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Behaviour and psychology

The animal behaviour and psychology section consider submissions on all aspects of animal health and welfare, ethical review, welfare assessment and refinement. The section also considers research relating to animal behaviour, cognition, comparative psychology, human-animal bond and neurophysiology. Other topics considered include zoo animal welfare and behaviour (including human-animal interactions in zoos); evolution and domestication; communication, cooperation, animal training and socialization; affective states, aggression, bites; animal therapy, assistance dogs.
 

  1. Despite extensive research, many questions remain unanswered about common problems that impact dog welfare, particularly where there are multiple contributing factors that can occur months or years before the ...

    Authors: Jane Katherine Murray, Rachel Heather Kinsman, Michelle Susannah Lord, Rosa Elizabete Pinto Da Costa, Joshua Luke Woodward, Sara Cecylia Owczarczak-Garstecka, Séverine Tasker, Toby Grahame Knowles and Rachel Alison Casey

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2021 17:1

    Content type: Study Protocol

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  2. Predatory attacks on horses can become a problem in some parts of the world, particularly when considering the recovering gray wolf populations. The issue studied was whether horses transformed by humans and p...

    Authors: Iwona Janczarek, Anna Stachurska, Witold Kędzierski, Anna Wiśniewska, Magdalena Ryżak and Agata Kozioł

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2020 16:431

    Content type: Research article

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  4. Stress is associated with various detrimental changes in physiological health that affect an animal’s quality of life. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic-adreno-medullar (SAM) ax...

    Authors: Yi-Kyeong Jeong, Ye-In Oh, Kun-Ho Song and Kyoung Won Seo

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2020 16:331

    Content type: Research article

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  5. Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is an important fish in European freshwater aquaculture. This industry sector is dominated by small family-owned enterprises located in rural areas. A large percentage of rainb...

    Authors: Verena Jung-Schroers, Uta Hildebrandt, Karina Retter, Karl-Heinz Esser, John Hellmann, Dirk Willem Kleingeld, Karl Rohn and Dieter Steinhagen

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2020 16:197

    Content type: Research article

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  6. Specific behaviors associated with pain in cats with oral disease have not been consistently studied. The aim of this exploratory study was to identify pain-induced behaviors in cats before and after treatment...

    Authors: Ryota Watanabe, Diane Frank and Paulo V Steagall

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2020 16:100

    Content type: Research article

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  8. Calf stress at weaning and during transition to group pens represents a concern in dairy operations. Favoring natural behaviors, such as grooming, may help on reducing this challenge. Our objective was to eval...

    Authors: Ana Velasquez-Munoz, Diego Manriquez, Sushil Paudyal, Gilberto Solano, Hyungchul Han, Robert Callan, Juan Velez and Pablo Pinedo

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2019 15:284

    Content type: Research article

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  9. Across China and Southeast Asia, an estimated 17,000 bears are currently farmed for bile, primarily for traditional medicines. Depending on country, bile is extracted daily via transabdominal gallbladder fistu...

    Authors: Monica Kaho Herkules Bando, O. Lynne Nelson, Clark Kogan, Rance Sellon, Michelle Wiest, Heather J. Bacon, Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa, Wendy Leadbeater, Koji Yamazaki, Yipeng Jin, Takeshi Komatsu and David McGeachy

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2019 15:263

    Content type: Research article

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  10. There is a critical need to develop appropriate on-farm euthanasia methods for poultry species. Euthanasia methods should affect the brain first causing insensibility, followed by cardiorespiratory arrest. Nec...

    Authors: Elein Hernandez, Fiona James, Stephanie Torrey, Tina Widowski, Karen Schwean-Lardner, Gabrielle Monteith and Patricia V. Turner

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2019 15:132

    Content type: Research article

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  11. Multi-drug resistant bacteria are an increasing concern in both human and veterinary medicine. Inappropriate prescribing and use of antibiotics within veterinary medicine may be a contributory factor to antimi...

    Authors: C. King, M. Smith, K. Currie, A. Dickson, F. Smith, M. Davis and P. Flowers

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2018 14:332

    Content type: Research article

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  13. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) is considered a non-invasive biomarker of acute stress that can be evaluated by changes in activity and concentration, and also by changes in its isoforms, although this last way o...

    Authors: María Dolores Contreras-Aguilar, Damián Escribano, Silvia Martínez-Subiela, Silvia Martínez-Miró, Jose Joaquín Cerón and Fernando Tecles

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2018 14:256

    Content type: Research article

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  14. This study investigated whether the body condition score (BCS) and/or culture influences the quality of life (QoL) of dogs, as evaluated by the owner, and whether the BCS is influenced by feeding and exercise ...

    Authors: Nienke Endenburg, Sirikul Soontararak, Chalermpol Charoensuk and Hein A. van Lith

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2018 14:221

    Content type: Research article

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  16. African horse sickness (AHS) is of importance to health and international trade in horses worldwide. During export from and transit through AHS endemic countries or zones, physical and chemical measures to pro...

