Socialization in Commercial Breeding Kennels: The Use of Novel Stimuli to Measure Social and Non-Social Fear in Dogs

摘要

Owner-based reports of dogs presumed to come from commercial breeding kennels (CBKs) suggest high levels of fear in this population. Fear in kenneled dogs is a serious behavioral welfare concern as it may lead to both acute and chronic stress. Novel social and non-social stimuli have been shown to elicit behaviors associated with fear in animals. New knowledge on the levels of fear in dogs from CBKs could be used to further refine protocols intended for assessment of welfare in CBKs and to improve breeders’ management practices. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate how dogs from CBKs reacted to social (i.e., a person approaching) and non-social (i.e., a traffic cone and a dog statue) stimuli, and to perform a preliminary evaluation of how these responses might be used as indicators of dogs’ overall socialization levels in kennels. Results revealed that dogs had primarily mildly fearful responses to the stimuli presented. These findings are encouraging as extreme fearful reactions were rarely recorded. Nevertheless, there is a clear margin for commercial breeders to improve the socialization protocols in their kennels to better incorporate both social and non-social stimuli.