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Study reveals how dogs perceive objects
Pictured: Nalani the dog, image (C) Sonja De Laat Spierings.
Researchers suggest dogs experience multisensory mental images.

A new study has shed light on how dogs think about their toys, suggesting that dogs experience a multisensory mental representation of objects.

Researchers from the Family Dog Project, led by ELTE University, Budapest, found that dogs have 'multi-modal mental image' of their familiar object – when thinking about an object, they imagine the object's different sensory features.

Three Gifted Word Learner (GWL) dogs – those who can learn the name of objects – and 10 typical family dogs were trained to fetch a toy associated with a reward, using treats and praise. 

Following this, researchers then conducted an experiment to observe how the dogs searched for the targeted toy, placed among four other toys. 

This was done both with the lights on and with the lights off, and all of the dogs were successful in selecting the trained toys in both conditions, though it took them longer to locate the toys in the dark. Detailed behavioural analysis revealed that all of the dogs sniffed more in the dark.

Another experiment was then conducted with the GWL dogs to discover whether hearing the verbal label of the object activates a multisensory mental representation. The GWL dogs were tested on their ability to recognise objects based on their name under both light and dark conditions. 

The success rate in recognising the toys was the same under bother conditions, but the search behaviour used did, suggesting that the dogs could use different sensory modalities flexibly. 

Published in Animal Cognition, the study reveals that when dogs play with a toy, they pay attention to its different features, and register the information using multiple senses.

The full paper can be accessed via this link, and is open access. 

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
New guidance for antibiotic use in rabbits

New best practice guidance on the responsible use of antibiotics in rabbits has been published by the BSAVA in collaboration with the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWA&F).

The guidance is free and has been produced to help veterinary practitioners select the most appropriate antibiotic for rabbits. It covers active substance, dose and route of administration all of which are crucial factors when treating rabbits owing to the risk of enterotoxaemia.

For more information and to access the guide, visit the BSAVALibrary.