From: IN%"rsilva@cpap.embrapa.br" "Roberto Aguilar M. S. Silva" 18-DEC-2001 07:40:26.38 To: IN%"(Recipient list suppressed)" CC: Subj: 1st Virtual Global Conference on Organic Beef Cattle Production Dear Colleagues, The EMBRAPA- Research Center of Pantanal promotes the 1st Virtual Global Conference on Organic Beef Cattle Production: http://www.conferencia.uncnet.br/pantanal/organica.en.html Your are invited. Sincerely, Roberto Roberto Aguilar M. S. Silva Cattle Behaviour, Production and Health EMBRAPA-Agricultural Research Center for the Pantanal Rua 21 de Setembro, 1880 CEP:79320-900 Corumba, MS, Brazil From: IN%"h.toner@Queens-Belfast.ac.uk" "Helen toner" 19-DEC-2001 05:52:55.50 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: cuddly toys and aggressive dogs Hi there everyone, I was wondering if anyone could give me any information/ references on the following? I recently heard about the use of cuddly toys to diffuse aggression/ anxiety in dogs. I think you simply train the dog to carry the cuddly toy in its mouth and this acts as a stress alleviator, also incidentally improving other peoples attitudes towards the dog because it looks 'cute'! Does anyone have any references/ background information on the theory behind this? I would be very interested both from an academic and a practical viewpoint ( I have a very nervous GSD bitch, I think it might help her!). Thanks very much for any help! Happy Christmas to you all, Helen Toner School of Psychology Queen's University Belfast ---------------------- From: IN%"supereeyore@hotmail.com" "Eddie Fernandez" 19-DEC-2001 13:29:14.03 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: cuddly toys and aggressive dogs Hey Helen, I'm sure some others could get into some of the incompatible responding from a respondent or even biological level, so I'll try and tackle the operant aspects. It may be that the cuddly toys could function as a discriminative stimulus for "non-aggressive" responding of some form or another. In essence, the dog is more likely to play in the presence of the toy, especially when given it. In essence, it might be like a differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI). The dog is being trained (through the delivery of the toy) to engage in some response that is incompatible with the "aggressive" responses, which leads to a reduction in them. Regardless, this is all just a shot in the dark guess, and any one situation should be carefully examined to see what's going on. Here's one problem, however, that I could see occuring based on my above analysis. Let's say some dog starts growling. The owner runs over, grabs the cuddly toy and shoves it in the dog's face. Now let's say the dog really digs when the owner does this. I think you can see the point...what someone could in fact be doing is training UP the "aggressive" responses by reinforcing those responses with the toy. What you could also start to see is the dog in essence "asking" for play time BY growling or the like! It could be a very messy situation, which again emphasizes why someone would have to examine any given situation carefully to see what's going on...ugh, I know the Illinois State crew have done some work on this in zoos, but now we need some good functional assessments for dog behaviorists, badly! Eddie F... > > >Hi there everyone, >I was wondering if anyone could give me any information/ references on >the following? >I recently heard about the use of cuddly toys to diffuse aggression/ >anxiety in dogs. I think you simply train the dog to carry the cuddly >toy in its mouth and this acts as a stress alleviator, also >incidentally improving other peoples attitudes towards the dog because >it looks 'cute'! >Does anyone have any references/ background information on the theory >behind this? I would be very interested both from an academic and a >practical viewpoint ( I have a very nervous GSD bitch, I think it might >help her!). >Thanks very much for any help! > >Happy Christmas to you all, > >Helen Toner >School of Psychology >Queen's University Belfast >---------------------- > _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx From: IN%"acofmart@cherokeetel.com" "Amy Coffman" 20-DEC-2001 08:55:36.34 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: Cuddly toys and aggressive dogs Hello, I am forwarding this for list member Francis Burton; his original attempt bounced for unknown reasons: At 11:52 19/12/01 +0800, Helen toner wrote: >I recently heard about the use of cuddly toys to diffuse aggression/ >anxiety in dogs. I think you simply train the dog to carry the cuddly >toy in its mouth and this acts as a stress alleviator, also >incidentally improving other peoples attitudes towards the dog because >it looks 'cute'! While it doesn't address your specific question, this paper, in Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2002) 75: 161-176, might be of interest. An experimental study of the effects of play upon the dog-human relationship by Nicola J Rooney and John W S Bradshaw (Anthrozoology Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton SO16 7PX, UK) Abstract It has often been suggested that intraspecific dominance relationships are established through play. By analogy, it is also claimed that the outcome of competitive games can affect dog-human relationships. This paper experimentally tests the latter idea. Fourteen Golden Retrievers were each subjected to two treatments; 20 sessions of a tug-of-war game with the experimenter which they were allowed to win, and 20 sessions which they lost. Their