There has been a lot in the press recently about anxiety in dogs, in part as a result of the current pandemic. The combination of more puppies, more owners, many of whom have never owned a pet before, and fewer opportunities for normal socialisation has taken its toll, not just on us humans, but on our companion animals as well.
A colleague once said to me ‘I would be a great dog owner, I would take it out for walks, and feed it and everything’. It made me smile — the throw away ‘and everything’, without any real idea of what dogs require for a happy, stress-free life.
‘And everything’ includes introducing dogs to other animals, exposing them to cars and buses, introducing them to people both young and old… the list goes on! These introductions early in a dog's life are essential to enable the dog to cope with life in a human world. But, dogs also need to learn to be alone.
In our sister publication for vets, UK-Vet Companion Animal, we recently published an article on canine separation anxiety (10.12968/coan.2021.0030). According to the article, dogs are being left alone for shorter periods of time while also being given off lead walks less frequently. Owner interaction time has increased, and more dogs are being played with by their owners for longer periods of time. The result may well be more content and bonded owners and pets, but it is also resulting in dogs suffering anxiety when left alone, as well as pets that are poorly adjusted to cope with the complexities of the world outside the home. Separation-related problems place a significant burden on both dogs and owners; resulting behaviours include vocalisation, destructiveness, and inappropriate urination or defecation, and are listed as one of the most common reasons for a dog to be surrendered to an animal shelter.
My attention was recently grabbed by a news item that focused on a study from the University of Glasgow looking at a device, the DogPhone, through which your dog can call you. DogPhone is the result of a collaboration between Dr Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, a specialist in animal–computer interaction at the University of Glasgow, her 10-year-old Labrador, Zack, and colleagues from Aalto University in Finland. DogPhone allows Zack to call Dr Hirskyj-Douglas by picking up and shaking a ball fitted with an accelerometer. When the accelerometer senses movement, it initiates a video call on a laptop in their living room, allowing Zack to see and interact with his owner whenever he chooses. Zack's owner can also use the system to call him, and he is free to answer or ignore the call.
Dr Hirskyj-Douglas conducted a series of 16 ‘study days’ over a 3-month period. In the first 2 days Zack made 18 calls, half of which were ‘accidental’ and likely made while he slept on the ball. In the final experimental phase lasting 7 days Zack made 35 calls in total, averaging five a day. While many of them seemed accidental, there was also more significant interaction between Zack and Dr Hirskyj-Douglas, who used her phone to show him her environment, including her office, a restaurant, an underground station, and a street busker. Zack showed additional interest in these interactions, pricking up his ears and approaching the screen.
While there are numerous internet-connected ‘smart toys’ that dog owners can buy for their pets, from fitness monitors to remotely-controlled treat dispensers, most of these are built with the needs of the owner in mind, rather than the dog.
I'm not sure I want my three dogs calling me any time of the day, in addition to my two children, but at least I guess they won't be telling me there's no food in the house, and they have to order pizza! It seems there may be a long-term benefit to such a device, but I do think we should all learn to be alone from time to time.