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Assessing the wellbeing and quality of life in companion animals K.J. Stafford and D.J. Mellor Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre1, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand. Abstract Quality of life relates especially to the mental wellbeing of an animal. The term is a synonym for ‘animal welfare status’ where subjective experiences are emphasised. Companion animals are owned to provide companionship rather than a commercial outcome. A number of species are used as companion animals but companion animals are identified by the level of interaction with their owner. The word ‘companion’ (friend, mate, buddy, chum) implies intimates of their owner. Many animals categorised as such are not really so. They may be commercial or sport animals or, more commonly, desirable and appropriate elements in a household but not really companions. Animals may be companions but be interacted with so infrequently or for such short periods of time that this categorisation is questionable. Dogs and cats are the most common companion animals in Australia and New Zealand. The social and behavioural requirements of these two species are quite different. Dogs are essentially social territorial animals that scavenge and hunt. Human habitation may be the natural environment for dogs and a lack of social interaction with humans or other dogs indicates an inadequate environment for dogs. Cats are more solitary in nature than dogs but have been selected for social behaviour. They are predators and their territorial behaviour is influenced by the environment. Dog and cat breeds vary considerable in their physical characteristics and probably their behavioural requirements. Assessing the quality of life of companion animals can be carried out using several 1 The OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) Collaborating Centre for Animal Welfare Science and Bioethical Analysis. concurrent approaches. One is to assess the behaviour of the animal with emphasis on what it can do. Thus, a dog may live with one person and no other dogs and have little contact with other dogs, or it may live amongst many dogs and people. It may be restricted to a house, apartment or garden and get little exposure to a wider environment or it may be exercised daily and meet other dogs and have opportunities to explore a number of environments both social and physical. It may be involved in agility or tracking for fun. Another approach is to assess the animal’s behaviour with emphasis on anxiety based behaviour problems such as separation anxiety or anxiety-based aggression. It is obvious that anxiety based behaviour problems, which are not uncommon in dogs and cats, indicate an inappropriate environment. It is generally expected that companion animals are managed well with regard to their health, nutrition and physical comfort. Many dogs however experience pain caused by conditions such as osteoarthritis and there remains a question about how pleasurable living on a diet composed solely of dry food which, while adequate nutritionally, may do little to please the palate of a scavenger or hunter. Thus, evaluating the management of a companion animal is also a useful guide when assessing its quality of life. Introduction Companion animals are used by people as a target for their social needs. The degree to which people interact with them varies considerably. Some people with limited interactions with other people may direct virtually all their social attention towards their animal, while others may identify their animal as a companion but may actually interact very little with it. Others may have an animal that is identified as a having a function such as guarding, hunting, or showing. These multipurpose animals, whilst engaged in their various activities, may also be a very close companion to their handler despite not being a companion animal per se (Stafford, 2006). The lifestyle of an animal owned as a companion may be used to determine the closeness of the relationship. Dogs or cats that live indoors and sleep in the bed with their owners may be considered to be definite companions. However, many animals live less closely with their owners but are still considered to be companions. In New Zealand, most cats live indoor/outdoor lives coming and going as they wish. These cats may spend some hours indoors with their owners but much time away from them. The owners may consider them companions, but the closeness may differ between and within species with its level depending to a great extent on the animal. There are many different species of animals owned as companion animals. These include common species like dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, mice, gerbils, ferrets, budgerigars, canaries, goldfish and turtles, and, more recently, a wider range of bird, reptile and fish species are considered companion animals plus some wild animals tamed and used as pets. Our knowledge of many of these species is limited and this paper will concentrate on the common species, especially dogs and cats. The term ‘quality of life’ (QoL) relates especially to the mental wellbeing of an animal. As noted elsewhere (Mellor and Stafford, 2008), QoL is a synonym for ‘animal welfare status’ where subjective experiences are emphasised, and the term is used in that way throughout this paper. Assessing the QoL of companion animals can be carried out using several concurrent approaches. One way to assess QoL is to monitor the behaviour of the animal with emphasis on what it can do. Thus, a dog may live with one person and no other dogs and have little contact with other dogs, or it may live amongst many dogs and people. It may be restricted to a house, apartment or garden and get little exposure to a wider environment or it may be exercised daily and meet other dogs and have opportunities to explore a number of environments, both social and physical. It may be involved in agility or tracking for fun or engage in other sports or work. In addition, behavioural monitoring can be focused on anxiety-based behaviour problems such as separation anxiety, compulsive behaviours, or aggression. It is obvious that anxiety-based behavioural problems, which are not uncommon in dogs and cats, indicate an inappropriate environment and poor QoL. Behaviours indicative of fear may also be used as indicators of poor QoL. It is generally assumed that companion animals are managed well with regard to their health, nutrition and physical comfort. Many dogs however experience