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Stefanie Riemer
Companion Animal Behaviour Group, Division of Animal Welfare, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

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Review
Published: 12 January 2021 in Animals
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A high proportion of dogs and cats are fearful during veterinary visits, which in some cases may escalate into aggression. Here, we discuss factors that contribute to negative emotions in a veterinary setting and how these can be addressed. We briefly summarise the available evidence for the interventions discussed. The set-up of the waiting area (e.g., spatial dividers; elevated places for cat carriers), tailoring the examination and the treatment to the individual, considerate handling (minimal restraint when possible, avoiding leaning over or cornering animals) and offering high-value food or toys throughout the visit can promote security and, ideally, positive associations. Desensitisation and counterconditioning are highly recommended, both to prevent and address existing negative emotions. Short-term pain from injections can be minimised by using tactile and cognitive distractions and topical analgesics, which are also indicated for painful procedures such as ear cleanings. Recommendations for handling fearful animals to minimise aggressive responses are discussed. However, anxiolytics or sedation should be used whenever there is a risk of traumatising an animal or for safety reasons. Stress-reducing measures can decrease fear and stress in patients and consequently their owners, thus strengthening the relationship with the clients as well as increasing the professional satisfaction of veterinary staff.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer; Carmen Heritier; Ines Windschnurer; Lydia Pratsch; Christine Arhant; Nadja Affenzeller. A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting. Animals 2021, 11, 158 .

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer, Carmen Heritier, Ines Windschnurer, Lydia Pratsch, Christine Arhant, Nadja Affenzeller. A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting. Animals. 2021; 11 (1):158.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer; Carmen Heritier; Ines Windschnurer; Lydia Pratsch; Christine Arhant; Nadja Affenzeller. 2021. "A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting." Animals 11, no. 1: 158.

Review
Published: 07 December 2020
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A high proportion of dogs and cats are fearful during veterinary visits, which in some cases may escalate into aggression. Here, we discuss factors that contribute to negative emotions in a veterinary setting and how these can be addressed. The set-up of the waiting area (e.g. spatial dividers; elevated places for cat carriers), tailoring the examination and the treatment to the individual, considerate handling (minimal restraint when possible, avoiding leaning over or cornering animals) and offering high-value food or toys throughout the visit can promote security and, ideally, positive associations. Desensitisation and counterconditioning are highly recommended both to prevent and address existing negative emotions. Some negative experiences such as short-term pain from injections can be minimised by using tactile and cognitive distractions. Preemptive analgesia is recommended for known painful procedures. Recommendations for handling fearful animals to minimise aggressive responses are discussed. However, anxiolytics or sedation should be used whenever there is a risk of traumatising an animal or for safety reasons. Stress-reducing measures can decrease stress and fear in patients and consequently their owners – thus strengthening the relationship with the clients as well as increasing the professional satisfaction of veterinary staff.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer; Carmen Heritier; Ines Windschnurer; Christine Arhant; Lydia Pratsch; Nadja Affenzeller. A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting. 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer, Carmen Heritier, Ines Windschnurer, Christine Arhant, Lydia Pratsch, Nadja Affenzeller. A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting. . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer; Carmen Heritier; Ines Windschnurer; Christine Arhant; Lydia Pratsch; Nadja Affenzeller. 2020. "A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 29 September 2020 in Scientific Reports
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A high proportion of pet dogs show fear-related behavioural problems, with noise fears being most prevalent. Nonetheless, few studies have objectively evaluated fear expression in this species. Using owner-provided video recordings, we coded behavioural expressions of pet dogs during a real-life firework situation at New Year’s Eve and compared them to behaviour of the same dogs on a different evening without fireworks (control condition), using Wilcoxon signed ranks tests. A backwards-directed ear position, measured at the base of the ear, was most strongly associated with the fireworks condition (effect size: Cohen’s d = 0.69). Durations of locomotion (d = 0.54) and panting (d = 0.45) were also higher during fireworks than during the control condition. Vocalisations (d = 0.40), blinking (d = 0.37), and hiding (d = 0.37) were increased during fireworks, but this was not significant after sequential Bonferroni correction. This could possibly be attributed to the high inter-individual variability in the frequency of blinking and the majority of subjects not vocalising or hiding at all. Thus, individual differences must be taken into account when aiming to assess an individual’s level of fear, as relevant measures may not be the same for all individuals. Firework exposure was not associated with an elevated rate of other so-called ‘stress signals’, lip licking and yawning.

ACS Style

Sarah Gähwiler; Annika Bremhorst; Katinka Tóth; Stefanie Riemer. Fear expressions of dogs during New Year fireworks: a video analysis. Scientific Reports 2020, 10, 1 -10.

