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Separation related disorder (SRD) is a common behavioural problem in dogs, characterised by severe physiological and behavioural signs which occur during the absence of their owner and significantly affects the dogs’ welfare. Dogs show similar attachment behaviour toward their owner, as children show toward their parents. While children’s separation anxiety is known to be associated with their own and their parents’ attachment style, in dogs it is yet to be investigated in a data-driven way, how SRD and attachment styles in dogs are related to owners’ attachment and caregiving styles. We collected data about dogs’ behaviour during separation and reunion and their owners’ feelings regarding separation using, an online questionnaire. We performed a principal component analysis and a two-step cluster analysis to form distinct groups based on the questionnaire items. We found four different clusters that differed in dogs’ behavioural and physiological signs of separation stress, their greeting behaviour, and their owners’ concern. These identified clusters accommodated well to the secure, insecure-anxious and insecure-avoidant attachment types, but secure dogs were found in two clusters that differed only in their owners’ concern. Dogs with owner reported SRD fit mainly to the insecure-anxious cluster, whose owners were not highly concerned on separation, suggesting a lower responsiveness and avoidant attachment style. Our study supports the theory that owners’ attachment and caregiving style might affect the dogs’ attachment style and SRD status. Our results also shed light on those behavioural, physiological signs and greeting behaviours which can diverge and were found to be of unequal importance for owners in the attribution of SRD and in their level of concern. This has important implications for diagnosis of SRD raising serious welfare concerns.

Separation-related behaviours are reported in an estimated 14–29% of companion dogs. To investigate risk factors for these behaviours, owners were asked to complete a questionnaire, largely based on the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), to report the behaviour of golden retrievers (n = 266) and Labrador retrievers (n = 247). Statistical analysis identified significant correlations between separation-related behaviour (SRB) scores with a group of traits including attachment and attention-seeking behaviour (rs = 0.43, P

There is increasing interest in keeping dairy cows with their calves during the milk feeding period, and in reducing distress associated with separation. The aim of this study was to investigate how nutritional dependence upon the cow’s milk affects behavioural responses to separation by both the cow and calf. For the first six weeks of life, dependent (n = 10) and semi-dependent (n = 10) calves could suckle from their mother at night, but semi-dependent calves also had ad libitum access to an automated milk feeder (AMF). Independent (n = 10) calves had ad libitum access to an AMF, and their dams wore udder nets to prevent nursing. Once cow and calf were separated, (first a 4 d period of partial separation with fence-line contact followed by total separation when the dam was removed), all calves had ad libitum access to the AMF. We used live, focal-animal observations and classified vocalizations either as high pitched (open mouth) or low pitched (closed mouth). We found that during partial and total separation, independent calves produced fewer high-pitched vocalizations/d than did dependent and semi-dependent calves combined (median: 0.00 vs. 7.2; U = 12.0, z = −3.21, P = 0.001 and 0.00 vs. 0.00; U = 40.5, z = −2.25, P = 0.024 for the two phases respectively) and also tended to produce fewer low-pitched vocalizations during partial separation (0.00 vs. 1.17; U = 29.5, z = −1.90, P = 0.057). Similarly, independent cows tended to produce fewer high-pitched calls during partial separation (0.00 vs. 1.08; U = 31.5, −1.74, P = 0.083) as compared to semi-dependent and dependent cows combined. During the separation phases, 23 calves (four, nine and ten calves) of dependent, semi-dependent and independent treatments, respectively, consumed at least 1.5 L/d from the AMF; these calves spent more time playing (s) (total separation; 3.67 vs. 0.00; U = 28, z = −1.99, P = 0.047) and less time close to the separation barrier (partial separation; 51.31-81.01-124.44 vs. 134.03-147.23-280.10), produced fewer high-pitched vocalizations during partial separation (0.00 vs. 8.33; U = 16, z = −2.22, P = 0.027), and tended to produce fewer low-pitched vocalizations (0.00 vs. 0.83; U = 21.5, z = −1.73, P = 0.083), than did calves consuming less milk from the AMF. The number of high-pitched vocalizations produced was negatively correlated with the calf’s milk intake (partial separation; Spearman’s r = −0.770, P

