The overall goal of this procedure is to demonstrate the efficacy of a specific Nutraceutical diet in relieving general anxiety-related behavioral disturbances in dogs. This method can help answer key questions in the Animal Behavior Disturbances field, such as general anxiety. The main advantage of this technique is that it allows the operator to follow each dog's improvement daily and does not require expensive equipment.
The implication of this technique extends toward the therapy of separation anxiety because the sensor can be used to monitor and alter the activity of dogs affected by such disturbances. Generally, individuals new to this method will struggle because sometimes it is difficult to establish a good pairing between the sensor and the Wi-Fi-based station due to both providers'strength signal and the exit of the sensor from reception range. For this study, select dogs that exhibit the clinical symptoms of behavioral disturbances such as anxiety, diffidence, irregular biorhythm, reactivity, activation, irritability, alertness, and constant environmental exploration.
Randomly assign 24 dogs, equally divided between males and females, into a treatment and control group, and house each group in a 215, 000 sq ft enclosure. Now, feed each animal the appropriate diet for its weight for ten days. And make complete veterinary inspections before and after the ten days'treatment.
To continuously record the individual activity of each animal, outfit each dog's collar with a small sensor that contains a 3-Axis Accelerometer, GPS, and wireless data transmission. To monitor the sensors, set up a Wi-Fi router that provides adequate coverage to all of the dogs'range. An LED on the sensor indicates if it needs battery charging.
If it starts blinking, charge the sensor for at least 90 minutes using a charger and USB cable. To adjust the sensor settings, connect the sensor to the USB port of a smart phone which is connected to the internet. On the smart phone, have installed the free application that controls the sensor.
Open the app and register it. Now, to add a tracked dog wearing the device tap on Add New Dog. Then follow the prompts to take a picture of the dog and provide its name.
Appropriately set the gender, neutering status, age, weight, and location of the dog. Also, estimate the primary and the secondary breed of the dog. If applicable, note the presence of allergies, arthritis, brain aging, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or excessive weight in the description of the dog.
Then, select the goal lifestyle for the dog. Three options are available:average, active, and olympian. Depending on the age of the dog, the expectation for each lifestyle will change.
In our study the aim is to decrease hyperactivity and stress. So, we selected the average lifestyle goal for each dog. To connect the sensor to the Wi-Fi, tap on Wi-Fi Base Station and then tap Pair a Base Station.
Wait until the word fitbark appears below Pair a Base Station. Then, the sensor is activated and ready for use. After 10 days being fed the Nutraceutical diet, the treated dogs generally showed less anxious behavior.
For instance, the dogs that showed anxiety and diffidence prior to treatment, showed a reduction in these behaviors when the dog cage was entered after treatment. Prior to treatment, some dogs displayed aggressive behavior, which was reduced upon treatment with a Nutraceutical diet. Using the monitoring system, the daily mean activity and rest of the dogs significantly decreased during the study, for dogs fed the Nutraceutical diet, but not for the dogs fed a standard diet.
Conversely, the daily mean rest time significantly increased for the Nutraceutical diet group, but not for the standard diet group. Regarding behavioral symptoms, a non-significant reduction in marking was observed in dogs fed the Nutraceutical diet. However, significant reductions in many behaviors did occur with the Nutraceutical diet, including measured anxiety, diffidence, and irregular biorhythm.
Other significant changes were observed in reactivity, activation, irritability, alertness, environmental exploration, and attention requirement. Intensities in some clinical symptoms also declined with consumption of the Nutraceutical diet. For example, dandruff significantly decreased.
Other improved symptoms included itchiness, flush, seborrhea, and fur opacity. A similar trend was observed for vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, and lachrymation. Additionally, the mean time spent in barking also decreased significantly after 10 days on the Nutraceutical diet.
After watching this video you should have an understanding of how to monitor general anxiety-related behavioral disturbances in dogs, using tracking sensors. Once mastered, assignment of a sensor to a dog only takes about 10 minutes. While attempting this procedure it is important to remember to acertian the sensor is connected to the router.
After its development, this technique will help researchers in the field of Behavior Sciences to explore generalized anxiety and separation disturbances in dogs and cats.
