Exploring the impact of a brief positive experience on dogs’ performance and stress resilience during a learning task

Abstract

Learning and stress resilience can be influenced by recent experiences. Research has traditionally focused on the effects of negative situations and stressors on subsequent learning and stress resilience, while knowledge is limited regarding the effects of positive experiences. We aimed to examine the impact of a pre-session brief positive experience on dogs’ learning and stress resilience. Pet dogs were quasi-randomly assigned to the experimental (n=20) or control (n=20) group, counterbalanced for age, sex, and breed clade. Experimental dogs received a session intended to provide a positive experience, which included a 15min walk on a long leash, human interaction, exploration, playing, and olfactory-based foraging. Control dogs were kept on leash in an office without being allowed to explore nor interact with their owner or the experimenters for 15min. After 60s of habituation to the testing room, all dogs were taught to nose-touch the experimenter’s hand. After the Learning phase, there was a 2min Disruption phase, in which a remote-controlled car moved inside of a tub at a distance. Measures included the number of hand touches in each phase, the latency to return to the task, and general stress and affiliative behaviours. No differences were observed in the Learning phase. Surprisingly, experimental dogs exhibited higher stress levels than control dogs during the Disruption phase. These dogs also spent a significantly higher proportion of time in proximity to their owners, which could be interpreted as reassurance-seeking behaviour. Contrary to our predictions, exposure to a brief positive experience did not impact learning and, surprisingly, seemed to have made dogs more susceptible to stress during the Disruption phase. Several possible explanations are discussed, including the possibility of an unintentional induction of a negative emotional state by the termination of the positive experience, as well as differences in arousal, or habituation to the indoor environment.