Separation related problems (SRP) caused by distress associated with separation from the preferred member of the social group, can be characterised by their symptoms e.g., excessive vocalisation. In dogs’ separation whines, nonlinear phenomena (NLP) (abrupt changes in the resonance of the vocal folds) might occur, which could be adaptive in communicating aroused inner states. Previously, using a separation test we found that more dogs that were classified as having SRP by their owner have NLP in their whines than nonaffected dogs and that NLP ratio increases with age, which suggests that separation stress might intensify with age. We repeated the separation test 21.19 ± 9.37 months later with 32 dogs from the previous study to investigate longitudinally how separation behaviour and vocalisations change with age. Beside behaviour, we measured the acoustic structure of the whines (jitter - small-scale irregularity of the pitch, entropy - vocal harshness, call length, pitch (f0) related parameters, and the spectral components) and calculated the NLP ratio. We formed clusters based on the dogs’ behaviour changes from the first test to the second, to see individual ageing patterns. Finally, we compared the dogs’ behaviour and the acoustic structure of their whines in the two occasions. We found that dogs could be clustered by the changes in their separation behaviour. 41 % of the dogs were stable over time, 38 % improved, and 16 % showed an increase in their separation behaviours. 3 % switched from barking to whining. Interestingly, SRP dogs were stable, some of them even showed improvement in their separation behaviour. On the contrary, we also found that SRP dogs tended to have an increased NLP ratio with age from test 1 to test 2 (p = 0.09), showed less escape-related behaviour (p = 0.01), but tended to spend more time passively whining at the door through which the owner left the room (p = 0.05), than non-SRP dogs. The behavioural and vocal results suggest elevated stress levels in SRP dogs with age, although they did not decline but mostly stayed stable in their separation behaviour, confirming that there could be a connection between SRP status, age, and NLP. However, together with the results of the clustering that showed that there are different patterns in dogs’ separation behaviour, we emphasise the importance of individual level longitudinal investigations in order to facilitate the early diagnosis of SRP and to provide a solid basis for the development of individualised treatment plan for SRP dogs.

Most people living or working in close association with animals are familiar with individual differences in their behaviour, and awareness is growing that understanding such differences can contribute to improved management, production and welfare. Nevertheless, due to the considerable logistic and financial difficulties of conducting longitudinal studies, particularly in the large, slow-growing mammalian species comprising an important part of the world’s domestic animals, there is still little information on how early such differences emerge and whether they persist across different developmental stages. In an extension of a previous study of the behavioural and physiological (heart rate variability, HRV) response of 30 Azteca-breed foals of both sexes to repeated brief maternal separation from birth to weaning, we tested the same animals post-weaning in two tests of brief separation from their social group when they were approximately nine months and one year old, and recording the same behavioural and physiological variables as previously. As in the earlier study, we found stable individual differences in several behavioural variables: vocalization rate (R = 0.54, P

