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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Do Pessimistic Dogs Have More Anxiety?




My brudder, Lightning, has been doing some reading and he found an interesting article on separation anxiety that he wanted to share.

Dogs showing separation-related behavior exhibit a 'pessimistic mood' according to an article published in the October 12, 2010, issue of Current Biology.

The article suggests that dogs that demostrate 'pessimistic' behavior are more likely to show separation anxiety than dogs that exhibit 'optimistic' behavior. The author, Mike Mendl of the University of Bristol, notes that most owners believe that anxious pets are 'fine' and do not seek treatment for their pet, however, pets may actually benefit from treatment for anxiety. Mendl believes that treatment is very important to ensuring good dog welfare.

The link above describes how Mendl tested dogs for 'pessimistic' versus 'optimistic' behavior.

2 comments:

  1. Interesting buddy. Now you is making me wonder what kind of cat I am!

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  2. that sure sounds like our Rosie to a tee. Hope you have a wonderful New Year!

    ReplyDelete