Prevalence of intestinal parasites in pet dogs in the United States

Intestinal Parasites in Dogs

Susan E. Little, Eileen M. Johnson, David Lewis, Renee P. Jaklitsch, Mark E. Payton, Byron L. Blagburn, Dwight D. Bowman, Scott Moroff, Todd Tams, Lon Rich, David Aucoin

Prevalence of intestinal parasites in pet dogs in the United States

Veterinary Parasitology, Volume 166, Issues 1–2, 3 December 2009, Pages 144–152

Abstract

To determine the national, regional, and age-related prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs presenting to veterinarians in the United States, we reviewed the results of examination via zinc sulfate centrifugal flotation of 1,199,293 canine fecal samples submitted to Antech Diagnostics in 2006. The most commonly identified intestinal parasites were ascarids (2.2%), hookworms (2.5%), whipworms (1.2%), Giardia (4.0%), and Cystoisospora (4.4%). With the exception of whipworms, intestinal parasites were more commonly identified in dogs less than 6 months of age (29.6% positive) as compared to those greater than 1 year of age (6.1% positive) although infections with each parasite considered were identified in all age classes of dogs. Hookworm eggs were most commonly identified in fecal samples submitted from dogs from the South (4.0% positive), whereas ascarid eggs and Giardia cysts were most commonly seen in samples from dogs from the West (2.8% and 6.3% positive, respectively). When compared to previous data from shelter dogs, the prevalence of intestinal helminths, particularly ascarids and hookworms, was greatly suppressed in pet dogs in the southern United States (90–91% reduction) and much less so in dogs in the West (52–78% reduction), perhaps due in part to the routine year-round use of monthly anthelmintics effective at controlling both heartworm infection and intestinal helminths in dogs in the South. Taken together these data indicate that intestinal parasites remain a common, important finding in dogs presenting to veterinary practices although in most of the country infection rates in pet dogs appear to be greatly reduced from the level reported from dogs in animal shelters.

Male and female dogs respond differently to men and women

Deborah L. Wells, Peter G. Hepper

Male and female dogs respond differently to men and women

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 61, Issue 4, 28 January 1999, Pages 341–349

Abstract

The effect of canine and/or human gender on the response of the domestic dog towards humans has been little studied. This study investigated the reactions of male and female dogs housed in an animal rescue shelter towards the presence of men and women to determine how a dog's response towards a person was influenced by canine and human gender. The response of 30 dogs housed in the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) to each of six people (three men and three women), who stood individually for a period of 2 min at the front of the dog's cage, was observed. The amount of time that the dog spent at the front of the cage, barking, looking towards the human, wagging its tail, and engaged in activities of sitting, standing, moving, resting, was recorded. Canine gender exerted an influence on the amount of time that dogs spent looking towards the humans. Female dogs showed a greater decrease in the amount of time they spent looking towards the humans over the course of the testing than male dogs. Human gender had an effect on both dog barking, and eye orientation. Dogs showed a stronger decrease in their barking and their tendency to look towards the human whenever the subject was a woman than a man, suggesting that dogs may be more defensively-aggressive towards men than women. There was no interaction between canine and human gender on the dog's response towards the persons. This study indicated that both canine and human gender influence certain elements of a dog's response towards the presence of a human. The findings may have practical implications for the re-housing of dogs from rescue shelters.

Service dog selection tests: Effectiveness for dogs from animal shelters

Emily Weiss, Gary Greenberg

Service dog selection tests: Effectiveness for dogs from animal shelters

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 53, Issue 4, July 1997, Pages 297–308

Abstract

Assistance dogs are trained to help people with various physical and mental handicaps. These dogs are selected using a test comprising several behavioral components. Anecdotal reports have shown that only about 50% of the dogs so selected successfully complete training and become assistance dogs. Traditionally training centers had used puppies, but recently some trainers have begun to use dogs from animal shelters and pounds. This study randomly chose six males and three female adult dogs of appropriate breed types, from a shelter environment and conducted an 11-item selection test on each. The dogs were then trained in both basic obedience and a retrieval task. We found no correlation between an animals' overall performance on the selection test and its ability to complete the retrieval task. One behavior trait, fear/submission, however, was predictable from the selection phase.

Wolves outperform dogs in following human social cues

Monique A.R. Udell, Nicole R. Dorey, Clive D.L. Wynne

Wolves outperform dogs in following human social cues

Animal Behaviour, Volume 76, Issue 6, December 2008, Pages 1767–1773

Abstract

Domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, have been shown capable of finding hidden food by following pointing gestures made with different parts of the human body. However, previous studies have reported that hand-reared wolves, C. lupus, fail to locate hidden food in response to similar points in the absence of extensive training. The failure of wolves to perform this task has led to the proposal that the ability to understand others' intentions is a derived character in dogs, not present in the ancestral population (wolves). Here we show that wolves, given the right rearing environment and daily interaction with humans, can use momentary distal human pointing cues to find food without training, whereas dogs tested outdoors and dogs at an animal shelter do not follow the same human points. In line with past studies, pet dogs tested indoors were successful in following these points. We also show that the reported failure of wolves in some past studies may be due to differences in the testing environment. Our findings indicate that domestication is not a prerequisite for human-like social cognition in canids, and show the need for additional research on the role of rearing conditions and environmental factors in the development of higher-level cognitive abilities.

The performance of stray dogs (Canis familiaris) living in a shelter on human-guided object-choice tasks

Monique A.R. Udell, Nicole R. Dorey, Clive D.L. Wynne

The performance of stray dogs (Canis familiaris) living in a shelter on human-guided object-choice tasks

Animal Behaviour, Volume 79, Issue 3, March 2010, Pages 717–725

Abstract
A decade of research on domestic dogs' responsiveness to human actions has led some to believe that all members of the species Canis familiaris possess a human-like social cognition not shared by their nondomesticated relatives. However, comparative studies on diverse populations of domestic dog are lacking, making species-wide generalizations premature. In this study we present the performance of one under-represented population, stray dogs living in shelters, on a human-guided object-choice task. Unlike pet dogs, shelter dogs universally failed to follow a momentary distal point to a target location in initial tests, although they were able to follow a simpler form of human point on the same task. Furthermore, the majority of subjects learned to follow a momentary distal point to a target when given additional training trials (experiment 2). Dogs' sensitivity to human gestures may not be entirely explained by phylogenetic variables; rather, the interactions between genetic, developmental and experiential variables must be considered.