resolutionmini

mise à jour du
4 février 2007
Applied Animal
Behaviour Science
2007;104(1-2):61-70
Puppy behaviours when left home alone:
a pilot study
Diane Frank, Michela Minero, Simona Cannas, Clara Palestrini 
Université de Montréal, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Canada
Istituto di Zootecnica, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Milano, Italy  

Chat-logomini

Abstract : The aim of this exploratory pilot study was to investigate which behaviours puppies exhibited when left home alone within the initial weeks (0&endash;11 weeks) following adoption, as well as describing variability and temporal distribution of these behaviours. Eighteen puppies (9 aged less and 9 aged more than 90 days) were filmed home alone for 90 min after the owner left.
 
Owners were asked to complete a brief questionnaire including information on the puppy's characteristics and history as well as on the physical and social environment of the dog. Analysis of behaviours on tape showed that puppies did not behave homogeneously but rather separated into three distinct groups. Puppies were clustered based on behaviours such as (1) playing and exploring or (2) exhibiting passive behaviours or (3) presenting lip licking, yawning, scratching, orienting to the environment and vocalising.
 
Passive behaviour increased significantly over time (p < 0.001) and was significantly lower during the first 15 min with respect to the other observation periods (p < 0.05). Orientation to the environment tended to decrease (p = 0.08). Vocalisation (p < 0.05) and play behaviour (p < 0.01) both decreased significantly over time.
 
1. Introduction
Anxiety-related disorders and separation anxiety are among the most common behavioural problems in domestic dogs (Overall et al., 2001). Separation anxiety is diagnosed in 20&endash;40% of dogs referred to animal behaviour practices in North America (Voith and Borchelt, 1996; Simpson, 2000). Problems that occur when the owner is absent represent one of the principal causes for the breakdown of the human&endash;companion animal bond and lead to surrender of numerous dogs to shelters (Van der Borg et al., 1991; Miller et al., 1996).
 
In the broadest definition of separation anxiety, the condition is described as problematic behaviour motivated by anxiety that occurs exclusively in the owner's absence or virtual absence (Borchelt and Voith, 1982; Overall, 1997; Flanningan and Dodman, 2001). The most common complaints are destructive behaviour directed at the home, self inflicted-trauma, inappropriate elimination, and excessive vocalisation (whining, barking, or howling) only in the owner's absence (King et al., 2000; Simpson, 2000). Most studies to date on early behavioural development in dogs have been based on various laboratory tests (see Scott and Fuller, 1965) and unfortunately very little information is currently available on puppies observed in the human social environment (Lund and Vestergaard, 1998).
 
This information could be quite helpful to gain a more comprehensive understanding of developmental aspects of social behaviour as well as social influences on behavioural phenotype (Lund and Vestergaard, 1998). To our knowledge, no detailed study has been published that included filmed observations of the behaviour of puppies home alone. The aim of this exploratory pilot study was to investigate which behaviours puppies exhibited when left home alone within the initial weeks (0&endash;11 weeks) following adoption, as well as describing variability and temporal distribution of these behaviours.
 
 (....)
 
4. Discussion
The aim of this study was to document puppies' behaviours when left home alone because separation-related problems are commonly reported as a reason for consultation in referral behaviour practices. No data are currently available to describe normal behaviours of puppies leftalone and little data are available on actual age of onset of separation-related problems.
 
Diagnosisis generally based on indirect evidence such as elimination or destruction during owner absence rather than on tapes of actual behaviours and body language.This exploratory study documents that puppies do not all behave similarly when left alone.Puppies were clustered based on behaviours such as (1) playing and exploring or (2) exhibitingpassive behaviours or (3) presenting lip licking, yawning, scratching, orienting to the environment and vocalising.
`
The puppies that tended to vocalise, yawn, scratch, lick their lips and orient to the environment were younger than 90 days and recently adopted (<6 days). Many of these behaviours are compatible with signs of anxiety or fear. There is a common stress responseresulting from either fear or anxiety (Casey, 2002). The specific appearance of a fearful oranxious animal will vary but body posture tends to lower with fear, anxiety or submission. The animal may yawn or lick its lips repeatedly, may tremble or may exhibit piloerection (Neilson,2002). Vocalisation can occur as a consequence of fear or anxiety (Landsberg et al., 2003;Overall, 1997). Beerda et al. (1998) found that dogs that were subjected to different types ofstressful stimuli performed more body shaking, crouching, oral behaviours (tongue out, tip of tongue briefly extended, snout licking, swallowing, smacking), yawning, restlessness and presented a low posture.
 
