Chronic stress in dogs subjected to social and spatial restriction. I. Behavioral responses
Abstract
Six weeks of social and spatial restriction were used as a model to induce chronic stress in Beagles. Behavioral and physiological measurements were performed during a period of enriched spacious outdoor housing in groups (GH) and during a subsequent period of solitary housing in small indoor kennels (IH). Behavioral parameters that may indicate chronic stress in dogs are reported. During IH, the dogs showed significantly (comparison-wise error rate <0.05) lower postures than during GH. IH induced enduring increments in frequencies of autogrooming, paw lifting, and vocalizing, and was associated with incidents of coprophagy and repetitive behavior. So far, we interpret the behavioral changes as signs of chronic stress. Relatively low levels of walking, digging, intentions to change from one state of locomotion to another, and increments in circling are conceived as obvious adaptations to the specific features of the IH system. By challenging the dogs outside their home kennel we tested whether the dogs' coping abilities were affected by IH. Dogs that were challenged were introduced into a novel environment, given the opportunity to escape from their home kennel, restrained, walked down an unfamiliar corridor, presented a novel object, exposed to loud noise, given food, or confronted with a conspecific. During IH, challenged dogs exhibited higher postures, showed more tail wagging, nosing, circling, urinating, and defecating, and changed more often from one state of locomotion…
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Chronic stress-related behaviours, including increased aggression, excitement, uncertainty, paw lifting, vocalizations, repetitive behaviours, circling, self-licking, panting, and holding the head up during rest, may manifest over time in shelter dogs.
“Chronic stress-related behaviours, including increased aggression, excitement, uncertainty, paw lifting, vocalizations, repetitive behaviours, circling, self-licking, panting, and holding the head up during rest, may manifest over time [177,178,179,180].”
From Ethical Concerns about Fashionable Dog Breeding (2024) · cites this paper as [178]
Within shelters, dogs are exposed to environmental stressors such as noise, novelty, unpredictability, confinement for extended periods, and minimal human interactions.
“Within shelters, dogs are exposed to a variety of environmental stressors such as noise (2), novelty, unpredictability, confinement for extended periods (3), and minimal human interactions (4).”
From Combined enrichment and pharmaceutical intervention reduces excessive arousal in shelter dogs in a randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as [3]
Prolonged and chronic exposure to shelter stressors may lead to behavioral changes such as the development of excessive arousal.
“Due to prolonged and chronic exposure to these stressors, behavioral changes may be observed, such as the development of excessive arousal (3, 6–9).”
From Combined enrichment and pharmaceutical intervention reduces excessive arousal in shelter dogs in a randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as [3]
An ethogram of arousal- and fear-related, and general in-kennel behavior was used to guide behavioral observations, developed based on prior research.
“An ethogram of arousal- and fear-related, and general in-kennel behavior was used to guide behavioral observations (Table 2). The ethogram was developed based on prior research on shelter dog in-kennel behavior, including behaviors associated with excessive arousal (e.g., jumping, mouthing, locomotion, vocalizations, alert, environmental scanning) (13, 35), stress (e.g., yawning, panting, reduced”
From Combined enrichment and pharmaceutical intervention reduces excessive arousal in shelter dogs in a randomized controlled trial (2026) · cites this paper as [3]
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- Authors
- Beerda, B., Schilder, M. B. H., Van Hooff, J. A. R. A. M., De Vries, H. W., & Mol, J. A.
- Affiliations
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Schilder, Matthijs B.H
- Venue
- Physiology & Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1999-04
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 233-242
- ISSN
- 0031-9384 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2101811941
- Cited by
- 365
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 22 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 2.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Physiology & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- chronic stress, dogs, social restrictions, spatial constraints, group housing, autogrooming, coprophagy, repetitive behavior, coping styles, aggression, sex differences, weather effects, beagle dogs, locomotor activity, vocalizations, tail wagging, circling behavior, stress physiology
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Behavior, Animal, Chronic Disease, Dogs, Environment, Female, Male, Sex Characteristics, Social Environment, Social Isolation, Stress, Psychological, Weather
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