The effects of fear and anxiety on health and lifespan in pet dogs

Dreschel, Nancy A.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2010.04.003

Cited by 132 publications

(63 citation statements)

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“…This potentially makes training more time consuming and costly. Research has also suggested that high levels of fear-related behaviors can lead to increased disease risk (Terlouw et al, 1997) through modulation of immune responses, and possibly ultimately lead to a reduced lifespan (Dreschel 2010). Particularly relevant to dog programs with breeding schemes is the finding that decreased sperm quality is associated with anxiety in dogs (Memon, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Minimizing fear and anxiety in working dogs: A review

Rooney

Clark

Casey

2016

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

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The causes of fear and anxiety in working dogs are multifactorial and may include inherited characteristics that differ between individuals (e.g. Goddard and Beilharz, 1982; 1984a,b), influences of the environment (Lefebvre et al., 2007), and learned experiences during particular sensitive periods (Appleby et al., 2002) and throughout life. Fear-related behavior compromises performance, leads to significant numbers of dogs failing to complete training (e.g., Murphy, 1995;Batt et al., 2008), early withdrawals from working roles (Caron-Lormier et al., 2016), and can jeopardize dog and handler safety. Hence, amelioration of fear and anxiety is critical to maintain dogs in working roles and to ensure their well-being. Although current methods of selection and training are seemingly effective at producing many dogs which work in a remarkable array of environments, some dogs do not make the grade, and longevity of service is not always maximized. Programs should strive for optimal efficiency and they need to continually analyze the value of each component of their program, seek evidence for its value and explore potential evidence-based improvements. Here we discuss scientific evidence for methods and strategies which may be of value in reducing the risk of fear behaviors developing in the working dog population and suggest potentially valuable techniques and future research to explore the benefit of these approaches. The importance of environmental influences, learning opportunities, and effects of underlying temperament on the outward expression of fear and anxiety should not be underestimated. Identification of characteristics which predict resilience to stress are valuable, both to enable careful breeding for these traits and to develop predictive tests for puppies and procured animals. It is vitally important to rear animals in optimal environments and introduce them to a range of stimuli in a positive, controlled, and gradual way, as these can all help minimize the number of dogs which develop workinhibiting fears. Future research should explore innovative methods to best measure the relative resilience of dogs to stressful events. This could include developing optimal exposure protocols to minimize the development of fear and anxiety, and exploring the influence of social learning and the most effective elements of stimulus presentation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Minimizing fear and anxiety in working dogs: A review

Rooney

Clark

Casey

2016

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

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“…Stress has been shown to directly shorten an animal's lifespan, 10 but it is also associated with various detrimental changes in physical health (eg, through its impact on the immune system, gastrointestinal function, and the urogenital system), which affect the animal's quality of life. Several well-documented associations in the companion animal veterinary literature are reviewed briefly below in this section, but it should be noted that associations do not necessarily indicate causality and indeed the 2 will interact, because disease is by definition stressful (it is a state of changed or "dis" ease).…”

Section: The Impact Of Stress On Physical Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress—Its Effects on Health and Behavior

Mills

Karagiannis

Zulch

2014

Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice

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Stressors impact on all areas of a pet's life, potentially to the detriment of their well-being. In addition, should this lead to behavior change, it is likely to cause strain in the owner-pet relationship with an increased risk of relinquishment. Understanding why events may be perceived as stressful to a given individual is essential in remedying their effect. Clinicians need to be skilled in recognizing and categorizing potential stressors as well as auditing the background stress in the animal's environment as only once this has been accomplished can specific measures be implemented to reduce the effects of the stress load.

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“…Stress in animals has both short-term and long-term effects on health and life span (McEwen, 2005). A recent study (Dreschel, 2010) found that increased stress in dogs is correlated with shorter life spans and increased skin disorders. Anxiety, demonstrated through physical and behavioral manifestations, is a growing welfare concern in veterinary medicine (Overall and Dyer, 2005), and as a result, there has been increasing awareness and concern for the welfare of kenneled dogs and the development of potential strategies to improve their environment (Bergamasco et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%