Mouth licking, front paw lifting, ears pulled back and lowered standing or sitting postures have also been reported as indications of stress in dogs subjected to harsh training methods (Schwizgebel, 1982). Another study (Hetts et al., 1992) found that dogs housed in the greatest degree of social isolation spent the most time moving, exhibited the greatest number of abnormal movements and vocalised the most. The behaviour of these young recently adopted puppies could be explained by the fact that they were in a new social and physical environment but the tendency to show anxiety-related behaviours applies to all puppies aged less than 90 days, and not just to the recently adopted ones. Age of puppies affected orientation to the environment, vocalisation, playing behaviour and yawning.
 
Puppies younger than 90 days had the tendency ( p = 0.08) to orient more to the environment, to vocalise more ( p = 0.1), and to yawn significantly more (p < 0.05) but played significantly less ( p < 0.01) than puppies older than 90 days. Younger puppies are thus possibly more stressed than older puppies.Passive behaviour was the main behaviour exhibited by all puppies, although no distinction between sleeping or resting behaviours could be made based solely on the tapes. Puppies left home alone tended to be passive most of their time. As illustrated in Fig. 4, passive behaviours increased over time for both puppies older and younger than 90 days.
 
However, older puppies were less passive initially because they were playing whereas younger puppies were less passive initially because they were oriented to the environment and vocalised more. The increase in passive behaviour for the older group of puppies could be a result of resting behaviour following play whereas the increase in passive behaviour of the younger puppies could be the consequence of exhaustion.
 
Older puppies played and explored more. Passive behaviours and locomotion were not influenced by the fact that puppies were caged. Some of the puppies in our study vocalised. The three puppies that vocalised throughout the entire duration of the tapewere 61, 56, 55 days old and had been adopted 5, 4, and 2 days prior to the videotaping. When young puppies are distressed they usually begin to emit a series of sounds. This kind of behaviour can be classified as et-epimeletic or care soliciting behaviour.
 
Unable to adapt to a situation, the young animal calls for help and attention. In the puppy, the number of vocalisations in a particular period of time provides an objective measure of the emotional state of the animal. For a young animal, being lost from its mother in an unfamiliar environment is one of themost dangerous situations,which can threaten its existence (Elliot and Scott, 1961). Flanningan and Dodman (2001) found that separation anxiety was not more common in dogs separated from their dam and littermates at an early age.
 
Our study however certainly raises additional questions. First, do all puppies show signs of distress when initially adopted and first separated from owners? If not, are signs of distress in some puppies simply a consequence of young age, recent change in environment or both? Or are the vocal puppies more anxious? If so, could this vocalising behaviour be one of the first signs of future separation-related disorders?
 
5. Conclusion
These results can serve as preliminary information documenting what behaviours puppies perform when home alone. Ultimately, with additional studies the hope is to gain insight on how these behaviours change over the first few months following adoption. As follow-up, we plan to conduct a longitudinal study to collect data on how behaviours compatible with anxiety evolve over time in puppies left home alone. This information may prove useful for the early diagnosis, treatment or prevention of separation-related disorders.
Le bâillement chez le chien - Yawning in dogs. Nathalie Tomczyk 2009
 
Teaching Dogs to Yawn, Sneeze, and Implications for Preparedness Theory and Observational Learning
JR. Perkins
 
Coping with fear and stress: licking and yawning
SR. Lindsay
Handbook of applied dog behavior and training 2000
 
Behavioural, saliva cortisol and heart rate responses to different types of stimuli in dogs
Bonne Beerda, Matthijs B. H. Schilder, Jan A. R. A. M. van Hooff, Hans W. de Vries and Jan A. Mol
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 1998;58(3-4):365-381.
 
Puppy behaviours when left home alone: a pilot study
Diane Frank, Michela Minero, Simona Cannas, Clara Palestrini 
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2007;104(1-2):61-70.
 
Evaluation of the effects of a socialization program in a prison on behavior and pituitary&endash;adrenal hormone levels of shelter dogs
Michael B. Hennessy, Angela Morris and Fran Linden
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2006;99(1-2):157-17
 
Dogs catch human yawns
Joly-Mascheroni RM, Senju A, Sheperd AJ
Biology letters Animal Behaviour 2008;4(5):446-448
 
Adapting to the human world: Dogs' responsiveness to our social cues
Reid PJ.
Behavioural Processes 2008;80(3)325-333.
 
Comprehension of human pointing gestures in young human-reared wolves (Canis lupus) and dogs (Canis familiaris)
Virányi Z, Gácsi M, Kubinyi E, et al.
Anim Cogn 2008;11(3):373-387
 
Human-like social skills in dogs?
Hare B, Tomasello M.
Trends Cogn Sci 2005;9(9):439-444
 
The domestication of social cognition in dogs
Hare B, Brown M, Williamson C, et al
Science 2002;298(5598):1634-1636
 
Mouths wide open: yawning as a communicative behavior in dogs. Hoff AE 2001
 
Assessment of Stress in Laboratory Beagle Dogs Constrained by a Pavlov Sling
Stracke J, Bert B, Fink H, Böhner J.
Altex. 2011;28(4):317-325