the relevance of the study population and the welfare measures used in attempts to study “enrichment” in animals. ABSTRACT: Retail dog toys are often provided to companion animals to provide cognitive and physical stimu- lation and improve the animals’ quality of life. These toys, sometimes known as “enrichment toys”, have been shown to play a role in increasing appetite and activity levels and decreasing undesirable behaviors (e.g., barking, self-isolating behaviors) in some domestic dog (Canis familiaris) populations. In this study, we evaluate the effect of toys on appetite, activity levels, and positive affective states as measures of well- being in companion dogs. Behaviors were compared before and after regular interactions with different types of toys over twelve days. We found that provisioning companion dogs with toys did not significantly alter their activity level, rate of food consumption, or cognitive bias. While dogs who received more complex toys showed a slightly improved cognitive bias, there were no significant differences in behaviors be- tween the subjects who received “less complex” toys (e.g., a bone, ball) and “more complex” toys (e.g., puzzle toys). We conclude with reflections on the relevance of our subject population to the result seen, and on the different forms of the cognitive bias test. MDPI 2023-10-27 /pmc/articles/PMC10648485/ /pubmed/37958095 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13213340 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Chan, Kelly
Arellano, Carol
Horowitz, Alexandra
Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs
title Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs
title_full Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs
title_fullStr Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs
title_full_unstemmed Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs
title_short Here Puppy, Chew on This: Short-Term Provision of Toys Does Not Improve Welfare in Companion Dogs
title_sort here puppy, chew on this: short-term provision of toys does not improve welfare in companion dogs
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10648485/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37958095
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13213340
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