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Accurate phenotyping is a critical component of any behavioral research. We compared owner responses to the Canine Behavior and Research Questionnaire section on separation-related behaviors with video footage of their dogs (n = 31). A focal animal continuous recording method was used to describe the behavior of dogs during the first 25 minutes after owners' departure. Nine dogs were recorded in the presence of 1 or 2 conspecifics, whereas 23 other dogs were alone. There was a significant moderate positive correlation between the separation-related behavior questionnaire score and the percentage of time exhibiting behaviors suggestive of anxiety ( r s = 0.438; P = 0.003). There was a similar moderate positive correlation between the questionnaire score and the first principal component score of recorded behaviors ( r s = 0.385; P = 0.008). Correlations between the questionnaire responses for individual behaviors and the occurrence of those behaviors on video were higher for the more apparent behaviors such as destruction. Although the significant positive correlation between owner responses and the dog's behavior in the initial 25 minutes of being left alone is suggestive that owners may have an indicative knowledge of their dog's behavior during their absence, further work with more participants and repeated recordings is required.

Dogs are a social species and, as such, often exhibit behaviors to maintain contact with their family. Separation-related behaviors are commonly seen in companion dogs and are second only to aggression as the reason for referral to behavior specialists. Separation anxiety profoundly affects the welfare of the dog and owner, and their relationship. A small proportion of dogs diagnosed with separation anxiety also maintain close proximity to one person in the household, a behavior labeled as “hyperattachment” by some authors. Opinions in the literature vary as to the role of attachment in the etiology of separation anxiety. Four candidate genes that were previously associated with social affiliative behaviors and attachment in a range of rodents and primates were analyzed for case-control association with separation-related distress in 42 Australian golden retrievers. Four haplotypes were taken forward and assessed for quantitative allelic association in 55 golden retrievers (including the initial test set). By analysis of variance, a single risk variant haplotype within 500 kilobases of drd2 maintained significance in the wider sample set.

Several studies have assessed different components of lateralization. To date, the relationships between the 3 measures of laterality, structural, motor, and sensory, have not widely been assessed. Specifically, the relationships between structural (hair whorl characteristics) and motor or sensory lateralization have largely been overlooked. This study investigated the associations between these measures of lateralization in dogs (n = 114), using hair whorl characteristics (structural), the Kong and First-stepping Tests (motor), and the Sensory Jump Test (sensory). Several associations emerged, revealing the first evidence of a relationship between structural asymmetry (both the presence and direction of a hair whorl in various regions of the body) and sensory lateralization. Specifically, the presence of a whorl on the dog's left side of the head (cephalic) and thorax was associated with a right visual bias. In addition, right visual bias was probable if the ventral mandibular whorl was present in a counter-clockwise direction ( P = 0.008). Our data also demonstrated an association between structural and motor laterality (paw preference). Most notably, dogs with clockwise chest whorls were significantly more right-preferent in the First-stepping Test than those with counter-clockwise whorls ( P = 0.010). In addition, an association between measures of motor and sensory lateralization also emerged, representing some of the first evidence of such a relationship in nonhuman animals.

A range of mobility aids are available to assist people living with vision impairment, and of these, guide dog ownership offers them several unique benefits. However, training a dog to be a successful guide dog comes at a high cost (approximately AU$30,000). Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether temperament testing and kennel behavior measures could be used by Guide Dog Organizations for the early identification of dogs suitable for guiding work and thus to reduce production costs. Temperament tests (Passive and Noise, Sudden Appearance, and Dog Distraction Tests) and kennel behavior assessments (Activity Level, Salivary Immunoglobulin A Concentration, and Kennel Surveillance) were assessed in potential guide dogs (n = 25-113) at the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Training Centre, Glossodia, New South Wales, Australia. Several significant predictors of guide dog success were identified. The presence of panting (P = 0.029) and licking (P = 0.005) when contrasted with baseline observations in the Dog Distraction Test, significantly reduced the probability of guide dog success. Success was also reduced with the latency for a dog to sit in the third Noise Test (P = 0.028), and when the time spent resting was reduced during the evening period (P = 0.018) in the Kennel Surveillance assessment. This study reports that 4 specific behavioral responses, which may reflect anxiety and restlessness, predict low suitability of dogs for guiding work. Through the identification of early predictors of guide dog success, resources can be more appropriately focused on dogs with a higher probability of success, whereas unsuitable dogs can be rehomed.

Motor laterality in potential guide dogs (n = 113) was determined using two methods: the Kong™ Test (the current benchmark test) and our innovation, a First-stepping Test. Kong™ studies record paw use during foraging from a rubber cylinder. However, motivation to feed varies markedly among dogs and breeds, and the test comprises 50 observations which for a single dog can take up to 4 hours to collect. The First-stepping Test bypasses hunger, and simply records the first foot advanced after standing with both forelegs level. In contrast to the Kong™ Test, it allows 50 observations to be gathered in 20 minutes. The findings of the current study indicate that lateralized behavior in the domestic dog is strongly task-dependent. The First-stepping Test revealed more significant paw preferences (PPs) than the Kong™ Test (76.1% vs. 52.2%). A significant right population bias ( P = 0.036) was revealed using this novel test, whereas there was no bias in the direction of laterality observed using the Kong™ Test ( P = 0.30). Instead, there was a significant population bias for the category of ambidextrous PP using the Kong™ ( P = 0.005). Strength of laterality (regardless of direction) was significantly high in the First-stepping Test ( P 0.001), but only weak PPs were observed for the Kong™ Test ( P = 0.65). Measures of laterality from the First-stepping Test were not influenced by dog factors, whereas age, breed, and sex of the dog were significantly associated with several laterality measures during the Kong™ Test. The occurrence of using both paws simultaneously to either hold the Kong™, or to step-off by means of jumping, was associated with a decrease in lateral strength for both tests. The First-stepping Test was repeatable, and the intraobserver (κ = 0.988) and interobserver (κ = 0.975) reliabilities were high. It offers a simple, quick and, when compared with the Kong™ Test, a more discriminative method of determining PP that is less influenced by dog factors.

Sensory lateralization in dogs (n = 74) was investigated in this study using our innovation, the Sensory Jump Test. This required the modification of head halters to create three different ocular treatments (binocular, right, and left monocular vision) for eye preference assessment in a jumping task. Ten jumps were recorded as a jump set for each treatment. Measurements recorded included ( i ) launch and landing paws, ( ii ) type of jump, ( iii ) approach distance, ( iv ) clearance height of the forepaw, hindpaw, and the lowest part of the body to clear the jump, and ( v ) whether the jump was successful. Factors significantly associated with these jump outcomes included ocular treatment, jump set number, and replication number. Most notably, in the first jump set, findings indicated a left hemispheric dominance for the initial navigation of the Sensory Jump Test, as left monocular vision (LMV) compromised of jumping more than right monocular (RMV) and binocular vision, with a significantly reduced approach distance and forepaw clearance observed in dogs with LMV. However, by the third jump set, dogs undergoing LMV launched from a greater approach distance and with a higher clearance height, corresponding to an increase in success rate of the jump, in comparison with RMV and binocular vision dogs. A marginally non-significant RMV bias was observed for eye preference based on the laterality indices for approach distance ( P = 0.060) and lowest body part clearance height ( P = 0.067). A comparison between eye preference and launching or landing paws showed no association between these measures of sensory and motor laterality. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on sensory lateralization in the dog, and furthermore, to compare both motor and sensory laterality in dogs.