The aim of this study was to investigate if the dog’s behaviour and the interactions between the dog and the owner   differ depending on lifestyle, breed or sex of the dog. For this we employed the Strange Situation Procedure, a test inspired from Mary Ainsworth´s study,   which investigated the attachment of human infants to their mothers. There were two breeds, Border collie and Shetland sheepdog and a total of 58 dogs that participated in this study. The two breeds were divided into two lifestyles, competition dogs and pet dogs. A PCA was used to find correlations between the behavioural variables and the factors were then analysed in a Mann Whitney U test to test the differences between breed, sex and lifestyle. In this study no differences in behaviour between the two lifestyles were shown. However, the results showed that there were some differences between the two breeds and between the two sexes in behavioural expressions. The differences between the breeds were quite expected because there are many different breeds today which are selected for various morphology and behavioural traits which could influence their behaviour. The difference in behaviour between the two sexes can be because of evolutionary heredity. Further studies on this subject should have bigger and more even sample size, longer separation time, a more balanced gender distribution of the owners and to also analyze the cortisol levels.

Dogs have lived with us for thousands of years, so we have learned to understand one another. Dogs have been shown to synchronize their behavior with humans. Behavioral synchronization is characterizes by doing the same thing at the same time and in the same place as someone else. This synchronization is often dependent on the relationship and the emotional state of the individuals. The main aim in this study was to develop a method to test behavioral synchronization and also to investigate how this, but also other behaviors, are effect by preceding human-dog interactions. Privately owned dogs (N=21) were tested with three different treatments (play, pet or ignore). The test procedure consisted of the owner walking or standing still in a predefined pattern, while their dog was freely roaming. This study showed that dogs adapted their movement pattern to their owners. This was similar to previous studies showing that the method developed can be used to test behavioral synchronization between owner and dog. Dogs explored the test arena less after play interaction and they also tended to seek more eye contact with their owners, but the interactions did not affect how much time spent in human proximity, how much they followed them or on dogs movement pattern.

El objetivo de esta investigación es explorar las representaciones mentales del vínculo humano-animal en adultos responsables del cuidado de mascotas caninas quienes pertenecen al sector socioeconómico medio limeño. Para tal propósito, desde el paradigma cualitativo, se utilizó un diseño fenomenológico a partir de un grupo heterogéneo, ubicado dentro de los tres estadíos del desarrollo humano adulto propuestos por Papalia et al. (2012). Los participantes oscilan entre 21 y 65 años, siendo los dueños y responsables totales de una mascota donde reconocen la existencia de un vínculo significativo, el cual tiene una duración mayor a dos años. Para recoger la información se utilizó la técnica de entrevista conversacional y guía conversacional. Los resultados evidenciaron que la mascota representa una figura de apego, que corresponde a una base segura caracterizada por los principios que rigen al vínculo humano-animal de Katcher(1993). Esta representa una fuente de apoyo y comprensión significativa en momentos de estrés y angustia, así como también influencia positivamente en el autoconcepto de los dueños al sentirse valorados, reconocidos y útiles. Este vínculo es capaz de impulsar la capacidad de agencia reflejado en emprendimientos en los participantes, así como resultar terapéutica, al facilitar el tránsito de experiencias de pérdidas. No obstante, fantasear con la pérdida de la mascota conlleva a proyectar sentimientos de tristeza, malestar e ira depositadas en las conductas del animal, percibiendo que esta pérdida podría desembocar una depresión. Esto revela cuán importante es comprender el vínculo humano-animal en nuestra sociedad, pues puede impactar desarrollando síntomas y padecimientos psicológicos. / The objective of this research is to explore the mental representations of the human-animal bond in adults responsible for the care of canine pets who belong to the middle socioeconomic sector of Lima. For this purpose, from the qualitative paradigm, a phenomenological design was used from a heterogeneous group, located within the three stages of adult human development proposed by Papalia et al.(2012). The participants range between 21 and 65 years, being the owners and total responsible for a pet where they recognize the existence of a significant bond, which lasts more than two years. To collect the information, the conversational interview and conversational guide technique was used. The results showed that the pet represents an attachment figure, which corresponds to a secure base characterized by the principles that govern the human-animal bond of Katcher (1993). This represents a source of significant support and understanding in times of stress and anguish, as well as a positive influence on the owners' self-concept by feeling valued, recognized and useful. This bond is capable of boosting the agency capacity reflected in entrepreneurship in the participants, as well as being therapeutic, by facilitating the transit of experiences of loss. However, fantasizing about the loss of the pet leads to projecting feelings of sadness, discomfort and anger deposited in the behavior of the animal, perceiving that this loss could lead to depression. This reveals how important it is to understand the human-animal bond in our society, as it can impact developing symptoms and psychological ailments. / Tesis