relationship with the experimenter was assessed, via a composite behavioural test, once at the outset and once after each treatment. Principal components analysis allowed the 52 behavioural measures to be combined into nine underlying factors. Confidence (the factor most closely corresponding to conventional dominance) was unaffected by the treatments. Dogs scored higher for obedient attentiveness after play treatments, irrespective of whether they won or lost, and demandingness scores increased with familiarity of the test person. The 10 most playful dogs scored significantly higher for playful attention seeking after winning than after losing. We conclude that, in this population, dominance dimensions of the dog-human relationship are unaffected by the outcome of repetitive tug-of-war games. However, we suggest that the effects of games may be modified by the presence of play signals, and when these signals are absent or misinterpreted the outcome of games may have more serious consequences. Games may also assume greater significance for a minority of "potentially dominant" dogs. Francis From: IN%"elly-hiby@angelfire.com" 20-DEC-2001 09:25:56.33 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: RE: Cuddly toys and aggressive dogs Dear all, I think the idea behind giving aggressive dogs cuddly 'toys' is not to induce play but to allow the dog some outlet for its aggression and/or anxiety, as Helen first described. I have often seen dogs with a tendency for aggression, or during stressful situations, pick up toys and not act in a playful way but either chew or sometimes attack these objects with what looks like frustration. I also know of people who regularly train dogs with the habit of biting people when they get exited/frustrated to focus on a toy or 'comfort blanket', so they can direct their energy (and teeth!) into something other than a human when in stressful situations. This seems to work well with most dogs i've seen, however, dogs can become possessive over these objects which can present a problem if the dog already has a tendency to be aggressive. I guess it is always important to address the cause of the aggression/anxiety as well as behaviour it produces. Elly Hiby --- Anthrozoology Institute University of Southampton SO16 7PX Tel (023)80594254 Mobile 07818 098131 On Thu, 20 Dec 2001 09:08:07 Amy Coffman wrote: >Hello, > I am forwarding this for list member Francis Burton; his original >attempt bounced for unknown reasons: > >At 11:52 19/12/01 +0800, Helen toner wrote: >>I recently heard about the use of cuddly toys to diffuse aggression/ >>anxiety in dogs. I think you simply train the dog to carry the cuddly >>toy in its mouth and this acts as a stress alleviator, also >>incidentally improving other peoples attitudes towards the dog because >>it looks 'cute'! > >While it doesn't address your specific question, this paper, in Applied >Animal Behaviour Science (2002) 75: 161-176, might be of interest. > >An experimental study of the effects of play upon the dog-human relationship > >by Nicola J Rooney and John W S Bradshaw > >(Anthrozoology Institute, School of Biological Sciences, University of >Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton SO16 7PX, UK) > >Abstract > >It has often been suggested that intraspecific dominance relationships are >established through play. By analogy, it is also claimed that the outcome of >competitive games can affect dog-human relationships. This paper >experimentally tests the latter idea. Fourteen Golden Retrievers were each >subjected to two treatments; 20 sessions of a tug-of-war game with the >experimenter which they were allowed to win, and 20 sessions which they >lost. Their relationship with the experimenter was assessed, via a composite >behavioural test, once at the outset and once after each treatment. >Principal components analysis allowed the 52 behavioural measures to be >combined into nine underlying factors. Confidence (the factor most closely >corresponding to conventional dominance) was unaffected by the treatments. >Dogs scored higher for obedient attentiveness after play treatments, >irrespective of whether they won or lost, and demandingness scores increased >with familiarity of the test person. The 10 most playful dogs scored >significantly higher for playful attention seeking after winning than after >losing. We conclude that, in this population, dominance dimensions of the >dog-human relationship are unaffected by the outcome of repetitive >tug-of-war games. However, we suggest that the effects of games may be >modified by the presence of play signals, and when these signals are absent >or misinterpreted the outcome of games may have more serious consequences. >Games may also assume greater significance for a minority of "potentially >dominant" dogs. > >Francis Get 250 color business cards for FREE! http://businesscards.lycos.com/vp/fastpath/ From: IN%"rudy.demeester@pi.be" "rudy de meester" 20-DEC-2001 15:09:01.36 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "applied-ethology" CC: Subj: Could anyone please give me the name (and mailadress) of a scientist who is working on normal and abnormal sleeping behavior in dogs ? I am urgently looking for data on normal sleeping cycles, dreaming periods and so on. Thanks a lot dr. Rudy De Meester dvm From: IN%"robin@coape.win-uk.net" 21-DEC-2001 02:02:10.05 To: IN%"rudy.demeester@pi.be" "'rudy de meester'" CC: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "Applied Ethology Network (E-mail)" Subj: FW: Let sleeping dogs lie - lest they die! Sear