pain caused by conditions such as osteoarthritis and this strongly suggests a poor QoL. There remain many questions about how pleasurable day-to-day living is for many dogs and cats. This is perhaps especially so for animals that are restricted physically and fed a diet composed solely of dry food, which, while adequate nutritionally, may do little to please the palate of a scavenger or hunter. Thus, evaluating the management of a companion animal is also a useful approach to assessing its QoL. Likewise, changes in ability to engage in a wide range of behaviours may be used to assess QoL: a physical inability to go outside because of ageing and therefore toileting inside may indicate a reduced QoL as may many other features of ageing. Different tools may be used to assess QoL. However, it should be noted that little has been done using scientific methods to validate QoL measures in companion animals and the tools described here are under investigation, but often in isolation. They may be crudely divided into research tools appropriate only for the laboratory context, and clinical tools used in veterinary clinics as well as in laboratories and by persons such as welfare inspectors. An overall monitoring of many animals using a wide range of tools is required to underpin the use of any one of them as a stand-alone index of QoL. Research tools Research into the QoL of companion animals follows the same pattern as research into the welfare of all animals. It investigates the nutrition, health and longevity, physical comfort, the opportunity for expressing normal behaviour, and the emotional status of the animals. It is easy to quantify the welfare status of farm and laboratory animals because management systems are well established and quantifying important health and comfort issues is well documented. In addition, research has shown how to measure the flight distance, fear and perhaps anxiety of farm and laboratory animals. Interestingly, far fewer data are available regarding the assessment of the welfare of companion animals. The health and nutritional requirements of common companion animal species, dogs and cats, are well documented, but the actual health status of national dog and cat populations are not and nor is their nutrition. Moreover, the physical comfort and behavioural opportunities available to many dogs and cats are poorly documented as are the anxiety or fear status of these species. Therefore, much needs to be done to get some base line data about the QoL (the welfare status) of companion animals. The tools for investigating the QoL of companion animals are primarily ethological in character and are those used in experimental circumstances or, less frequently, in the home. Ethological tools include; 1. Time budgets to determine if individual animals have social contact, explorative play, predation work activities and learning opportunities on a daily basis 2. Monitoring abnormal (e.g. stereotypic) behaviours indicative of negative emotions (e.g. anxiety, fear, pain, learned helplessness) 3. Quantifying human-animal and animal–animal interactions to determine if they are sufficient for the individual animal 4. Quantifying changing environmental features and monitoring behaviour changes. Physiological parameters have been used under laboratory conditions to determine the functional responses of dogs to human contact and to a variety of environments and activities. Dogs respond physiologically to positive human contact in a manner which suggests that they experience pleasure in the contact. Likewise, the physiological responses to exploration (walks), exercise and social contact suggest that these are also positive experiences. Clinical tools These are tools that can be used in clinical settings to determine the QoL of companion animals, perhaps in order to determine if euthanasia is warranted. They might be used by veterinarians or by welfare investigators and have to reflect the psychological well-being of the animal being monitored. Clinical tools generally have to be effective during a shortterm examination, but tools such as diaries and video recording may also be useful if the animal’s owner or caretaker is cooperative. The value of such tools should be assessed using in-depth research protocols; in fact, such research is ongoing and will continue to be so for some time to come. The primary clinical tools to assess QoL of companion animals include: 1. Identification and quantification of behaviours associated with pain, anxiety or fear and abnormal behaviours such as stereotypies. Assessing unacceptable behaviours such as aggression towards visitors is also important as they often result in animals being caged for long periods without social interaction. 2. Quantifying the time budget of the animal, including activity and inactivity, interaction with conspecifics, opportunities to play, explore, predate (for cats) and engage in sport for dogs. 3. Monitoring the management of the animal. This will include quantifying its restrictions, human interaction, nutrition and feeding, sleeping quarters, social circumstances, and ‘work’. 4. Determining the ‘needs’ of the particular animal with regard to its breed, rearing, training and use. Toy dogs and border collies may have quite different requirements. 5. Identifying pleasure behaviours (play, walks, predation) and quantifying their frequency and regularity. 6. Undertaking a physical examination to determine if there are signs of disease, painful conditions or injuries. 7. Monitoring the changes in an animal’s life as it ages to assess QoL of old animals. 