During the Great War, the horse was essential to military efficiency. Horses hauled artillery guns, transported vital supplies and ammunition, and carried men into battle. The military horse was, in fact, a weapon. Many thousands of horses were purchased and supplied to the British Expeditionary Force at great expense, because without them an Army could not function. Although the British Army was the most modern of all the belligerent forces during the Great War, the horse was nevertheless favoured because of its reliability and versatility. For example, horses coped much better than motor vehicles where the going was difficult. It was horse-power that ensured the Army’s lines-of-communication were maintained. Indeed, without an adequate supply of horses it is probable that the British Army would not have achieved victory in 1918. However, the military horse was also a weapon which quickly broke down when it was not properly maintained. The British Army had learned this to its cost during the Boer War, when more horses had been killed by bad management than by enemy action. Good horse management in the field depended upon the soldier. It was essential that he had received adequate training, and it was also essential that he take responsibility for his horse’s well-being. During the Great War, all soldiers given ‘ownership’ of a horse were taught to put their horse’s needs before their own, and to always think first of their horse. They were taught to see their horse in the same way as an infantryman would his rifle; as something he may have cause to rely upon and which it was therefore in his best interests to look after. The soldier-horse relationship developed once the soldier’s care became one of sympathetic consideration. Soldiers and their horses spent most of their lives together when on active service, and it was this close proximity which helped to bond them into a unit. Many soldiers came to see their horses as comrades; they named them, and went to great lengths to protect their horses from harm. From the Army’s perspective, the soldier-horse relationship ensured that an expensive military asset was properly maintained. At home, portrayals of the soldier-horse relationship extended this vital contribution to the war effort beyond the battlefield. For example, images and stories that told of the soldier’s kindness to his horse bolstered a positive illusion the British had of themselves as a people capable of both strength and compassion. Images of the soldier-horse relationship played an important part in helping the British people to imagine war. They also provided much-needed comfort and reassurance when friends and loved ones were in danger. Importantly, by studying these portrayals dispassionately, we find that they were never entire flights of fancy, and often bore more than a passing resemblance to the soldier’s actual experience. Indeed, it becomes possible to question whether sense and sentimentality ever did entirely part company in the British imagination. Like their flesh and blood inspiration, portrayals of the soldier-horse relationship have not received the attention they merit. By rectifying this oversight, this thesis not only contributes to study of the horse-human relationship, but also to our knowledge of the Great War. Not least, because we achieve a better appreciation of what it was like to live in the War’s shadow.

Equestrian sports are amongst the largest sports and leisure activities in Sweden. One of the major reasons for engaging with horses is the bond to the horse. Just recently technology has found its way into the horse industry which otherwise is a very traditional sport. This paper explores possible consequences technology may have in the future in the environment around horses and on the horse-rider relationship. The exploration was done by combining auto-ethnographic research and a co-speculation workshop. The ideas that were gathered were then the starting point for the creation of a design fiction, in which the ideas were developed and explored. The design fiction also serves as an approachable way of mediating the consequences of technology to the equestrian community. The imagined technology for equestrian sports had both positive and negative impact on the sport and the relationship between horse and human. / Ridsporten är en av Sveriges mest populära idrotter. En av de viktigaste anledningarna till att hålla på med hästar är relationen till hästen, enligt dess utövare. Nyligen har tekniken hittat in i ridsporten, som annars är en mycket traditionell sport, i form av sensorteknik, träningsappar och videoövervakning. Trots ridsportens utbredning, är tekniken eftersatt i förhållande till andra idrotter. Detta arbete utforskar, analyserar och diskuterar möjliga konsekvenser som tekniken kan medföra i framtiden i miljön kring hästar, i ridsporten och på relationen mellan häst och ryttare. Studien utfördes genom att kombinera etnografiska metoder och en spekulativ workshop ihop med ryttare. Idéerna från dessa blev utgångspunkten för skapandet av en fiktiv tidning, i vilken idéerna vidareutvecklades och utforskades i sitt sammanhang. Den fiktiva tidningen fungerar även som ett sätt att förmedla studien och dess resultat till ridsportens utövare. Teknikens frammarsch i ridsporten kan tänkas ha både positiv och negativ inverkan på sporten och relationen mellan häst och ryttare.

No description available.