AMA Style

Sarah Gähwiler, Annika Bremhorst, Katinka Tóth, Stefanie Riemer. Fear expressions of dogs during New Year fireworks: a video analysis. Scientific Reports. 2020; 10 (1):1-10.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sarah Gähwiler; Annika Bremhorst; Katinka Tóth; Stefanie Riemer. 2020. "Fear expressions of dogs during New Year fireworks: a video analysis." Scientific Reports 10, no. 1: 1-10.

Journal article
Published: 08 May 2020 in Journal of Veterinary Behavior
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An online questionnaire survey investigated (1) management and (2) treatment methods for firework fears in dogs employed by dog owners and their (perceived) effectiveness. A PCA on data from 1,225 respondents revealed four management strategies (i.e., interventions during firework exposure): the principal components “Environmental modification” (e.g. providing a hiding place, keeping windows and blinds closed, and playing music), “Feed/Play” (providing the dog with chews, play and food during fireworks in general, as well as contingent on loud bangs), “Alternative” (use of calming nutraceuticals, pheromones, herbal products, homeopathic products, Bach flowers, and essential oils) and “Interaction” (allowing body contact, petting and talking to the dog when loud bangs occurred). To explore possible effects of these management methods on fear development, the components were correlated with a score for fear progression. Of the four components, only “Feed/Play” was statistically associated with an improvement in fear responses to fireworks. To evaluate the effectiveness of various treatment strategies, owners were asked to select from a range of options which interventions they had used and whether they considered them as effective. With prescription medication (N=202), improvements were noted by 69% of owners, with high success rates reported for the most frequently prescribed drugs, alprazolam (91%) and Sileo® (74%). While individual products were not evaluated, the reported success rates for the categories “pheromones” (N=316), “herbal products” (N=282), “nutraceuticals” (N=211), “essential oils” (N=183), “homeopathic remedies” (N=250) and “Bach flowers” (N=281) were all in the range of 27-35%, which is not higher than would be expected based on a placebo effect. Pressure vests were deemed as effective by 44% of respondents (N=300). Counterconditioning (providing desirable stimuli after the occurrence of noises) was the most successful training technique according to the owners (N=694), with a reported effectiveness of over 70%. Relaxation training (N=433) was reported to be almost as successful at 69%, while noise CDs (N=377) were effective in 55% of cases. Thus, counterconditioning, relaxation training and anxiolytic medication appear to be the most effective strategies in the treatment of firework fears in dogs. On this basis it is recommended that ad-hoc counterconditioning and relaxation training should complement the standard behavioral technique of desensitization/ counterconditioning with noise recordings.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer. Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 2020, 37, 61 -70.

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer. Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior. 2020; 37 ():61-70.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer. 2020. "Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs." Journal of Veterinary Behavior 37, no. : 61-70.

Research article
Published: 02 December 2019 in PLOS ONE
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Sport horses need to fulfill high physical and psychological requirements during training and competition. These as well as certain conditions of modern husbandry may affect their wellbeing. Here we aimed to (1) evaluate effects of demographic and management factors as well as personality traits on stress reactivity of sport horses, (2) investigate if elite sport horses have elevated stress levels compared to amateur sport horses, and (3) assess whether different equestrian disciplines differentially influence equine adrenal cortex responsiveness. For this purpose, we visited 149 healthy elite (n = 94) and amateur (n = 54) sport horses in Switzerland and performed an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test. Additionally, a person who was familiar with the horse completed a questionnaire about demographic and management factors and their horses’ personality traits. Linear models were calculated to assess associations between the questionnaire data and salivary cortisol 60 (T60) and 90 (T90) minutes after ACTH stimulation. While the model at T90 was not significant, post-stimulatory cortisol after 60 minutes appears most informative in line with a previous study and was significantly affected by the breed and by three management factors: “number of riders”, “hours spent outside” and “group housing” (adjusted r2 = 15%, p<0.001). Thoroughbred and Warmblood horses displayed an increased adrenal response compared to Franches-Montagnes horses. Horses with several riders had a less pronounced reaction than horses with one rider, and horses that spent more time outside had a decreased response compared to horses that were stabled most of the time. Horses living in groups showed higher post-stimulatory cortisol values than horses that were housed singly. However, no significant associations of cortisol responsiveness with personality traits were found, and neither the use as elite or as amateur sport horses nor the discipline had an effect on the cortisol response. This suggests that optimizing husbandry conditions may be more important for improving equine welfare than changing their use.

ACS Style

Fay J. Sauer; Marco Hermann; Alessandra Ramseyer; Dominik Burger; Stefanie Riemer; Vinzenz Gerber. Effects of breed, management and personality on cortisol reactivity in sport horses. PLOS ONE 2019, 14, e0221794 .