8. Assessing empathetically what is going on in the animal’s life. These tools are under development and others will become more important as we improve our understanding of the QoL of animals. Identifying and quantifying particular abnormal behaviours Abnormal behaviours seen in companion animals include stereotypic (compulsive) behaviours (e.g. tail chasing, self-mutilation, constant staring), anxious behaviours (e.g. separation anxiety, some aggressions), fear behaviour (e.g. fear of noise, men, thunderstorms, home-alone syndrome, excessive aggression) and some weird inexplicable behaviours like stealing or cloth sucking and eating. The aetiology of many of these is poorly understood but their existence suggests a poor QoL. Stereotypic behaviours such as constant tail-chasing or self-mutilation are destructive in themselves, but also reflect an inadequate environment. Anxiety behaviours such as separation anxiety may results in environmental destruction, constant barking, defaecation and attempts to escape when the desired person is absent, and suggest serious anxiety which is often treated with anti-depressant drugs. Fear of common elements in the environment, such as men, suggests abnormal responses and an unpleasant existence. The proportion of dogs, cats or pet birds expressing these abnormal behaviours is unknown, but veterinarians regularly diagnose them and treat them so they are not uncommon. Their existence suggests that something is wrong in the way animals are bred, reared and managed, but the detailed aetiology of these problems is poorly understood. Family-focused control aggression expressed by the animals may reflect anxiety or be based on an ambitious temperament. It may result in constant conflict between the dog or cat and their human caretakers. This is not a pleasant situation and probably impacts negatively on the QoL of both the animal and the owner, as may many other common misbehaviours such as barking, jumping up on people and being overtly territorial. Dogs that express unacceptable behaviours towards people or other dogs are less likely to be walked, live indoors or be played with. Thus poor training may, in these respects, result in poor QoL. Quantifying the time budget of the animal being investigated The activity of any animal will reflect its QoL. Dogs and cats and many birds are considered to be explorative in nature and limiting their ability to move through an environment probably has a negative impact on their QoL. However, dogs that live in onedog households are often quite inactive when not in the company of their owner and even when their owner is present they may remain inactive. Activity is good for health, and limiting physical activity and exploration (physical and social) is probably not good for a dog’s QoL. Restricting a cat to an indoor life without the ability to predate is similarly probably a negative experience, but has to be balanced against the dangers of an indoor/outdoor life. Restricting the social life of a parrot probably has some negative effects on its QoL, although some may cope without expressing abnormal behaviours. Dogs are social animals but cats may be quite content to live off, rather that with, people. Indeed, many cats avoid close physical contact with people and forcing them to interact with people may cause anxiety and aggression. The social life of cats in urban environments is complex due to the high density of cat populations and the requirement to time-share territories with other cats. Inter-cat aggression may cause anxiety to the loser and cats may become afraid to go outside because of this. Indoor conflicts between house cats may also cause anxiety and result in spraying and other undesirable behaviours. Monitoring the management of the animal being investigated This will include quantifying how it is restricted (cage, house, outdoors), how much exercise it gets (dogs), the amount of time spent with humans (dogs), nutrition and feeding, sleeping quarters, social circumstances, and ‘work’. Dogs are social animals and require interaction with other dogs or humans; living with one adult human is a major risk factor for separation anxiety. Feeding manufactured foodstuffs to dogs or cats continually to the exclusion of all other foods is probably unnecessary and the provision of supplements in the form of bones, dead rabbits or even dried pigs ears is probably of value to their QoL. Dogs often jealously guard such supplements while not valuing their normal food. Work for many dogs is probably important for their QoL; learning is fun if properly done. The sleeping quarters of a dog and its day-to-day living circumstances may be important in determining its level of comfort and consequently be useful as a measure of QoL. Determining the ‘needs’ of the particular animal with regard to its breed, rearing, training and use To assess QoL some understanding of the species needs or the needs of a particular breed or individual is required. The needs of small mammals such as rats and mice might be easily met within a normal household but some animals have high levels of need. A common observation is that dogs from working lines need lots of ‘work’ (e.g. working border collies) while other don’t appear to need much ‘work’ at all (e.g. Irish wolfhound). Cats may need to predate, and many that are well fed will predate constantly without eating their prey. Identifying pleasure behaviours and quantifying their frequency and regularity Expressions of pleasure in companion animals are easy to identify in some individual animals. A dog may enjoy lying in front of the fire with its owner or hunting or playing retrieve. Undertaking a physical examination to determine if there are signs of disease, painful conditions or injuries The physical health of an animal may be used to help assess its QoL. Sick or injured animals or those in chronic pain are likely to have poorer QoL than healthy animals. Monitoring the changes in an animal’s life as it ages is particularly important to assess QoL of old animals Response to owners, ability to exercise and go outside to toilet, eating habits, sleep and waking patterns and vocalisations are important parameters used in quantifying QoL of ageing companion animals. Assessing empathetically what is going on in the animal’s life To evaluate what an animal is experiencing some value may be given to what the caretaker or interested people might suggest. These suggestions may be valuable and as humans have lived with dogs for a long time we can probably justify our opinions as being of consequence. Conclusion The QoL of an animal may be assessed by examining its behaviour, the environment it lives in and how it is managed. Some specific behaviours, such as those indicative of chronic anxiety, can identify poor QoL management by caretakers, while having the facility to express a range of natural behaviour may indicate good QoL. The physical conditions underpinning the lifestyle of any animal are also important factors to consider in assessing QoL. References Mellor, D.J. and Stafford, K.J. (2008). Quality of life: A valuable concept or an unnecessary embellishment when considering animal welfare? In: The Welfare of Animals – It’s everyone’s business. Proceedings of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy International Conference, Conrad Jupiters, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, 31 August to 3 September 2008 (in press). Stafford, Kevin. (2006). The welfare of dogs. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.