Play behaviour is an indicator of good welfare in young calves and is reduced by low energy intake and weaning off milk. There is renewed interest in keeping calves longer with the cow but separation leads to signs of distress, such as vocalizations. Providing calves with an alternative milk source prior to separation helps them adapt to the separation. We hypothesized that (1) locomotor play of nursed calves separated from their mothers will reflect their energy intake after separation, and (2) calves’ prior access to automated milk feeders will increase locomotor play and reduce vocalizations after separation due to an increased energy intake. 30 Holstein cows and their calves were kept in adjacent pens. “Suckling-only” calves were allowed to suckle the cow during the night and received no other milk, “Milk-feeder only” calves could obtain 12 L/day milk only from an automated milk feeder while “Suckling-and-milk-feeder” calves could suckle during the night and were allowed 12 L/day of milk from an automated milk feeder. At 6 weeks of age, calves were not allowed to enter the cow pen during the night but had access to automated milk and grain feeders. To measure locomotor play, we placed the calves individually in a 9.5 m × 2 m arena for 10 min, 10 times before and after separation. The frequency of jumping and vocalization were scored. Digestible energy (DE) intakes of the calves after separation were calculated from combined milk and grain intake. Before separation, there were no differences between the treatment groups on any behavioural measure (P > 0.10). For Suckling-only calves, there was a marked decrease in the frequency of jumping (Wilcoxon test, P = 0.02) and a marked increase in the frequency of vocalization during the first 3 days after separation (P = 0.004). During the first 3 days of separation, Suckling-only calves had a lower frequency of jumping (Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.009) and vocalized more frequently (Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.009) than did calves of the other treatment groups. For all calves, the number of vocalization was negatively correlated with frequency of jumping (rs = −0.51; P = 0.005). After separation, Suckling-only calves had lower energy intakes than calves of the other treatment groups (Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.01) and the digestible energy intake of the calves was positively correlated with the frequency of jumping (rs = 0.75; P

It is unknown how premature maternal separation affects the responses of kittens to potentially stressful events. In the United States, thousands of kittens are orphaned each year due to death of the queen, neglect, or accidental separation by humans. Neonatal mammals emit distress calls and increase locomotion when socially isolated, suggesting that being separated from the nest is a stressful event. Increased vocalization and activity of isolated neonates may aid maternal retrieval or relocation of the nest. In the current study, we assessed the effects of early maternal separation on later vocalizations and activity of 49 kittens (28 orphaned, 21 mother-reared; 23 female, 26 male) from 11 litters (5 mothered, 6 orphaned) during an open field test when the kittens were one and three weeks of age. We conducted a total of 79 trials. Each kitten was placed individually in a 1-meter diameter pen away from the rest of the litter and/or mother for two minutes. The number of calls emitted and total activity (in seconds) were recorded for each kitten on every trial. We assessed the effects of age, sex, orphan status, and interactions between orphan status with sex and age on activity and vocalizations. Orphaned kittens were more active than mother-reared kittens at both times (t(46) = 4.62, p < 0.001), with an interaction between age and orphan status (t(28) = -2.84, p = 0.008). Orphaned kittens emitted more vocalizations at both times (Z = 2.38, p = 0.018), with an interaction between age and orphan status (Z = -3.18, p = 0.001). Orphaned kittens showed increased activity and vocalizations in response to a brief nest separation compared to mother-reared kittens. This effect was still present after over two weeks of maternal separation, suggesting that maternal separation may lead to long-term changes in stress responses. Future research should explore if such effects of maternal separation are present in older kittens or adult cats.

The domestication of dogs resulted in several fundamental behavioural changes as compared to their closest wild living relative, the wolf. While these characteristics are considered to be fairly robust across dogs, dog breeds themselves manifest apparently strong behavioural differences. Thus far the functional roots of breed-specific behaviours are still less understood and supported by empirical research. We hypothesized that historical selection for the level of working interaction intimacy with their handlers, may have resulted in the fundamental differences between the main working dog types and their behavioural reactions when separated from their owner. In our study, dogs from breeds that were originally selected for either cooperative or independent work tasks, were tested in a short outdoor separation test. We included dogs with and without owner-reported separation-related disorder (SRD) to both groups. We found that SRD-status and the breed type were in significant association with various stress related behaviours during separation from the owner. Dogs from cooperative working breeds with SRD barked more frequently, meanwhile barking was less prevalent in independent breeds and also in cooperative breeds without owner-reported SRD symptoms. General movement (showing the dogs’ intention to follow or find the disappearing, then absent owner) was uniformly strongest in cooperative dogs with SRD. Whining appeared most frequently in dogs with SRD, regardless to the breed type. These are the first results that support a functional evolutionary framework behind the association of particular dog breeds with the extent of their stressful reactions to separation from their owner.