AMA Style

Fay J. Sauer, Marco Hermann, Alessandra Ramseyer, Dominik Burger, Stefanie Riemer, Vinzenz Gerber. Effects of breed, management and personality on cortisol reactivity in sport horses. PLOS ONE. 2019; 14 (12):e0221794.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fay J. Sauer; Marco Hermann; Alessandra Ramseyer; Dominik Burger; Stefanie Riemer; Vinzenz Gerber. 2019. "Effects of breed, management and personality on cortisol reactivity in sport horses." PLOS ONE 14, no. 12: e0221794.

Journal article
Published: 07 November 2019 in Animals
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People often develop strong emotional connections with their dogs and consider them to be members of the family. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel validated tool, the Mourning Dog Questionnaire, to recognise and evaluate the mourning process in people who have lost a dog. The research model was based on a grid of five different questionnaires: the Pet Bereavement Questionnaire, the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale, the Animal-Human Continuity Scale, the Positivity Scale, and the Testoni Death Representation Scale. The Italian version of the survey was posted on social networks. A sample of 369 Italian dog owners filled in the questionnaire (mean age ± SD 42.00 ± 10.70 years). Reliability indices were good for all instruments. The total scores of the five questionnaires correlated with each other. The results from the Mourning Dog Questionnaire support the negative view of life after the death of a pet and people’s tendency to humanise their pet, since dog owners perceived animals no differently from humans in terms of emotions, needs and legal rights. Findings arising from the use of the Mourning Dog Questionnaire will help the implementation of rationality-based strategies to improve the wellbeing, resilience and quality of life of people in the world experiencing the loss of a pet.

ACS Style

Stefania Uccheddu; Loriana De Cataldo; Mariangela Albertini; Stanley Coren; Goncalo Da Graça Pereira; Anouck Haverbeke; Daniel Simon Mills; Ludovica Pierantoni; Stefanie Riemer; Lucia Ronconi; Ines Testoni; Federica Pirrone; De Cataldo; Da Graça Pereira. Pet Humanisation and Related Grief: Development and Validation of a Structured Questionnaire Instrument to Evaluate Grief in People Who Have Lost a Companion Dog. Animals 2019, 9, 933 .

AMA Style

Stefania Uccheddu, Loriana De Cataldo, Mariangela Albertini, Stanley Coren, Goncalo Da Graça Pereira, Anouck Haverbeke, Daniel Simon Mills, Ludovica Pierantoni, Stefanie Riemer, Lucia Ronconi, Ines Testoni, Federica Pirrone, De Cataldo, Da Graça Pereira. Pet Humanisation and Related Grief: Development and Validation of a Structured Questionnaire Instrument to Evaluate Grief in People Who Have Lost a Companion Dog. Animals. 2019; 9 (11):933.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefania Uccheddu; Loriana De Cataldo; Mariangela Albertini; Stanley Coren; Goncalo Da Graça Pereira; Anouck Haverbeke; Daniel Simon Mills; Ludovica Pierantoni; Stefanie Riemer; Lucia Ronconi; Ines Testoni; Federica Pirrone; De Cataldo; Da Graça Pereira. 2019. "Pet Humanisation and Related Grief: Development and Validation of a Structured Questionnaire Instrument to Evaluate Grief in People Who Have Lost a Companion Dog." Animals 9, no. 11: 933.

Research article
Published: 06 September 2019 in PLOS ONE
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Noise fears represent a highly prevalent welfare problem in dogs. An online survey was performed to explore severity and progression of firework fears in dogs, and relationships with demographics, health, behaviour problems and owners’ training efforts to prevent or alleviate firework fears. Fifty-two percent of dogs in the sample (N = 1225) were at least partially affected by firework fears, and the majority developed a fear of fireworks in the first year of life, with a decreasing frequency of new occurrences up until seven years, and only few newly affected dogs beyond this age. While almost three-quarters of fearful dogs had recovered by the next morning following firework exposure, recovery took up to one day in 10%, up to one week in 12%, and several weeks or even months in >3%. Univariate analyses indicated a significant effect of breed group, age, sex, neuter status, origin and age at acquisition on severity of firework fears in dogs. However, binomial models including multiple predictors of presence/ absence of firework fears identified only age, breed group (mixed breeds being most affected), health problems, and an interaction between health problems and age as significant predictors. This discrepancy might be explained by collinearities of predictors and underlying differences between mixed-breed dogs and purebreds, such as mixed breeds being acquired from shelters more often and being neutered more often. Firework fears are highly correlated with fears of gunshots and thunder, and to a low extent with fears of other noises, but not with any other behavioural problems. Both improvement and deterioration of firework fears were frequently reported. While an early age of onset and breed differences point to a strong genetic contribution to firework fears, the data indicate that training puppies or non-fearful adults to associate the noise with positive stimuli is highly effective in preventing later development of firework fears.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer. Not a one-way road—Severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs. PLOS ONE 2019, 14, e0218150 .

