![]() ![]() During last years, changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns have been evidenced in Italy, with events of extreme heat, torrential rains lasting for days and sudden and violent thunderstorms increasingly frequent ( 18), likely leading owners to change their routine based on the weather conditions. Since extreme weather events, including thunderstorms, torrential rains, and flooding, are predicted to rise in frequency and severity ( 16), increased attention is necessary to identify and implement adaptation strategies ( 17). Moreover, performance in animals falls below its optimum during cooling and warming ( 15). Direct effects of climatic warming are related to decrements in the organism's performance in growth, reproduction, foraging, immune competence, competitiveness, and behaviors. Thermal windows evolved to be as narrow as possible to minimize maintenance costs, resulting in functional differences, between species and subspecies in various climate zones and between populations of a species ( 15). All organisms live within a limited range of body temperatures, and temperature extremes result in functional constraints. Climate change is listed among the World Health Organization's top ten threats to Global Health in 2019, with heat-related illness predicted to contribute to an additional 250,000 human deaths annually by 2030 ( 14). Global climate change is a One Health crisis, threatening both animal and human health ( 12, 13). Intense weather events could affect both factors, modifying human management and aggravating pre-existing behavioral problems, since owners could significantly change their habits and schedules based on the weather. Over the years, co-evolution shaped the relationship between humans and pets, influencing human management and pets' behavior. Those owners are prone to invest considerable resources for food and water requirements, living spaces, health conditions, and even pet's emotions and feelings ( 9– 11). ![]() Many owners consider their dogs and cats as family members and show great concern for their wellbeing. ![]() However, according to Vetnosis and European Pet Food Industry Federation, in 2014, there were 223 million registered companion dogs and 220 million registered companion cats worldwide. Worldwide, the statistics describing the numbers of companion animals are scarce. Many aspects of human society benefit from pets: simple companionship, but also work services, such as visual and hearing assistance dogs, medical detection dogs, and military working dogs ( 7, 8). Many of these roles depend on physical activity, but it has been shown that also children and teenage development may benefit from living with pets ( 3– 6). Understanding how pets modify their behaviors based on a different owners' schedule and to weather events can help to refine prevention strategies through societal changes and owner education.Īround the world, companion animals are part of human societies ( 1, 2), and provide people with companionship, improved mental and physical health (including reduced depression, increased levels of oxytocin and decreased blood pressure and cholesterol levels), and expanded social networks. Weather events did not affect aggressive and house soiling behaviors in both dogs and cats, but weather events, including wild thunderstorms, torrential rains influenced the pets' behavior. In particular, the increase in activity in correspondence with the thermic drop was more significant in males, while the increase in playing behavior was statistically greater in the Sheepdogs and Cattle dogs –group1. Play and activity increased with cold weather and decreased with heat, and sleep increased with drops in temperature and with hot weather. Our study showed that many behaviors in both species were equally modified by environmental temperature. A number of 392 dogs and 426 cats' owners answered the questionnaire. Two questionnaires were prepared, one for dogs and one for cats, investigating owners' perceptions of the impact of weather events on their pets' behavior. The aims of the present study were to identify and quantify possible weather events impact on management, behavior, and behavioral problems of Italian dogs and cats, based on previous owners' experiences with their animals. Intense weather events, including sudden and violent thunderstorms or periods of extreme heat, are predicted to rise in frequency and severity and this could lead owners to significantly change their habits and schedules based on the weather, could modify human management and could aggravate pre-existing behavioral problems in pets.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |