Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Owner's scent and voice do not reduce dog separation anxiety cortisol
By Shin, Yoon-Joo & Shin, Nam-Shik·Published in Journal of veterinary science·2016·Department of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of effects of olfactory and auditory stimulation on separation anxiety by salivary cortisol measurement in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 28 dogs with separation anxiety were tested to see if their owner's scent or voice could help reduce their stress when left alone. The dogs were divided into three groups: one group had no special treatment, the second group had their owner's clothes nearby, and the third group listened to a recording of their owner's voice. The results showed that dogs who had either their owner's scent or voice experienced lower stress levels compared to those who had no special treatment. This suggests that using familiar scents or sounds can help calm anxious dogs when they are separated from their owners.
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Abstract
Separation anxiety (SA) is a serious behavioral problem in dogs. In this study, salivary cortisol was studied to determine if the owner's odor or voice could reduce SA in dogs. Twenty-eight dogs with SA were divided into three groups: group 1 (control), group 2 (with owner's clothes during the separation period; SP) and group 3 (a recording of the owner's voice was played during SP). The dog's saliva was collected after the owner and their dog were in the experimental room for 5 min (PRE). The dog was then separated from the owner for 20 min and saliva collected four times at intervals of 5 min (SP1-4). Finally, the owner was allowed back into the room to calm the dog for 5 min, after which saliva was collected (POST). Evaluation of salivary cortisol concentrations by ELISA revealed that the ratios of SP1 concentration to PRE or POST concentrations were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 or 3. Additionally, the concentrations of SP1-PRE and SP1-POST among groups differed significantly. These findings indicate that the owner's odor or voice may be helpful to managing stress in dogs with SA.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26645334/