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer. Not a one-way road—Severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs. PLOS ONE. 2019; 14 (9):e0218150.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer. 2019. "Not a one-way road—Severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs." PLOS ONE 14, no. 9: e0218150.

Preprint
Published: 19 August 2019
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Sport horses need to fulfill high physical and psychological requirements during training and competition. These as well as certain conditions of modern husbandry may affect their wellbeing. Here we aimed to (1) evaluate effects of demographic and management factors as well as personality traits on stress reactivity of sport horses, (2) investigate if elite sport horses have elevated stress levels compared to amateur sport horses, and (3) assess whether different equestrian disciplines differentially influence horses’ adrenal cortex responsiveness. For this purpose, we visited 149 healthy elite (n=94) and amateur (n=54) sport horses in Switzerland and performed an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test. Additionally, a person who was familiar with the horse completed a questionnaire about demographic and management factors and horses’ personality traits. Linear models were calculated to assess associations between the questionnaire data and salivary cortisol 60 and 90 minutes after ACTH stimulation. While the model at T90 was not significant, post-stimulatory cortisol after 60 min appears most informative in line with a previous study and was significantly affected by the horses’ breed and by three management factors: “number of riders”, “hours spent outside” and “group housing” (adjusted r2 =15%, p

ACS Style

Fay J. Sauer; Marco Hermann; Alessandra Ramseyer; Dominik Burger; Stefanie Riemer; Vinzenz Gerber. Effects of breed, management and personality on cortisol reactivity in sport horses. 2019, 739847 .

AMA Style

Fay J. Sauer, Marco Hermann, Alessandra Ramseyer, Dominik Burger, Stefanie Riemer, Vinzenz Gerber. Effects of breed, management and personality on cortisol reactivity in sport horses. . 2019; ():739847.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fay J. Sauer; Marco Hermann; Alessandra Ramseyer; Dominik Burger; Stefanie Riemer; Vinzenz Gerber. 2019. "Effects of breed, management and personality on cortisol reactivity in sport horses." , no. : 739847.

Preprint content
Published: 06 June 2019
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An online questionnaire survey investigated (1) management and (2) treatment methods for firework fears in dogs employed by dog owners and their (perceived) effectiveness. A PCA on data from 1225 respondents revealed four management strategies (i.e. interventions during firework exposure): the principal components “Environmental modification” (e.g. providing a hiding place, keeping windows and blinds closed, and playing music), “Feed/Play” (providing the dog with chews, play and food during fireworks in general, as well as contingent on loud bangs), “Alternative” (use of calming nutraceuticals, pheromones, herbal products, homeopathic products, Bach flowers, and essential oils) and “Interaction” (allowing body contact, petting and talking to the dog when loud bangs occurred). To explore possible effects of these management methods on fear development, the components were correlated with a score for fear progression. Of the four components, only “Feed/Play” was statistically associated with an improvement in fear responses to fireworks. To evaluate the effectiveness of various treatment strategies, owners were asked to select from a range of options which interventions they had used and whether they considered them as effective. With prescription medication (N=202), improvements were noted by 69% of owners, with high success rates reported for the most frequently prescribed drugs, alprazolam (91%) and Sileo® (74%). While individual products were not evaluated, the reported success rates for the categories “pheromones” (N=316), “herbal products” (N=282), “nutraceuticals” (N=211), “essential oils” (N=183), “homeopathic remedies” (N=250) and “Bach flowers” (N=281) were all in the range of 27-35%, which is not higher than would be expected based on a placebo effect. Pressure vests were deemed as effective by 44% of respondents (N=300). Counterconditioning (providing desirable stimuli after the occurrence of noises) was the most successful training technique according to the owners (N=694), with a reported effectiveness of over 70%. Relaxation training (N=433) was reported to be almost as successful at 69%, while noise CDs (N=377) were effective in 55% of cases. Thus, counterconditioning, relaxation training and anxiolytic medication appear to be the most effective strategies in the treatment of firework fears in dogs. On this basis it is recommended that ad-hoc counterconditioning and relaxation training should complement the standard behavioral technique of desensitization/ counterconditioning with noise recordings.HighlightsAn online survey on treatment options for firework fears in dogs was performedFeeding or playing with dogs during fireworks was associated with fear improvementSuccess was highest for ad-hoc counterconditioning, relaxation training and medicationSuccess was similar for pheromones, nutraceuticals and other alternative productsSuccess rates for these alternative products are consistent with a placebo effect

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer. Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. 2019, 663294 .

