Researchers at the University of Melbourne’s Werribee vet school are hoping to find a way to prevent anxiety in dogs.
A group of dogs and their owners visited the Princes Highway vet hospital last week to take part in a behavioural study designed to provide researchers with more information about the causes of anxiety in dogs.
Participating in the study were Tilly, a jack russell terrier; Konah, a pointer crossbreed; and Motzi, a kelpie-terrier cross.
Lead investigator and animal behaviourist Dennis Wormald said the study focused on terriers, companion dogs and gun dogs aged between 18 months and eight years, who were healthy and desexed.
He said some of the dogs had behavioural problems, while others did not.
The dogs took part in a series of behavioural tests, allowing researchers to see how they responded to different situations.
They were first allowed to roam freely around an empty room for 10 minutes.
Then they were played a series of noises and put in a room with two different surfaces. All their responses were recorded and monitored.
Dr Wormald said the study, which had been approved by an ethics committee, would play an important role in determining why dogs develop anxiety.
He said anxiety was believed to predispose dogs to a range of behavioural problems including separation anxiety, noise phobias, inter-dog aggression, impulse control aggression and fear aggression.
“Anxiety in dogs seems to be an increasing problem in modern society,” he said. “To understand why, and how to best prevent anxiety, we need a consistent test that can be used to measure anxiety in dogs.
“We are really excited about this investigation.”
