Biology subjects

Bray, E. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Bray, E. E..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Maternal care and early rearing environment influence puppy behaviour and cognition

Relatively little is known about the influence of maternal care on dog behaviour, despite the prominence of dogs in our lives and the established importance of early experiences in other species. While recent observational research has begun to document associations between canine maternal behaviour and later offspring outcomes, there is still much to learn--particularly regarding what factors impact maternal behaviour and the enduring effects of maternal care on puppy behavioural development. Understanding how early experiences shape future behaviour is of practical importance for companion and working dogs. We characterized the early rearing environment of 235 individual puppies from 59 litters bred by a service dog provider and explored whether offspring cognitive and behavioural traits through 16 months of age were associated with early mothering behaviour. We also investigated whether maternal behaviour could be predicted by pre-pregnancy dam behaviour and how the rearing location (private home or professional breeding centre) influenced maternal behaviour and/or puppy behaviour. We identified dam behavioural characteristics measured pre-pregnancy that were related to subsequent maternal care. While time of year was associated with maternal behaviour scores, parity, litter size, breed composition, and rearing location were not. We found that rearing location was related to puppy performance on the Dog Cognitive Development Battery (DCDB) at 8 weeks of age. Finally, maternal behaviour was associated with certain puppy cognitive and behavioural measures, assessed via the DCDB at 8 weeks of age and via questionnaires at 6, 10, 12 and 16 months of age. Our results indicate that experiences within the first few weeks of life, particularly maternal care and rearing location, may influence several aspects of dog behaviour relevant to both working and companion animals. HighlightsO_LIWe tracked early maternal interactions across 59 litters C_LIO_LISome traits measured pre-pregnancy were associated with subsequent maternal care C_LIO_LIRearing location was associated with some puppy behaviour but not maternal care C_LIO_LIMaternal care was associated with some aspects of puppy behaviour at 8 weeks C_LIO_LIMaternal care was associated with reports of puppy behaviour through 16 months C_LI

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2025

Functional assessments of short-term spatial memory in the Dog Aging Project identify strong associations with age that are not moderated by body mass

Companion dogs have emerged as a valuable model in the study of cognitive aging, but assessments of cognitive function in large, diverse, and geographically distributed samples of dogs are challenging to obtain. We developed two novel functional assessments of short-term spatial memory that were administered by community science participants in a sample of 6,753 dogs through the Dog Aging Project. We compared data generated by community scientists to those gathered by research professionals, estimated relationships between age and task performance, and tested the hypothesis that associations between age and cognitive performance vary by dog body mass, as a proxy for expected lifespan. Community scientists generated similar data to research professionals and both cognitive tasks were sensitive to age- related deficits, beginning in midlife. Relationships between age and cognitive function were highly similar across small and large dogs and, for both tasks, comparison of models with and without an interaction between age and body mass yielded decisive evidence for the model without the interaction. Large dogs exhibit accelerated aging across many traits, and so the lack of evidence for accelerated cognitive aging raises the possibility that their large size confers a neuroprotective advantage. We consider possible mechanisms underlying this effect and address how experimental studies of dog cognition using community science methods can support future research on mechanisms of brain and cognitive aging.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2022

Associations between physical activity and cognitive dysfunction in older companion dogs: Results from the Dog Aging Project

Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD) is a form of dementia that shares many similarities with Alzheimers disease. Given that physical activity is believed to reduce risk of Alzheimers disease in humans, we explored the association between physical activity and cognitive health in a cohort of companion dogs, aged 6-18 years. We hypothesized that higher levels of physical activity would be associated with lower (i.e., better) scores on a cognitive dysfunction rating instrument and lower prevalence of dementia, and that this association would be robust when controlling for age, comorbidities, and other potential confounders. Our sample included 11,574 companion dogs enrolled through the Dog Aging Project, of whom 287 had scores over the clinical threshold for CCD. In this observational, cross-sectional study, we used owner-reported questionnaire data to quantify dog cognitive health (via a validated scale), physical activity levels, health conditions, training history, and dietary supplements. We fit regression models with measures of cognitive health as the outcome, and physical activity--with several important covariates--as predictors. We found a significant negative relationship between physical activity and current severity of cognitive dysfunction symptoms (estimate = -0.10, 95% CI: -0.11 to - 0.08, p < 0.001), extent of symptom worsening over a 6-month interval (estimate = -0.07, 95% CI: -0.09 to -0.05, p <0.001), and whether a dog reached a clinical level of CCD (odds ratio = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.63, p <0.001). Physical activity was robustly associated with better cognitive outcomes in dogs. Our findings illustrate the value of companion dogs as a model for investigating relationships between physical activity and cognitive aging, including aspects of dementia that may have translational potential for Alzheimers disease. While the current study represents an important first step in identifying a relationship between physical activity and cognitive function, it cannot determine causality. Future studies are needed to rule out reverse causation by following the same dogs prospectively over time, and to evaluate causality by administering physical-activity interventions.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Once-daily feeding is associated with better cognitive function and health in companion dogs: Results from the Dog Aging Project

A variety of diets have been studied for possible anti-aging effects. In particular, studies of intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding in laboratory rodents have found evidence of beneficial health outcomes. Companion dogs represent a unique opportunity to study diet in a large mammal that shares human environments. The Dog Aging Project has been collecting data on thousands of companion dogs of all different ages, sizes, and breeds since 2019. We leveraged this diverse cross-sectional dataset to investigate associations between feeding frequency and cognitive function (n = 10,474) as well as nine broad categories of health conditions (n = 24,238). Controlling for sex, age, breed, and other potential confounders, we found that dogs fed once daily rather than more frequently had lower mean scores on a cognitive dysfunction scale, and lower odds of having gastrointestinal, dental, orthopedic, kidney/urinary, and liver/pancreas disorders. Therefore, we find that once-daily feeding is associated with better health in multiple domains. Future research with longitudinal data can provide stronger evidence for a possible causal effect of feeding frequency on health in companion dogs.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Early-Emerging and Highly-Heritable Sensitivity to Human Communication in Dogs

Dogs exhibit similarities to humans in their sensitivity to cooperative-communicative cues, but the extent to which they are biologically prepared for communication with humans is heavily debated. To investigate the developmental and genetic origins of these traits, we tested 375 eight-week-old dog puppies on a battery of social-cognitive measures. We hypothesized that if dogs social skills for cooperating with humans are biologically prepared, then these skills should emerge robustly in early development, not require extensive socialization or learning, and exhibit heritable variation. Puppies were highly skillful at using diverse human gestures and we found no evidence of learning across test trials, suggesting that they possess these skills prior to their first exposure to these cues. Critically, over 40% of the variation in dogs point-following abilities and attention to human faces was attributable to genetic factors. Our results suggest that these social skills in dogs emerge early in development and are under strong genetic control. Highlights - Genetic factors account for nearly half of variation in dog social skills - Puppies displayed social skills and interest in human faces from 8 weeks old - Puppies successfully used human gestures from the very first trial

animal behavior and cognition↗