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer. Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs. . 2019; ():663294.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer. 2019. "Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs." , no. : 663294.

Preprint
Published: 29 May 2019
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Noise fears represent a highly prevalent welfare problem in dogs. An online survey was performed to explore severity and progression of firework fears in dogs, and relationships with demographics, health, behaviour problems, and owners’ training efforts to prevent or alleviate firework fears. 1225 responses were analysed. Fifty-two percent of dogs were at least partially affected by firework fears, and the great majority developed a fear of fireworks in the first year of life, with a decreasing frequency of new occurrences up until seven years, and only few newly affected dogs beyond this age. While almost three quarters of fearful dogs had recovered by the next morning, recovery took up to one day in 10%, up to one week in 12%, and several weeks or even months in >3%. Univariate analyses indicated a significant effect of breed group, age, sex, neuter status, origin and age at acquisition on severity of firework fears in dogs. However, binomial models including multiple predictors of presence/ absence of firework fears identified only age, breed group (mixed breeds being most affected), health problems, and an interaction between health problems and age as significant predictors. This discrepancy might be explained by collinearities of predictors and underlying differences between mixed-breed dogs and purebreds, such as mixed breeds being acquired from shelters more often, being adopted at higher ages, and being neutered more often. Firework fears are highly correlated with fears of gunshots and thunder, and to a low extent with fears of other noises, but not with any other behavioural problems. Both improvement and deterioration of firework fears were frequently reported. While an early age of onset and breed differences point to a strong genetic contribution to firework fears, training puppies or non-fearful adults to associate the noise with positive stimuli is highly effective in preventing later development of firework fears.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer. Not a one-way road – severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs. 2019, 654301 .

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer. Not a one-way road – severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs. . 2019; ():654301.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer. 2019. "Not a one-way road – severity, progression and prevention of firework fears in dogs." , no. : 654301.

Journal article
Published: 02 January 2019 in Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
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When unexpectedly switched from a preferred to a less-preferred food reward, non-human animals may decrease consumption below that when only receiving the less-preferred reward - a successive negative contrast (SNC) effect. SNC has been proposed as an animal welfare indicator, however, to be effective it should show external validity; being demonstrable outside of highly standardized laboratory settings. We therefore investigated whether the SNC effect typically shown in laboratory rats was observed in owned (pet) rats from heterogeneous non-laboratory environments. Subjects (N = 14) were tested in a consummatory SNC paradigm with solid food rewards. "Shifted" rats received a high-value reward for 10 days (pre-shift), a low-value reward for six days (post-shift), then one additional day of high-value reward (re-shift). "Unshifted" rats always received the same low-value reward. "Shifted" rats consumed more food during pre-shift and re-shift trials, but ate less of the low-value food than "unshifted" animals in the post-shift trials - a SNC effect. This confirms the external validity of the SNC paradigm, extending reproducibility to outside the laboratory, indicating translatability across contexts, thus enhancing its potential use as a welfare indicator.

ACS Style

Sarah L. H. Ellis; Stefanie Riemer; Hannah Thompson; Oliver H. P. Burman. Assessing the External Validity of Successive Negative Contrast – Implications for Animal Welfare. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 2019, 23, 54 -61.

AMA Style

Sarah L. H. Ellis, Stefanie Riemer, Hannah Thompson, Oliver H. P. Burman. Assessing the External Validity of Successive Negative Contrast – Implications for Animal Welfare. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. 2019; 23 (1):54-61.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sarah L. H. Ellis; Stefanie Riemer; Hannah Thompson; Oliver H. P. Burman. 2019. "Assessing the External Validity of Successive Negative Contrast – Implications for Animal Welfare." Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23, no. 1: 54-61.

Journal article
Published: 09 November 2018 in Scientific Reports
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Successive negative contrast (SNC) effects are changes in anticipatory or consummatory behaviour when animals unexpectedly receive a lower value reward than they have received previously. SNC effects are often assumed to reflect frustration and appear to be influenced by background affective state. However, alternative explanations of SNC, such as the functional-search hypothesis, do not necessarily imply an aversive affective state. We tested 18 dogs in a SNC paradigm using a patch foraging task. Dogs were tested in two conditions, once with the low value reward in all of five trials (unshifted) and once when reward value was altered between high and low (shifted). Following a reward downshift, subjects showed a SNC effect by switching significantly more often between patches compared to the unshifted condition. However, approach latency, foraging time and quantity consumed did not differ between conditions, suggesting non-affective functional search behaviour rather than frustration. There was no relationship between strength of SNC and anxiety-related behaviours as measured in a novel object test and a personality questionnaire (C-BARQ). However, associations with the C-BARQ scores for Trainability and Stranger directed aggression suggest a possible link with behavioural flexibility and coping style. While reward quality clearly affects incentive motivation, the relationship between SNC, frustration and background affective state requires further exploration.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer; Hannah Thompson; Oliver H. P. Burman. Behavioural responses to unexpected changes in reward quality. Scientific Reports 2018, 8, 16652 .