Premature breaking of the maternal bond between a cow and her calf triggers a strong behavioural response which renders separation and weaning major welfare challenges in suckling systems. Fence-line separation and weaning allowing physical contact has been evaluated for beef cattle and is claimed to reduce stress at separation. The objective of this study was to compare the post-separation behavioural response of cow–calf pairs separated either with a fence-line (FL, n =8 pairs) allowing physical contact or with a solid wall (SW, n =8 pairs) allowing merely auditory contact. After separation, all calves were offered milk (2.0L, thrice a day) from a teat bottle to reduce the effect of hunger. Behaviours were recorded for 4h at days 0 (day of separation), 1, 2, 3 and 4 from which we calculated the total behavioural reaction (area under the curve, AUC). Treatment differences were analysed with two samples Wilcoxon test. Most of the post-separation responses occurred during day 0–2. Results show that FL calves performed less high-pitched (open mouthed) vocalizations as compared to SW calves ( P =0.003). Median number of calls/4h and range for FL vs. SW calves respectively were: day 0 ; 13 (0–94) vs. 361 (2–658), day 1 ; 10 (1–247) vs. 274 (18–872), day 2 ; 0 (0–4) vs. 48 (0–365), day 3 ; 0 (0–1) vs. 4 (0–135) and day 4 ; 0 (0–2) vs. 18 (0–84). Calves separated with FL also showed a lower frequency than SW calves ( P =0.003) of alert behaviour defined as high-head posture, pointed ears with focus towards the cow (median percentage of observations and range for FL and SW calves respectively): day 0 ; 23 (0–50) vs. 26 (0–50), day 1 ; 3 (0–12) vs. 12 (4–36), day 2 ; 0 (0–6) vs. 12 (0–18), day 3 ; 0 (0–2) vs. 3 (0–18) and day 4 ; 0 (0–2) vs. 15 (0–28). No significant treatment differences were found for other calf behaviours or in the post-separation behavioural responses of the cow. This is the first study to quantitatively assess two different vocalizations in response to separation; low-pitched vocalizations (with closed mouth) and high-pitched vocalizations in response to separation. Recordings of high-pitched vocalization seem to be a promising tool for assessing distress at separation. In conclusion, FL separation allowing physical contact may reduce the vocal response and alert behaviour of calves.

Separation-related disorder (SRD) is one of the most common behavioral problems of companion dogs, causing inconvenience and stress for dog owners and others living close by, as well as being considered as a major contributor to poor animal welfare. Although excessive vocalization is considered as one of the typical symptoms of SRD, until now there were no attempts to analyze and compare the vocal output of affected and non-affected dogs in a systematic, empirical test. In a three-stage outdoor separation experiment we investigated the vocal response of 25 family dogs with, and 20 family dogs without, owner-reported SRD symptoms to the (1) departure; (2) absence; and (3) return of the owner. After the analysis of the occurrence and onset latency of barks and whines, we found that contrary to the commonly held view of excessive barking being one of the trademarks of SRD, dogs with owner-reported SRD symptoms can be reliably characterized by the early onset and high occurrence of whines during the departure and 2 min long absence of the owner, while barks were affected mainly by the age of the dogs. Breed and neuter status may modify the vocal reaction to separation, we found that more purebred dogs barked sooner, while breed and neutering status affected the whines only during the departure of the owner, showing that more mixed breeds and intact dogs whined in this phase. This is the first study that targeted directly the vocal response of family dogs to separation from the owner, and according to the results, whines and barks reflect potentially different motivational/inner states of dogs during a short isolation episode. Although the effect of other factors, such as sex, neuter status and breed cannot be ignored, the owner reported SRD status of dogs showed a high coincidence with the early onset of whining, which in turn proved to be a good indicator of high stress levels of dogs in this situation.