Rudy, Here is a note I sent to the list in 1998 on this topic I have thought for some time that this is an important area of inquiry. Dig it up! Please remember to drop the bones at our feet! Robin Good Rudy! Fetch! -----Original Message----- From: Robin Walker [mailto:robin@coape.win-uk.net] Sent: 20 June 1998 09:30 To: Applied Ethology Network (E-mail) Cc: APBC Forum (E-mail) Subject: Let sleeping dogs lie - lest they die! Dear Mike, Stress and sleep deprivation are of interest to the veterinary practitioner and I would think, the husbandryman in any field of applied ethology. A historical review by Bentivoglio M, Grassi-Zucconi G entitled - The pioneering experimental studies on sleep deprivation- has appeared the Journal 'Sleep' 1997 Jul; 20 (7) pp 570-76. The authors report (form the Institute of Anatomy and Histology, University of Verona, Italy) that:- The experimental studies on sleep deprivation were initiated by the Russian physician and scientist, Marie de Manaceine, who studied sleep-deprived puppies kept in constant activity. She reported in 1894 that the complete absence of sleep was fatal in a few days, pointing out that the most severe lesions occurred in the brain. In 1898, the Italian physiologists Lamberto Daddi and Giulio Tarozzi also kept dogs awake by walking them; the animals died after 9-17 days, and their survival was unrelated to food consumption. In the histological study performed by Daddi, degenerative alterations, mainly represented by chromatolytic changes, were observed in neurons of the spinal ganglia, Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, and neurons of the frontal cortex. Daddi ascribed these changes to a state of autointoxication of the brain during insomnia. In 1898, the psychiatrist Cesare Agostini, interested in the psychic phenomena caused by prolonged insomnia in humans, sleep deprived dogs by keeping them in a metallic cage in order to avoid fatigue. The dogs survived about 2 weeks, and degenerative changes were observed in their brains. In these experimental paradigms, the effect of sleep loss was confounded by motor exhaustion and/or intense sensory stimulation. In spite of the absence of adequate controls, the pioneering studies performed at the end of the 19th century represented the first experimental attempts to relate sleep with neural centers and suggested that sleep is a vital function and that the brain may be affected by insomnia. ******** I vividly recall work by some Spanish military medical men in the mid 60s, who sleep deprived dogs by severe noise exposure. These (healthy) dogs died in about 4 days! The need for recovery sleep was brought home to me in 1970 when I treated a dog which had suffered excrutiating pain from a neglected proctitis for about 5 days. The relief of pain by injections of Isaverin and generous insertions of Sheriproct suppositories seemed to permit a sleep of 'comatose' profundity which alarmed my staff and I to the point of attempting to arouse the patient! No amount of noise or pinching could elicit a response. He slept for 10 hours and awoke bright and happy. I am convinced that the severely pruritic dog (with staphylococcal dermatitis) requires inordinately long courses of antibiotics for no other reason than a marked depression of immune responses, which are restored by the lengthy period of rest and recuperation that the antibiotics permit. Experiments to show depression of immunity by reduction of sleep tend, by reason of humanity and attempts to eliminate variables, to fail. I think this is because we should regard sleep as part of the means to combat and repair the effects of severe stress. Thyroid and corticosteroid actions are also involved. The chronically stressed dog in kennels suffering the withrawal from a very marked attachment to the missing owner, will suffer wieght loss and diarhoea. If it is also sleep deprived by constant alarms from the other boarders the mischief may be compounded. If draught oxen are driven too fast and for too long they will founder with respiratory ailments and die. The nursing mother awakening to suckle a healthy baby will be rewarded emotionally and physiologically. A mother awoken in acute anxiety by a sick infant will suffer torment expressly forbidden by the Geneva Convention. (I think I will take a nap. After all it is my weekend on Night Call!) Robin P.S Here's another note:- Experientia 1986 Sep 15;42(9):987-991 Long-term motor activity recording of dogs and the effect of sleep deprivation. Tobler I, Sigg H Motor activity of laboratory dogs was recorded for several weeks with an ambulatory monitoring device. The effect of 24 h sleep deprivation (SD) on motor activity during recovery was investigated. A clear rest-activity rhythm was established. The dogs exhibited a similar mean daily rest-activity pattern: rest occurred mainly in the dark; the animals were most active after light onset; activity increased during the last two dark hours; a rest period was found at noon and reduced activity during afternoon hours. There was a marked difference in total activity between individual dogs. Activity patterns varied as a function of the day of the week; this may have been a reflection of variations in the level of human activities in the laboratory. There was a significant reduction of motor activity during the 24-h period following SD. This was particularly evident in the first 6 h of the light period immediately following the deprivation. In addition, there was a significant increase in the number of episodes with activity less than or equal