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer, Hannah Thompson, Oliver H. P. Burman. Behavioural responses to unexpected changes in reward quality. Scientific Reports. 2018; 8 (1):16652.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer; Hannah Thompson; Oliver H. P. Burman. 2018. "Behavioural responses to unexpected changes in reward quality." Scientific Reports 8, no. 1: 16652.

Article
Published: 27 June 2018 in Scientific Reports
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Recently, there has been a move towards positive reinforcement using food rewards in animal training. By definition, rewards function as reinforcers if they increase or maintain the frequency of behaviour that they follow. However, in operant conditioning tasks animals frequently show systematic changes in performance – in particular a reduction in responding over time. One suggested strategy to avoid such performance decrements is to provide a variety of food rewards, rather than the same food reward in all trials. The enhancement of appetitive behaviour and consumption by reward variation is referred to as ‘variety effect’. We investigated whether dogs preferred a variable or a constant food reward in a concurrent two-choice test. Of 16 dogs, six subjects showed a significant preference for the varied food reward and six for the constant food reward, while four dogs exhibited no significant preference for either option. At the group level, there was a significant effect of block: preference for the varied food reward increased across six blocks of ten trials each. Thus, although some individuals may prefer a single, favourite food reward in the short term, introducing variation in reward types may maintain dogs’ motivation in operant tasks over a longer time period.

ACS Style

Annika Bremhorst; Sarah Bütler; Hanno Würbel; Stefanie Riemer. Incentive motivation in pet dogs – preference for constant vs varied food rewards. Scientific Reports 2018, 8, 9756 .

AMA Style

Annika Bremhorst, Sarah Bütler, Hanno Würbel, Stefanie Riemer. Incentive motivation in pet dogs – preference for constant vs varied food rewards. Scientific Reports. 2018; 8 (1):9756.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Annika Bremhorst; Sarah Bütler; Hanno Würbel; Stefanie Riemer. 2018. "Incentive motivation in pet dogs – preference for constant vs varied food rewards." Scientific Reports 8, no. 1: 9756.

Journal article
Published: 09 May 2018 in Applied Animal Behaviour Science
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Reinforcer effectiveness refers to the reinforcer's ability to control the subject's target behaviour and is therefore critical to training success. Yet animals' preferences, and the effectiveness of different rewards to function as reinforcers, are often assumed without scientific investigation. Here we explored the influence of reward quality, quantity and changes in reward value on motivation in domestic dogs. Subjects were trained to traverse a runway for a food reward. In Study 1, the quantity of food was varied (1 vs 5 pieces of dry food), while in Study 2, food quality was varied (1 piece of sausage vs 1 piece of dry food). Dogs were tested in two conditions (counterbalanced). In the unshifted condition, they received the low value reward in all of ten trials; in the shifted condition, reward value was altered (high value: trials 1-4 and 9-10; low value: trials 5-8). While preliminary preference tests had confirmed the relative value of the presumed high and low value rewards for both quantity and quality, dogs' responses in the runway task differed between the quality and quantity studies. Dogs ran significantly faster for the higher quality food compared to the lower quality food, confirming greater reinforcer effectiveness of the preferred food type. In contrast, there was no significant effect of food quantity on running speed at any stage. Higher quality rewards therefore appear to entail greater incentive motivation in dogs than a greater quantity of a lower value reward, with reward-specific habituation needing to be considered.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer; Sarah L.H. Ellis; Hannah Thompson; Oliver H.P. Burman. Reinforcer effectiveness in dogs—The influence of quantity and quality. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2018, 206, 87 -93.

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer, Sarah L.H. Ellis, Hannah Thompson, Oliver H.P. Burman. Reinforcer effectiveness in dogs—The influence of quantity and quality. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2018; 206 ():87-93.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer; Sarah L.H. Ellis; Hannah Thompson; Oliver H.P. Burman. 2018. "Reinforcer effectiveness in dogs—The influence of quantity and quality." Applied Animal Behaviour Science 206, no. : 87-93.