Clinical records of dogs visiting a behavioral clinic were used to study the behavior and background of dogs with separation anxiety (SA). 215 dogs (with SA) were included in the study, representing 22.6% of the patients seen during the 40 months the study covered (n = 952). Male dogs comprised 60% (n = 129) of the patients, and females 40% (n = 86). Neutered dogs were more common in the clinical material compared to reference populations. More male dogs diagnosed with SA were neutered compared to female dogs with SA (28% n = 37 vs. 8% n = 7). Forty dogs (18.5%) were diagnosed with SA only, while 179 (82.8%) of the patients had other behavioral problems in addition to SA. The most common co-morbid diagnosis was noise sensitivities (43.7% n = 94). Owners of the dogs presented for clinical evaluation most commonly reported vocalization, destruction and excessive motor activity (as signs of SA). Some breeds seem to have a higher incidence of separation anxiety than other breeds. The majority of the owners were families consisting of two adults or adults with children and most of the owners obtained their dog from a breeder as a puppy. Twenty-eight (14%) of the owners were women living alone and three (1.5%) being a man living alone.

Dogs (Canis familiaris) are a highly social species and within a shelter environment pair-housing is recommended to prevent the stress associated with social isolation. Separation of individuals which may have formed bonds in this environment is a usual occurrence, as a result of rehoming or euthanasia. To investigate the impact of separation, the behaviour, cognitive bias, faecal S-IgA and cortisol levels were examined in 12 adult pair-housed dogs, maintained in a private animal shelter. Prior to separation, dogs engaged in more affiliative than agonistic behaviour with conspecifics (means of 3 and 0.1% of time respectively). Following separation, increased activity was observed in the form of more running and grooming (P= 0.02), circling (P= 0.006), figure of 8 movement (P= 0.01), posture changes (P= 0.003) and stretching (P= 0.005), and less play behaviour was observed (P= 0.01). Secretory IgA increased (P=0.02) after separation (mean. = 443.7. ±. 182.5. ng/mL; before separation mean. = 370.1. ±. 108.2. ng/mL). Cortisol concentrations were not affected by separation (P= 0.26, mean before separation. = 792. ng/g; mean after separation. = 874. ng/g). There was no indication from cognitive bias testing that the dogs' emotional valency was affected, as latencies to reach ambiguous cues before and after separation did not differ significantly (P= 0.33). These results demonstrate that separation of a dog from a conspecific negatively affected behaviour and stimulated the immune system, changes which could be indicative of stress.

As a goat's separation from or reintegration into its group is likely to have an adverse effect on the welfare of both the separated goat and the remaining goats in the group, management procedures need to be carried out in a way that minimises their negative impact. In the present study, we tested the effects of two treatments of separation and reintegration by individually separating 12 goats from four experimental groups, each composed of seven horned, non-lactating female goats. In the ‘no-contact’ treatment the separation allowed for acoustic contact with the group only, whereas in the ‘contact’ treatment tactile and visual contact was also possible. The separation lasted two days, with each separated goat experiencing both treatments (i.e. there were 24 separations in total). Per group, one separated goat was of high, medium and low rank, respectively. The effects of separation and reintegration were assessed by evaluating social interactions, lying and feeding behaviour, and the concentration of cortisol metabolites in faecal samples of separated and resident goats. Data were collected during three phases: a reference period (days −7 to −1), a separation period (days 0 and 1) and a reintegration period (days 2, 3 and 4). Separated goats fed less and had higher concentrations of faecal cortisol metabolites during the separation than during the reference period. In addition, goats undergoing the ‘no-contact’ treatment spent less time lying during separation. On the first day of the reintegration period, newly reintroduced goats were more likely to display agonistic and sniffing behaviour towards resident goats and had higher concentrations of faecal cortisol metabolites than during the reference period. The faecal cortisol metabolite levels of the recently separated goats tended to be higher and the probability of recently separated goats displaying sniffing behaviour towards resident goats was higher in the ‘no-contact’ than in the ‘contact’ treatment. By contrast, resident goats were scarcely affected by the separation and reintegration of a group member. The rank of both separated and resident goats influenced behaviour per se, but did not interact with treatment or day. In conclusion, our results indicate that separation had a greater impact on the welfare of the individual goats than did reintegration. To mitigate negative effects on the goats’ welfare, it may therefore be advantageous to allow tactile, visual and acoustic contact during separation.

