KENNELS DOGS

Do Kennel Dogs Choose Vicious Interaction When Dealing With Stress?



TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Research Overview1

Research Question3

Aims and Objectives3

Research Disposition3

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW5

Stress5

Stress Response5

Characteristics of Dogs5

Physical Signs of Stress7

Controlling Dog's Stress9

CHAPTER 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY10

Procedure10

Dates and Conditions10

Test Procedures11

REFERENCES12

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background

Dogs experience stress, just as humans do, as a part of their routine lives. Having an understanding of the stressful factors and the threshold dogs have is very important for the dogs owner. They would be able to ensure that their dogs are having a very healthy and happy life, with the slightest stress in their life.

The behavior of kennel dogs is influenced directly by the internal threshold of stress and the factors in the environment too. These factors generate stress in animals. From aggression to anxiety in dogs, stress is a foundation for grounding variety of behavioral issues that has a requirement of treatments and ensuring that these behaviors are reduced in the future, as they impact the living standard and life of a dog. There are a lot of situations in the life of a dog that have the tendency of causing stressful situations, from the noise of traffic to grooming dislikes but the term “THRESHOLD OF STRESS” is the highest rated level of tolerance that a kennel dog has. When the situation goes behind that threshold it could result into violent and vicious behavior. It is important to analyze how violent kennels dogs could be and how do they react in stressful situations for the sake of controlling them.

Research Overview

As shelters increasingly overflow with animals in hopes for adoption, what are other ways our community could benefit from certain animals? This experiment was designed to answer questions related to male German Shepherd's response during a stressful event. If these animals can undergo 12 week long training course in obedience and guidance and can demonstrate an appropriate response when a stressor is presented, why not use them as aids within the community? Reactive or passive coping involves immobility, low levels of aggression, long attack latency, higher activation of the pituitary-adrenocortical system (Bohus et al.,1987; Carere et al, 2003; Kalin, 1999; Pottinger and Carrick, 2001; Overli et al, 2004; Von Holst, 1986) Today, many German Shepherds are purchased, trained and used as police dogs within the community but this can become costly. In using already unwanted but desirable dogs for a specific job could prove beneficial for all parties involved. The German Shepherd dogs that can respond in a desirable way to the stressor presented could be an indicator that these animals would provide a positive service to the community.

The dogs observed were all exposed to nonsocial stressors prior to the social stressors in order to observe coping decisions made, and to get a cortisol level after each event. These subjects were also exposed to a handler, veterinarian, as well as the researcher. Dogs' behavior towards a stranger can either prove to be aggressive or passive, which suggests a tolerance towards strangers. So how will these dogs react toward a stranger ...