Research article
Published: 10 April 2018 in PLOS ONE
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Individual behavioural differences in pet dogs are of great interest from a basic and applied research perspective. Most existing dog personality tests have specific (practical) goals in mind and so focused only on a limited aspect of dogs’ personality, such as identifying problematic (aggressive or fearful) behaviours, assessing suitability as working dogs, or improving the results of adoption. Here we aimed to create a comprehensive test of personality in pet dogs that goes beyond traditional practical evaluations by exposing pet dogs to a range of situations they might encounter in everyday life. The Vienna Dog Personality Test (VIDOPET) consists of 15 subtests and was performed on 217 pet dogs. A two-step data reduction procedure (principal component analysis on each subtest followed by an exploratory factor analysis on the subtest components) yielded five factors: Sociability-obedience, Activity-independence, Novelty seeking, Problem orientation, and Frustration tolerance. A comprehensive evaluation of reliability and validity measures demonstrated excellent inter- and intra-observer reliability and adequate internal consistency of all factors. Moreover the test showed good temporal consistency when re-testing a subsample of dogs after an average of 3.8 years—a considerably longer test-retest interval than assessed for any other dog personality test, to our knowledge. The construct validity of the test was investigated by analysing the correlations between the results of video coding and video rating methods and the owners’ assessment via a dog personality questionnaire. The results demonstrated good convergent as well as discriminant validity. To conclude, the VIDOPET is not only a highly reliable and valid tool for measuring dog personality, but also the first test to show consistent behavioural traits related to problem solving ability and frustration tolerance in pet dogs.

ACS Style

Borbála Turcsán; Lisa Wallis; Zsófia Virányi; Friederike Range; Corsin A. Müller; Ludwig Huber; Stefanie Riemer. Personality traits in companion dogs—Results from the VIDOPET. PLOS ONE 2018, 13, e0195448 .

AMA Style

Borbála Turcsán, Lisa Wallis, Zsófia Virányi, Friederike Range, Corsin A. Müller, Ludwig Huber, Stefanie Riemer. Personality traits in companion dogs—Results from the VIDOPET. PLOS ONE. 2018; 13 (4):e0195448.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Borbála Turcsán; Lisa Wallis; Zsófia Virányi; Friederike Range; Corsin A. Müller; Ludwig Huber; Stefanie Riemer. 2018. "Personality traits in companion dogs—Results from the VIDOPET." PLOS ONE 13, no. 4: e0195448.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2017 in Animal Sentience
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Stefanie Riemer. Social dog — emotional dog? Animal Sentience 2017, 2, 9 .

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer. Social dog — emotional dog? Animal Sentience. 2017; 2 (14):9.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer. 2017. "Social dog — emotional dog?" Animal Sentience 2, no. 14: 9.

Journal article
Published: 01 December 2016 in Physiology & Behavior
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Infrared thermography can visualize changes in body surface temperature that result from stress-induced physiological changes and alterations of blood flow patterns. Here we explored its use for remote stress monitoring (i.e. removing need for human presence) in a sample of six pet dogs. Dogs were tested in a brief separation test involving contact with their owner, a stranger, and social isolation for two one-minute-periods. Tests were filmed using a thermographic camera set up in a corner of the room, around 7m from where the subjects spent most of the time. Temperature was measured from selected regions of both ear pinnae simultaneously. Temperatures of both ear pinnae showed a pattern of decrease during separation and increase when a person (either the owner or a stranger) was present, with no lateralized temperature differences between the two ears. Long distance thermographic measurement is a promising technique for non-invasive remote stress assessment, although there are some limitations related to dogs' hair structure over the ears, making it unsuitable for some subjects.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer; Luciana Santos de Assis; Thomas W. Pike; Daniel S. Mills. Dynamic changes in ear temperature in relation to separation distress in dogs. Physiology & Behavior 2016, 167, 86 -91.

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer, Luciana Santos de Assis, Thomas W. Pike, Daniel S. Mills. Dynamic changes in ear temperature in relation to separation distress in dogs. Physiology & Behavior. 2016; 167 ():86-91.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer; Luciana Santos de Assis; Thomas W. Pike; Daniel S. Mills. 2016. "Dynamic changes in ear temperature in relation to separation distress in dogs." Physiology & Behavior 167, no. : 86-91.