Herens cows are typically not dehorned and are therefore housed in tie-barns during winter. Recently, however, farmers have started to also use loose housing systems. They separate single cows from their herd for periods of a few days to ensure undisturbed calving and to avoid excessive activity caused by animals in oestrus. As these cows are highly motivated to fight, the re-introduction of individuals after separation is usually associated with increased agonistic behaviour. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of the length of separation with regard to behaviour, injuries and stress response. The study was conducted with 45 focal horned Herens cows kept in four groups of 10, 20, 18 and 21 cows respectively on two Swiss farms: two groups were kept as suckler cows and two groups as dairy cows. Each focal cow was separated on two occasions, once for a short (median: 1 day; high oestrus in dairy, late pregnancy or lactation in suckler cows) and once for a longer (median: 2 days; high oestrus in dairy, calving in suckler cows) period. During the 6 h following the re-introduction, agonistic behaviour was recorded. Occurrence of fresh wounds was noted 10 h after re-introduction. As an indicator of physiological stress, faecal samples were collected and concentrations of the cortisol metabolite 11,17-dioxoandrostanes (11,17-DOA) were determined. All data were analysed using generalised linear mixed-effects models. Frequency and duration of agonistic interaction increased with longer separation (p In conclusion, the duration of a separation of a single Herens cow from her herd should be minimised so as to reduce negative effects resulting from agonistic interactions.

a b s t r a c t We have constructed a questionnaire to investigate the separation behavior in a sample of family dogs (Canis familiaris) (N = 45) and in parallel we have observed dogs’ separationrelated behavior in a simple behavioral test (Separation and greeting test, S&G). We recorded the dogs’ behavior during the separation from and reunion (greeting) with the owner. We investigated whether owners’ report about their dogs’ separation behavior reflected the separation behavior under controlled testing conditions. Furthermore, we wanted to find out whether the duration of separation affected the behavior of dogs and whether there was some relationship between separation and greeting behavior. Dogs that were rated by their owner to be more “anxious” during separation and “happier” at reunion, showed more activity and stress-related behavior during separation, and more affection toward the owner during greeting. Dogs with owner-reported separation-related disorder (SRD) showed more stress-related behavior, they spent less time near the owner’s chair during separation, and were more active during greeting than dogs without SRD. The two groups of dogs did not differ in affectionate behavior shown toward the owner. Nonaffected dogs’ activity decreased with increasing separation duration, but dogs with SRD did not show this change in their separation behavior. Our results show that owners’ have a realistic view on their dogs’ separation behavior. In addition, dogs with SRD may not be “hyper-attached” to their owners because they do not show more affection during greeting. Moreover, dogs with SRD do not show preference for the owners’ objects left behind and they cannot be easily calmed by the returning owner. Our questionnaire and the Separation and greeting test could be used for screening dogs with suspected separation-related behavior problems.

