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Full-Text Articles in Anthropology
Picture Perfect Pups: How Do Attributes Of Photographs Of Dogs In Online Rescue Profiles Affect Adoption Speed?, Mizuho Nakamura, Navneet Dhand, Bethany J. Wilson, Melissa J. Starling, Paul D. Mcgreevy
Picture Perfect Pups: How Do Attributes Of Photographs Of Dogs In Online Rescue Profiles Affect Adoption Speed?, Mizuho Nakamura, Navneet Dhand, Bethany J. Wilson, Melissa J. Starling, Paul D. Mcgreevy
Rescue and Surrender of Companion Animals Collection
To increase the public’s awareness of and exposure to animals needing homes, PetRescue, Australia’s largest online directory of animals in need of adoption, lists all currently available animals from rescue and welfare shelters nationwide. The current study examined the photographs in the PetRescue online profiles of the three most common breeds within these data, namely, Staffordshire bull terriers (n = 3988), Labrador retrievers (n = 2246), and Jack Russell terriers (n = 2088), to identify the inferred preferences of potential adopters. By investigating the attributes of these photographs, we were able to identify visual risk factors associated with protracted lengths …
Conceptualising The Impact Of Arousal And Affective State On Operant Conditioning, Melissa J. Starling, Nicholas Branson, Denis Cody, Paul D. Mcgreevy
Conceptualising The Impact Of Arousal And Affective State On Operant Conditioning, Melissa J. Starling, Nicholas Branson, Denis Cody, Paul D. Mcgreevy
Animal Training and Obedience Collection
Animal training relies heavily on an understanding of species-specific behaviour as it integrates with operant conditioning principles. Following on from recent studies showing that affective states and arousal levels may correlate with behavioural outcomes, we explore the contribution of both affective state and arousal in behavioural responses to operant conditioning. This paper provides a framework for assessing how affective state and arousal may influence the efficacy of operant training methods. It provides a series of three-dimensional conceptual graphs as exemplars to describing putative influences of both affective state and arousal on the likelihood of dogs and horses performing commonly desired …
Naturalizing Anthropomorphism: Behavioral Prompts To Our Humanizing Of Animals, Alexandra C. Horowitz, Marc Bekoff
Naturalizing Anthropomorphism: Behavioral Prompts To Our Humanizing Of Animals, Alexandra C. Horowitz, Marc Bekoff
Human and Animal Bonding Collection
Anthropomorphism is the use of human characteristics to describe or explain nonhuman animals. In the present paper, we propose a model for a unified study of such anthropomorphizing. We bring together previously disparate accounts of why and how we anthropomorphize and suggest a means to analyze anthropomorphizing behavior itself. We introduce an analysis of bouts of dyadic play between humans and a heavily anthropomorphized animal, the domestic dog. Four distinct patterns of social interaction recur in successful dog–human play: directed responses by one player to the other, indications of intent, mutual behaviors, and contingent activity. These findings serve as a …
The Case Against Dog Breed Discrimination By Homeowners’ Insurance Companies, Larry Cunningham
The Case Against Dog Breed Discrimination By Homeowners’ Insurance Companies, Larry Cunningham
State of the Animals 2007
Breed discrimination by insurance companies is on the rise in the United States. Insurers are refusing to write homeowners’ policies for people who own breeds that the insurance industry considers to be dangerous. Their decisions are based solely on the breed of the animal, not the individual characteristics of the particular dog. Dog bites are certainly a public health concern. However, the insurance industry’s approach to the problem is based on faulty assumptions and improper use of dog-bite statistics. The insurance industry has prejudged entire breeds of dogs as being “too risky,” instead of taking a more reasonable dog-by-dog approach …
Cruelty Toward Cats: Changing Perspectives, Randall Lockwood
Cruelty Toward Cats: Changing Perspectives, Randall Lockwood
State of the Animals 2005
Of all the species that have been domesticated, cats have historically been subjected to the widest diversity of treatment by humans. They have been worshipped as gods and reviled as devils, coddled and pampered, but also abandoned and abused. Our treatment of cats has likewise created a range of problems for professionals concerned with their care—from dealing with problems of obesity and overindulgence to tending to the needs of animals who have been neglected, intentionally harmed, or even tortured.
Achieving A Concensus On Dog Control Strategies: A Brief Primer, D. B. Wilkins
Achieving A Concensus On Dog Control Strategies: A Brief Primer, D. B. Wilkins
Pets Collection
The welfare arguments surrounding dog ownership may not stimulate the same passionate fervor as those relating to the use of animals in experiments, factory farming, or the hunting of live animals with hounds, but nevertheless, they are matters of real concern to most welfare organizations. The most serious problems are caused through irresponsible ownership, which leads to overbreeding and the inevitable consequence of large numbers
Sex Roles, Companion Animals--And Something More, D. H. Murphy
Sex Roles, Companion Animals--And Something More, D. H. Murphy
Pets Collection
As a case in point, several recent articles about how men and women relate to dogs and cats furnish us with some basic lessons about how we interact with our animal companions. But, in the process, they also shed some interesting light on the precariousness of our beliefs about differences in the sexes. Finally, they provide vital instruction concerning some of the classic foibles that are inherent in the use of some kinds of scientific methods.
A Strategy For Dog-Owner Education (Response), Ian Dunbar
A Strategy For Dog-Owner Education (Response), Ian Dunbar
Pets Collection
I have read with interest the response by Graham Henderson of the Toronto Humane Society (lnt J Stud Anim Prob 2(6):305-309, 1981). I agree with many of his statements and am pleased that he, in turn, agreed with most of mine, although at first, this was not entirely apparent. In fact, I found Mr. Henderson's letter to be somewhat confusing, and it contained a number of inaccuracies and contradictions. So, please bear with me if I go into some detail to try to unravel the confusion.
Where To Put Your Choker, Roger A. Mugford
Where To Put Your Choker, Roger A. Mugford
Pets Collection
The choke chain has come to be regarded as an indispensable aid to training dogs, but even the most time-hallowed practices deserve an occasional critical review. The author has recently completed an investigation into the uses and abuses of choke chains, and failed to find any benefit from using a choker rather than a conventional leather collar. Indeed, there are some very considerable dangers and disadvantages associated with the device. These charges may sound like heresy to many dog-trainers, but to others, it may strike a sympathetic chord.
A Strategy For Dog-Owner Education, Ian Dunbar
A Strategy For Dog-Owner Education, Ian Dunbar
Animal Welfare Collection
By conservative estimates, the humane societies and societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals in the United States euthanize over 15 million pets each year. It is a great shame that people who have devoted their lives to animals should be forced to destroy the majority of animals that pass through their hands. In addition, the Pet Food Institute's 1975 Survey revealed that a high percentage of pet owners were unsatisfied with their animals and ended up giving them away, taking them to animal shelters, or losing them in accidents. It would appear that only a minority of pets …