Journal article
Published: 04 May 2016 in Applied Animal Behaviour Science
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In order to assess dogs’ personality changes during ontogeny, a cohort of 69 Border collies was followed up from six to 18–24 months. When the dogs were 6, 12, and 18–24 months old, their owners repeatedly filled in a dog personality questionnaire (DPQ), which yielded five personality factors divided into fifteen facets. All five DPQ factors were highly correlated between the three age classes, indicating that the dogs’ personality remained consistent relative to other individuals. Nonetheless, at the group level significant changes with age were found for four of the five DPQ factors. Fearfulness, Aggression towards People, Responsiveness to Training and Aggression towards Animals increased with age; only Activity/Excitability did not change significantly over time. These changes in DPQ factor scores occurred mainly between the ages of 6 and 12 months, although some facets changed beyond this age. No sex differences were found for any of the tested factors or facets, suggesting that individual variation in personality was greater than male/female differences. There were significant litter effects for the factors Fearfulness, Aggression towards People and Activity/Excitability, indicating either a strong genetic basis for these traits or a high influence of the shared early environment. To conclude, from the age of six months, consistency in personality relative to other individuals can be observed in Border collies. However, at the group level, increases in fearful and aggressive behaviours occur up to 12 months and for some traits up to two years, highlighting the need for early interventions. Follow-up studies are needed to assess trajectories of personality development prior to six months and after two years, and to include a wider variety of breeds.

ACS Style

Stefanie Riemer; Corsin Müller; Zsófia Virányi; Ludwig Huber; Friederike Range. Individual and group level trajectories of behavioural development in Border collies. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2016, 180, 78 -86.

AMA Style

Stefanie Riemer, Corsin Müller, Zsófia Virányi, Ludwig Huber, Friederike Range. Individual and group level trajectories of behavioural development in Border collies. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2016; 180 ():78-86.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Stefanie Riemer; Corsin Müller; Zsófia Virányi; Ludwig Huber; Friederike Range. 2016. "Individual and group level trajectories of behavioural development in Border collies." Applied Animal Behaviour Science 180, no. : 78-86.

Journal article
Published: 07 March 2016 in Applied Animal Behaviour Science
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Hannah Thompson; Stefanie Riemer; Sarah L.H. Ellis; Oliver H.P. Burman. Behaviour directed towards inaccessible food predicts consumption—A novel way of assessing food preference. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2016, 178, 111 -117.

AMA Style

Hannah Thompson, Stefanie Riemer, Sarah L.H. Ellis, Oliver H.P. Burman. Behaviour directed towards inaccessible food predicts consumption—A novel way of assessing food preference. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2016; 178 ():111-117.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hannah Thompson; Stefanie Riemer; Sarah L.H. Ellis; Oliver H.P. Burman. 2016. "Behaviour directed towards inaccessible food predicts consumption—A novel way of assessing food preference." Applied Animal Behaviour Science 178, no. : 111-117.

Research article
Published: 10 February 2016 in PLOS ONE
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Human infants develop an understanding of their physical environment through playful interactions with objects. Similar processes may influence also the performance of non-human animals in physical problem-solving tasks, but to date there is little empirical data to evaluate this hypothesis. In addition or alternatively to prior experiences, inhibitory control has been suggested as a factor underlying the considerable individual differences in performance reported for many species. Here we report a study in which we manipulated the extent of object-related experience for a cohort of dogs (Canis familiaris) of the breed Border Collie over a period of 18 months, and assessed their level of inhibitory control, prior to testing them in a series of four physical problem-solving tasks. We found no evidence that differences in object-related experience explain variability in performance in these tasks. It thus appears that dogs do not transfer knowledge about physical rules from one physical problem-solving task to another, but rather approach each task as a novel problem. Our results, however, suggest that individual performance in these tasks is influenced in a complex way by the subject’s level of inhibitory control. Depending on the task, inhibitory control had a positive or a negative effect on performance and different aspects of inhibitory control turned out to be the best predictors of individual performance in the different tasks. Therefore, studying the interplay between inhibitory control and problem-solving performance will make an important contribution to our understanding of individual and species differences in physical problem-solving performance.

ACS Style

Corsin A. Müller; Stefanie Riemer; Zsófia Virányi; Ludwig Huber; Friederike Range. Inhibitory Control, but Not Prolonged Object-Related Experience Appears to Affect Physical Problem-Solving Performance of Pet Dogs. PLOS ONE 2016, 11, e0147753 .

AMA Style

Corsin A. Müller, Stefanie Riemer, Zsófia Virányi, Ludwig Huber, Friederike Range. Inhibitory Control, but Not Prolonged Object-Related Experience Appears to Affect Physical Problem-Solving Performance of Pet Dogs. PLOS ONE. 2016; 11 (2):e0147753.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Corsin A. Müller; Stefanie Riemer; Zsófia Virányi; Ludwig Huber; Friederike Range. 2016. "Inhibitory Control, but Not Prolonged Object-Related Experience Appears to Affect Physical Problem-Solving Performance of Pet Dogs." PLOS ONE 11, no. 2: e0147753.