to 5 counts during recovery. The study confirms the possibility of measuring motor activity to assess compensatory mechanisms during recovery after SD. Sleep regulation, therefore, does not necessarily need to be exclusively examined by the invasive technique of EEG registration. From: IN%"slindsay@ix.netcom.com" "Steve Lindsay" 21-DEC-2001 04:36:13.30 To: IN%"rudy.demeester@pi.be" "rudy de meester" CC: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "applied-ethology" Subj: RE: Normal and abnormal sleeping behavior in dogs Hi Rudy, You might find the following articles of interest: Adams GJ, Johnson KG (1993). Sleep-wake cycles and other night-time behaviours of the domestic dog Canis familiaris. Appl Anim Behav Sci, 36:233-248. Adams GJ, Johnson KG (1994). Behavioural responses to barking and other auditory stimuli during night-time sleeping and waking in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Appl Anim Behav Sci, 39:151-162. Adams GJ, Johnson KG (1995). Guard dogs: Sleep, work and the behavioural responses to people and other stimuli. Appl Anim Behav Sci, 46:103-115. Klein E, Uhde TW (1988). 24-hour motor activity in genetically nervous and normal pointer dogs. Biol Psychiat, 23:523-527. Steve Lindsay Canine Behavioral Services Philadelphia, PA rudy de meester wrote: > Could anyone please give me the name (and mailadress) of a scientist > who is working on normal and abnormal sleeping behavior in dogs ? I am > urgently looking for data on normal sleeping cycles, dreaming periods > and so on. > > Thanks a lot > > dr. Rudy De Meester dvm From: IN%"jewalke5@vt.edu" "jewalke5" 26-DEC-2001 05:24:46.38 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "applied-ethology", IN%"rudy.demeester@pi.be" "rudy de meester" CC: Subj: Does anyone know how to go about removing one's name from this list? Thank you, J. Walker From: IN%"johnwade@ethological.com" "Ethological Communication" 26-DEC-2001 09:25:49.95 To: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "Applied Ethology Mailing List" CC: Subj: Elimination practice theorys BlankI am interested in reading some of the theories regarding the practice of eliminating away from the den and marking territory. Can anyone refer me to sources for this, particularly on-line resources? Regards, John Wade From: IN%"mtoscano@purdue.edu" "Michael Toscano" 30-DEC-2001 14:36:51.43 To: IN%"Applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "ethology listserv" CC: Subj: job descriptions Happy Holidays to all and a jolly New Year!!! I've sent out a request for animal behavior-related job descriptions a couple of times and have got excellent responses. I wanted to remind old members and let recent additions know of my request. Essentially, I'm trying to develop a file of actual job descriptions to answer queries I field (primarily from undergraduates) of jobs that an individual with an undergraduate or graduate degree in the fields of ethology, applied ethology, stress physiology, etc. can take. Postions that recommend such a degree but where such candidates can also have relevant experience as well would also be acceptable. In addition to this original request, I was hoping to broaden the scope a little wider with two addendums. First, I've received mainly desciptions of research-related and academic teaching positions to date. These responses have been excellent, but I would like to also emphasize members to submit non-academic positions as well, i.e., extension, public relations, etc. I've posted two descriptions from HSUS below which I thought might serve as good examples. Secondly, if you currently hold a non-academic position, could you write up a job description of your post as if it were going to be advertised and send it to me. I appreciate all the help and would be happy to furnish copies of what I have so far. My contact info is below if anyone has suggestions. thanks, mike toscano ANIMAL SCIENTIST/PROGRAM DIRECTOR, Farm Animals & Sustainable Agriculture Reporting to the Section Vice President, you will develop programs on farm animal welfare, with line management of a researcher, and you will work to ensure the achievement of program goals and objectives. You will also conduct extensive interdisciplinary research in key program areas. Qualifications include a BA/BS animal science or related field or extensive experience, excellent research, media and public speaking skills and strong oral & written communication skills. Salary mid-upper $30's with strong benefits package. DIRECTOR, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT/AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIST, Farm Animals & Sustainable Agriculture You will be experienced in farm animal welfare to direct programs in farming systems and agricultural business and economics, developing economic strategies for improvement of farm animal welfare. Reporting to the Vice President of Farm Animals and Sustainable Agriculture, you will have line management of several staff researching and campaigning on farming systems. Qualifications include a relevant degree or extensive experience, and strong research, organizational, oral and written communication skills. Excellent benefits package and competitive salary. -- ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Michael J. Toscano mtoscano@purdue.edu 9204 E 250 N Lafayette, IN 47905 765-589-1782 (h) 765-496-3587 (o) 765-532-6415 (c) 765-496-1993 (f) “I will not take by sacrifice what I can achieve by strategy.” -General Douglas MacArthur ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><