International audience; The way animals perceive partners, including humans, is yet relatively unknown. Research has shown that humans can provide social support or act as social substitute for domestic animals. Nonetheless, studies investigating the perception of humans by domestic animals in their social environment, i.e. alongside conspecifics, have been scarce. We investigated if humans could modulate lambs’ separation distress in a social environment paradigm. Artificially suckled lambs were familiarized to humans using positive tactile contacts from birth. A “familiar” and a “known” human had extensive and minimal contact with the lambs respectively. At four weeks of age, lambs were tested either individually or in a group of penmates. The test was a paradigm of “union-separation-reunion” (1½ min each) by visually isolating the individual lamb from the group during separation. We used a factorial design by constituting groups of two sizes, ‘two’ vs. ‘three’, with or without a human included. Therefore, the group was either: “1 lamb + 1 human” or “2 lambs” (for group sizes of two), “2 lambs + 1 human” or “3 lambs” (for group sizes of three). Lambs showed the strongest distress behaviours when isolated and, to a lesser extent, when they had only one partner (P < 0.001). On the other hand, group sizes of three partners and above (during reunion phases) nearly suppressed their vocalisations during social separation (P < 0.001). Our results confirmed the high distress lambs experienced when alone, as well as the importance of being in a group of three, possibly the minimum group size to reduce separation distress. Furthermore, during separation, the groups of three partners did not differ in the amount of vocalisations, whether this group was composed of two lambs with a human or three lambs together (P = 0.68), both vocalising much less than a group of only two lambs (P < 0.001). This supports the idea that, in our husbandry conditions, the human provided social support and could have played a role of social substitute during social separation. However, a lamb placed alone with a human vocalised much more than two lambs together (P < 0.001). Hence, the effectiveness of the human at providing social support was modulated by the social environment, i.e. by requiring a minimal group size in which the human was included. During social separation, a human who previously interacted positively with the lamb can act as a social substitute in presence of a few other conspecifics.

The evaluation of systematic desensitization to treat separation-related problem behaviours, such as destruction of property, excessive barking, or house-soiling, has tended to rely on single case-studies. Eight dogs exhibiting separation-related behaviour, and their owners, participated in a controlled experiment using a within-subjects design to evaluate the efficacy of a combination of systematic desensitization and counter-conditioning. Treatment produced significant reductions in both the frequency (T(9)) = 0.0, P = 0.008) and the severity (T(9)) = 0.0, P = 0.008) of separation-related behaviours compared to baseline. Six dogs, for which follow-up data were obtained three months after treatment ended, showed almost complete elimination of the problem behaviour. The use of counter-conditioning, and other behavioural advice, did not appear to be related to the success of the treatment, suggesting that systematic desensitization was the critical element. Speed of progress and final success was not related to the consistency with which the owners applied systematic desensitization, indicating that even when owners apply systematic desensitization haphazardly, it can still be successful in treating separation-related behaviour in dogs.

Separation-related behaviors are described as problematic behaviors that occur exclusively in the owner's absence or virtual absence. Diagnosis is generally based on indirect evidence such as elimination or destruction that occurs during owner absence. Questionnaire studies are based on owner perception and might therefore underestimate the actual proportion of dogs with separation problems. The aim of this study was to film dogs with separation-related problems when left home alone and compile objective information on behaviors exhibited. Twenty-three dogs, ranging in age from 5 months to 13 years (2.9 ± 22.7 years), were filmed home alone for 20–60 min (49.87 ± 12.9 min) after owner departure. Analysis of behaviors on tape showed that dogs spent most of their time vocalizing (22.95 ± 12.3% of total observed time) and being oriented to the environment (21 ± 20%). Dogs also exhibited panting (14 ± 18%), were passive (12 ± 27%) and were destroying (6 ± 6%) during owner absence. Most dogs displayed signs within less than 10 min after owner departure, such as vocalizing (mean latency 3.25 min) and/or destroying (mean latency 7.13 min). Barking and oriented to the environment tended to decrease (respectively p = 0.08 and p = 0.07) and conversely panting tended to increase over time ( p = 0.07). Diagnosis of separation-related problems is traditionally dependant on owner reports. Although owner observation may be informative, direct observation and standardized behavioral measurement of dogs with separation-related problems, before and after treatment, would be the best way to diagnose and to measure behavioral improvement.

