Abstract
Numerous roles for the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) have existed for thousands of years. The role of bio-detection, dogs discriminating between biological odours, is a recent and rapidly developing area. Research within the field has previously concentrated on dogs’ ability to detect odours associated with human disease states and health conditions. However, processes outside of disease, such as human emotions, also produce measurable changes in physiological and biological markers. This thesis has an application to human stress, which is a leading cause of mental and physical health disorders, and a sensation that many people feel on a daily basis. If dogs can smell changes within the human body caused by disease, might they also be able to smell stress? The bio-detection paradigm allows for exploration into these areas by testing the scope of dogs’ abilities to discriminate between human odours. Results of this thesis provide evidence supporting the premise that the human stress response produces a change in odour that is detectable by dogs, with each study chapter highlighting areas of consideration, including the nature of this relationship outside of the laboratory setting, the practical limitations of bio-detection paradigms, and whether a popular protocol used to measure affective state in dogs should be used in repeated measure designs. The final chapter provides a general discussion, which considers the implications of these study findings, discusses future directions of this work, and establishes how the methodologies developed and critiqued in this thesis may inform future research in this field.Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2025.
| Date of Award | Jul 2023 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Sponsors | Northern Ireland Department for the Economy |
| Supervisor | Deborah Wells (Supervisor), Gillian Shorter (Supervisor) & Catherine Reeve (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- Dogs
- stress
- olfaction
- behaviour
- detection
- canine
- cognition
- animal behaviour