Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every four months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type, Setting, and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Animal Type and Topic, and only publications dated 2020 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Setting. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Protopopova, A., Hauser, H., Goldman, K. J. et al. 2018. The effects of exercise and calm interactions on in-kennel behavior of shelter dogs. Behavioural Processes 146, 54-60.

Over-activity, or excessive locomotion and barking in the kennel, may be unattractive to adopters and an indicator of poor welfare of kenneled dogs. The study assessed the efficacy of two common enrichment strategies, providing calm...

McGowan, R. T. S., Bolte, C., Barnett, H. R. et al. 2018. Can you spare 15?min? The measurable positive impact of a 15-min petting session on shelter dog well-being. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 42-54.

It is well established that human interaction has positive effects on shelter dogs. This work set out to answer the question: “Does one 15-min petting session make a difference for shelter dogs?” Fifty-five dogs were...

Riemer, S., Ellis, S. L. H., Thompson, H. et al. 2018. Reinforcer effectiveness in dogs—The influence of quantity and quality. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 206, 87-93.

Reinforcer effectiveness refers to the reinforcer’s ability to control the subject’s target behaviour and is therefore critical to training success. Yet animals’ preferences, and the effectiveness of different rewards to function as reinforcers, are often...

Mariti, C., Carlone, B., Protti, M. et al. 2018. Effects of petting before a brief separation from the owner on dog behavior and physiology: A pilot study. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 27, 41-46.

Human physical contact is known to be effective in decreasing dogs' level of stress, assessed through endocrine, physiological, and behavioral parameters. Gentle touching has been found to be beneficial for dogs while experiencing or after...

Torad, F. A., Hassan, E. A. 2018. Sedative, analgesic, and behavioral effects of nalbuphine-xylazine and nalbuphine-midazolam combinations in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 28, 40-45.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the sedative, analgesic, and behavioral effects of nalbuphine-xylazine (NX) and nalbuphine-midazolam (NM) combinations for neuroleptanalgesia in dogs. A prospective randomized crossover study was done on six...

Miranda, A., