My Pets: reading

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Summer Reading: Sound Advice

A summer reading list for dog and cat people.

Sound advice to read while relaxing, like this Cocker Spaniel on a swing

This year’s theme is sound advice on dogs and cats. In a world where good information is hard to come by and persistent myths about animals continue to lead people astray, sound advice is well worth sharing. And sharing again.

Read on for some of my favourite posts that help us to understand – and train – dogs and cats better.

“Some dogs do not appreciate being rudely awoken” Let sleeping dogs… lie? By Kristi Benson CTC

Does your cat run and hide under the bed at the first sign of the cat carrier? This post, complete with videos, has everything you need to know: How to train your cat to like the cat carrier by Sarah Ellis at Katzenworld Blog

Dogs and wildlife – tips for going off-leash from Allison Wells of I Love Your Dog Don’t miss Shadow’s happy “recall face”!

Have you ever thought of training your cat? Cats would like you to know they are open to training by DogSpies by Julie Hecht.

“He didn’t understand her.” Why did that dog growl? Tracy Krulik on an incident at the vet.

“When your own dog growls at you it can feel awful. But try not to take it personally, it is the only way he has of telling you that something is making him uncomfortable or nervous." Understanding dog aggression towards family by Sarah Pennington at Yaletown Dog Training.

What’s stress got to do with it? Cats and urination outside the litterbox by Mikel Delgado PhD at Cats and Squirrels.

“The biggest responsibility of raising a puppy is not to teach them “manners”, it is to ensure they have a bright future. And that future lies in your hands.” The almost unbearable burden of raising a puppy by Sylvie Martin of Crosspaws.

Choosing the right toys for your cat. 12 tips from Pam Johnson-Bennett.

“Many such cats spend a great deal of their time under the bed or on top of the wardrobe, hiding from the world.” How to behave around anxious cats, from International Cat Care.

“The good news is that a little preparation and know how can help reduce the likelihood you’ll encounter problems with your pet once your baby comes home.” Bringing home baby: Preparing pets for parenthood by Kate Mornement PhD at Pets Behaving Badly Solutions with Dr Kate.

Spotting the signs. Separation Anxiety: two truths and a lie by Casey McGee.

"No reputable trainer who has stayed current on valid developments in the field is still talking about “pack leadership” or “energy”; and they certainly aren’t employing prong, choke, and shock collars. If you’re a dog owner looking for a professional trainer, the likelihood you end up with one of these folks is still sadly very high." More than fancy words by Lisa Skavienski for Your Pit Bull and You.

It’s more than just a box. A pictorial display of all the uses cats have for cardboard boxes by Ingrid Johnson of Fundamentally Feline.

And if you need help finding a dog trainer, I have a post for that: How to choose a dog trainer.

Companion Animal Psychology is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Summer Reading

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If you’re looking for some summer reading, here are some favourite stories, photos, and even a short film - plus the chance for your pet's photo to appear on Companion Animal Psychology.

A beautiful border collie in a summer meadow with daisies

“Volunteering to build fences can help deliver dogs (and their owners) from chains.” Freeing dogs with fences by Bronwen Dickey.

Julie Hecht on pointing: “this one little gesture, in all its complexity, could be a core feature of the intimate bond we share with dogs.”

I was saddened to learn of the imminent demise of the science blogging site scilogs.com. The news led me to revisit one of my favourite posts in which Prof. Malcolm Campbell writes about what the dog really saw. “If ever you need to be reminded that we each have our own way of looking at the world, take a dog for a walk at night.” (If you don’t already, follow him on twitter for six incredible things before breakfast and links to all the best science writing).

“Those of us with dogs who will do a rocket recall have simply put to use a fancy technology: we throw pizza parties every time they come to us.” Casey McGee (Upward Hound dog training, River Falls) explains how to teach an excellent recall. Cheese!

The cat guardians of Singapore by Anna Jones.

Recently in BC three animal cruelty cases have relied on behavioural evidence to support the idea of emotional suffering. In the emotional suffering of animals Pete McMartin writes about these cases and the pioneering work of animal behaviourist Dr. Rebecca Ledger.

A two-part series on helping cats and babies get along by Dr. Sarah Ellis at Katzenworld blog: Helping your cat to get ready to accept the new arrival and helping your cat cope with a new addition.

Highlights from the 5th Canine Science Forum by Mia Cobb and Julie Hecht at Do You Believe in Dog?

In May, a study on a genetic mutation in some Labradors that is linked to obesity caused much excitement. Jessica Perry Hekman DVM wrote two FAQs about the study, one for everyone and a more in-depth version for those who would like to know more.

Assessing shelter dog behaviour to determine adoption suitability: Meaningful or misleading? Dr. Kate Mornement writes about her research on the challenges of assessing shelter dogs; a guest post for Dr. Jo Righetti's blog.

Have you ever considered whether cats can count? Mikel Delgado looks at some recent research.

Senior citizens and the cats and dogs they love by David Rosenberg looks at the latest project of photographer David Williams.

How dogs get older. Amanda Jones photographed the same dogs when they were young and then when they were old.

These portraits prove old dogs are the best by Jordan G Teicher on Nancy Levine’s photos of elderly dogs.

And finally, don't miss this short animation, The Present.

Reward-based training is for all our pets: If you train your pet with rewards and would like their photo to feature on Companion Animal Psychology, you can tweet it to me (@CompAnimalPsych) with the hashtag #Train4Rewards or share it in the comments on this post on Facebook. Please ensure you have copyright of the photo. The best will be included in a future post.

Photo: Dora Zett (Shutterstock.com)

children dogs literacy reading research

Reading to Dogs May Improve Literacy

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A new review of existing research finds reading to dogs may help children’s literacy – but the quality of evidence is weak.

Canine reading programs can help literacy

That’s the conclusion of a new paper by Sophie Hall et al (University of Lincoln). They searched the literature for studies that investigate the effects of programs in which children read to dogs, and conducted a systematic review of 48 papers.

They write, “The evidence suggests that reading to a dog may have a beneficial effect on a number of behavioural processes which contribute to a positive effect on the environment in which reading is practiced, leading to improved reading performance.”

It sounds very promising: if children read out loud to dogs, they have a captive and non-judgemental audience. Such programs are becoming increasingly popular, so it’s important to know if they really work – not least because, as very inexpensive programs, it could be a cost-effective way to improve literacy.

Reading sessions, with volunteer dogs and handlers, take place in schools, libraries, and other locations.

“I only like to read if I am in a good mood. I am usually in a good mood on Saturdays because I have a chance to read to Lucky,” is what one 10-year-old told Intermountain Therapy Animals, who have trained over 3000 canine teams since 1999.

The review highlights several ways in which canine reading programs might help. Dogs can provide social support in themselves and also increase support from other people (the social support hypothesis). People’s affiliation with nature might lead to increased engagement when reading to a dog (the biophilia hypothesis).

Other mechanisms may include reduced anxiety, increased confidence and more motivation.

The scientists classified the research according to established guidelines (called PRISMA). They were inclusive in identifying papers to include, and much of it was not of good quality. Some of the problems they identified were small sample sizes, lack of a control group, not enough information about the children who took part (e.g. if they are normally developing), failure to use standardized tests to assess reading ability, and not saying how long the reading intervention lasted.

So what kind of research is needed? The authors say there is a particular need for randomized controlled trials. These are the ‘gold standard’ for knowing if an intervention works or not. They only identified one for their review, which found accuracy and reading comprehension were better in children who read to a dog rather than a teddy bear or adult, or a control group that did not read to anyone.

The finding that reading to dogs appears to be helpful, but we don’t know what might cause this, is another reason for more research.

The researchers also highlight the need to take account of individual differences between children (some of whom might not like dogs, be allergic to them or frightened of them), and to find out which young readers could benefit most from such programs.

The full paper is open access via the link below, and includes a diagram outlining the different ways reading to dogs may help children.

If you are interested in volunteering your dog for a reading program, several organizations run them, including Reading Education Assistance Dogs (Intermountain Therapy Animals, international), The Bark and Read Foundation (Kennel Club, UK), Classroom Canines(Delta Society, Australia), and many others. Dogs should be friendly, up to date with vaccinations, able to sit while patted by a stranger, and take treats gently. Delta Society has a checklist to see if your dog might be a good candidate.

Reference

Hall, S., Gee, N., & Mills, D. (2016). Children Reading to Dogs: A Systematic Review of the Literature PLOS ONE, 11 (2) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149759
Photo: waldru (top) and Soloviova Liudmyla (both Shutterstock.com).

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animal shelter dogs music reading stress

How Audiobooks Can Help Shelter Dogs

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New research shows listening to audiobooks can help dogs waiting for adoption.

A cute puppy rests with its head on its paws at the animal shelter

Imagine how it must feel to be a dog at a shelter, taken from your normal environment for reasons you don’t understand, with unfamiliar smells and noises, including other dogs barking. Could the sounds of music or a person reading help? A new study by Clarissa Brayley and Tamara Montrose (Hartpury Animal Behaviour College) tests audiobooks and music to see if they calm the dogs, and finds beneficial results from audiobooks.

The study compared an audiobook – specifically Michael York reading C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – to classical music (The Best of Beethoven), pop music (Now 88), specially-designed dog music (Through a Dog’s Ear), and a control condition of no added sound.

“Shelters frequently are stressful environments for dogs,” says Dr. Tamara Montrose, “and any reduction of this stress is beneficial for their welfare. In our study we found that audio-books enhanced resting behaviours in dogs which is suggestive of reduced stress. Dogs are highly social animals who value human contact. We believe that audio-books approximate human interaction for these kennelled dogs and that they benefit from the illusion of company and comfort provided by the audio-books.”

“Besides these beneficial direct effects on dog welfare, audio-books could also indirectly help dogs in shelters. By reducing the dogs’ stress this may help reduce behaviours such as excessive barking or activity which can impact upon rehoming and so audio-books may potentially help encourage adoption of these dogs.”

31 dogs took part at the Blue Cross Burford rehoming center in Oxfordshire, UK. They were aged from 9 months to 13 years, and had been at the shelter for 51 days on average. All the dogs took part in all of the conditions.

Regular kennel life continued during the experiment: the dogs spent time outside in the morning (while their kennel was cleaned) and for an hour in the afternoon, had a walk each day, and were fed two or three times a day (depending on the dog).

Kenelled dogs were less stressed when listening to the audiobook

The music or audiobook was played for two hours during a quiet time in the morning. Video cameras were set up to monitor the dogs’ behaviour, which was sampled every 5 minutes.

The dogs rested or slept more when the audiobook was playing compared to the other conditions, and spent less time sitting or standing. In fact they were resting or sleeping 15 times (out of 24) during the audiobook, compared to an average of 7.7 during the pop music.

Dogs barked less during the audiobook compared to music. Howling, growling and whining were less during the audiobook compared to pop music and the control. The dogs also walked about less during the audiobook compared to pop music, special dog music and the control.

During the classical music, dogs walked about less and vocalized less, but it was not as good for welfare as the audiobook. Earlier studies have found some benefits from classical music being played in kennels (e.g. Kogan et al 2012) so it’s interesting the audiobook did much better here.

Some shelters have programs in which volunteers read books to dogs. Playing an audiobook could be a good alternative when volunteers aren’t available. The dogs have probably not heard audiobooks before, and the researchers say the narrative delivery is likely to be more interesting than regular conversation. So although dogs don't appreciate the fine writing and the plot, they do enjoy the engaging human voice.

Further research is needed with more examples of each genre, so we know the results pertain to audiobooks in general. It would be interesting to know if dogs prefer the same book repeated over time, or like new books to listen to. Maybe it would also work for shelter cats.

This is a very promising study because it suggests a low-cost way to reduce stress in shelter dogs.

Does your dog like audiobooks?

Reference

Brayley, C., & Montrose, V. (2016). The effects of audiobooks on the behaviour of dogs at a rehoming kennels Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 174, 111-115 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2015.11.008
Photo: Janis Maleckis (shutterstock.com)

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