We evaluated how the behavioural and heart rate response of dairy cows and calves to mutual separation was affected by two factors: the age of the calf at separation (1, 4 and 7 days) and the presence or absence of visual and auditory contact between the mother and her calf after separation. In total, 46 cow–calf pairs were randomly allocated to one of six treatments according to a 3×2 factorial design. The cows' behavioural response to separation was recorded at 0–1, 9–10, 25–26 and 50 and 51h after separation. The calves' behavioural response was recorded during the 24h after separation. The heart rate was measured 60min before and 60min after separation. Cows from the later separation treatments spent more time standing ( p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p p

The potential risk factors associated with the canine behavioural problems, separation-related distress (SRD) and feed-related aggression (FRA) were evaluated by a questionnaire, distributed through Dog's Life magazine. Data on 690 Australian dogs in 485 self-selected respondent households showed that dogs acquired from friends or family had a higher probability of exhibiting low SRD scores than dogs acquired from pet shops (P = 0.003). Male dogs had a higher probability of exhibiting high SRD scores (P = 0.039) as did intact dogs (P = 0.011). Dogs that generally engaged in game-playing with their owners had a higher probability of exhibiting low SRD scores (P = 0.023). However, dogs that played games within the first 30 min of their owner arriving home had a higher probability of exhibiting high SRD scores (P = 0.020) than dogs that did not. The probability of SRD also increased with the number of human adult females in the house (P = 0.014). The following factors showed a positive association with a higher probability of FRA: mixed breeds (P = 0.019), increasing dog age at acquisition (P = 0.048), increasing number of females in the household (P = 0.003), increasing number of dogs in the household (P = 0.000) and feeding a dog treats during the owner's dinner (P = 0.019).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of age of separation on the behavioural responses of the dairy calf and cow. Calves were separated from their dams 6 h, 1 day, or 4 days after birth (n=9 cow-calf pairs in each of the 3 treatment groups) and behaviour was video and audio taped from 1 h before separation to 21 h after separation. In the hour immediately before separation, we found that the younger calves tended to call and move more in the pen, and spent more time standing than the older calves, but after separation these trends reversed. Calves separated at older ages made significantly more movements in the pen (P

An analysis of video-recordings of 20 dogs with separation problems suggested that separation behaviour may be divided into: (1) exploratory behaviour, (2) object play including elements of predatory behaviour, (3) destructive behaviour, and (4) vocalization. Elimination behaviour reported by other authors was found in one case only. Separation behaviour was related to the level of arousal. A clear distinction between `destructive' dogs and `howlers' was not justified. Object play seemed to be closely related to destructive behaviour. A model for the time course of activity from the owner's departure was developed. The model includes two components: (1) a cyclic component having a period of 23–28 min and controlled by internal factors, and (2) a long-term exponential decrease, which may be influenced by external factors arousing the dog. The results supported the view that separation problems are caused by frustration related to the dependency on the owner, whereas they are not caused by disobedience or boredom. The frustration in turn may lead to arousal, increased fear and the disinhibition of play or predatory behaviour and leading to destructive behaviour. The results also indicated that barking was caused by arousal, whereas howling and whining may reflect the presence of fear.

In order to characterize the three major behavior problems, aggression toward owners, aggression toward strangers and separation anxiety, backgrounds of dogs and general outcomes of the behavioral treatments were analyzed retrospectively. There were 169 cases of aggression toward owners, 84 cases of aggression toward strangers and 78 cases of separation anxiety which did not overlap each other during the 5 years from 1993 to 1997 at Cornell University Animal Behavior Clinic. Based on the case records, including discharge instructions, follow-up information, and pre-presentation questionnaires, several variables were compared among these three groups. The sexual status of these groups was not statistically different, although dogs with aggression toward owners had the highest proportion of males and there were more males in all behavior groups than in the hospital population. Also, breed types were different among three groups with a significantly higher proportion of mixed breed dogs among dogs with separation anxiety and aggression to strangers as compared to dogs with aggression to owners and to the hospital population. A higher percentage of dogs in the separation anxiety group tended to live in apartments and to be disciplined only verbally by the owner than in the other two groups. Age differences were apparent among the three groups in relation to when the dogs were obtained, and the separation anxiety group was different from at least one of the other groups in the age when first obtained, the age the owners first noticed the problem, and the age of behavioral examination. Regarding the general outcome of the behavioral treatment, there were no significant differences among the behavioral groups with regards to the proportion of dogs reported improved. These results provide new characterizations of these three major behavior problems.