    Authors: Patrick Page, Andre Ganswindt, Johan Schoeman, Gert Venter and Alan Guthrie

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2017 13:283

    Content type: Research article

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  17. Despite the need to control outbreaks of (emerging) zoonotic diseases and the need for added value in comparative/translational medicine, jointly addressed in the One Health approach [One health Initiative (n....

    Authors: Björn G.M. Eussen, Jaap Schaveling, Maria J. Dragt and Robert Jan Blomme

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2017 13:174

    Content type: Research article

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  19. Pinnipeds, including many phocid species of concern, are inaccessible and difficult to monitor for extended periods using conventional, externally attached telemetry devices that are shed during the annual mol...

    Authors: Markus Horning, Martin Haulena, Justin F. Rosenberg and Chad Nordstrom

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2017 13:139

    Content type: Methodology article

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  20. Olfactory stimulation is an often overlooked method of environmental enrichment for cats in captivity. The best known example of olfactory enrichment is the use of catnip, a plant that can cause an apparently ...

    Authors: Sebastiaan Bol, Jana Caspers, Lauren Buckingham, Gail Denise Anderson-Shelton, Carrie Ridgway, C. A. Tony Buffington, Stefan Schulz and Evelien M. Bunnik

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2017 13:70

    Content type: Research article

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  21. Numbers of giraffes are declining rapidly in their native habitat. As giraffe research and conservation efforts increase, the demand for more complete measures of the impact of conservation interventions and t...

    Authors: Meredith J. Bashaw, Florian Sicks, Rupert Palme, Franz Schwarzenberger, Adrian S. W. Tordiffe and Andre Ganswindt

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2016 12:235

    Content type: Methodology article

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  22. In recent decades there has been a growing concern about animal stress on intensive pig farms due to the undesirable consequences that stress produces in the normal physiology of pigs and its effects on their ...

    Authors: Silvia Martínez-Miró, Fernando Tecles, Marina Ramón, Damián Escribano, Fuensanta Hernández, Josefa Madrid, Juan Orengo, Silvia Martínez-Subiela, Xavier Manteca and José Joaquín Cerón

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2016 12:171

    Content type: Review

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  23. Animal behavioral responses have been recently established as a suitable tool for detecting contaminants in the environment for risk assessment in situ. In this study, we observed movement behavior of zebrafish (

    Authors: Sang-Bin Lee, Yunjeong Choe, Tae-Soo Chon and Ho Young Kang

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2015 11:269

    Content type: Research article

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  24. Eating and rumination variables were recorded in 300 healthy lactating dairy cows of 3 different breeds (100 Brown Swiss, 100 Holstein-Friesian, 100 Swiss Fleckvieh cows). Eating and rumination variables were ...

    Authors: Ueli Braun, Susanne Zürcher and Michael Hässig

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2015 11:231

    Content type: Research article

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  25. Eating and rumination variables were recorded in ten healthy cows over 5 days (group A) to generate reference intervals for comparison with the same variables recorded in ten cows in advanced pregnancy from te...

    Authors: Ueli Braun, Theresa Tschoner and Michael Hässig

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2014 10:195

    Content type: Research article

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  26. Feather pecking and cannibalism are major concerns in poultry farming, both in terms of animal welfare and farm economics. Genetic selection and introduction of (aspects of) maternal care have been suggested a...

    Authors: Susie E Hewlett, Elly C Zeinstra, Frank JCM van Eerdenburg, TB Rodenburg, Peter JS van Kooten, FJ van der Staay and Rebecca E Nordquist

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2014 10:167

    Content type: Research article

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  27. Domestic cats have evolved from solitary, asocial predators and whilst they may display social behaviours, they can still exist as solitary survivors. Over-population and relinquishment of pet cats are ubiquit...

    Authors: Lauren R Finka, Sarah LH Ellis and Jenny Stavisky

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2014 10:73

    Content type: Research article

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  28. Validation of a method for the minimally-invasive measurement of physiological stress will help understanding of risk factors that may contribute to stress-associated events including recrudescence of Equid he...

    Authors: Martin Schulman, Annet Becker, Stefanie Ganswindt, Alan Guthrie, Tom Stout and Andre Ganswindt

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2014 10:25

    Content type: Research article

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  29. Questionnaires are a common tool to assess people’s opinion on a large scale or to sound them out about their subjective views. The caretakers’ opinion about animals’ “personality” has been used in many studie...

    Authors: Clémence Lesimple, Carole Fureix, Véronique Biquand and Martine Hausberger

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2013 9:209

    Content type: Research article

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  30. An automated technique for recording eating and rumination behaviour was evaluated in ten lactating Brown Swiss cows by comparing data obtained from a pressure sensor with data obtained via direct observation ...

    Authors: Ueli Braun, Luzia Trösch, Franz Nydegger and Michael Hässig

    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2013 9:164

    Content type: Methodology article

    Published on:

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ISSN: 1746-6148

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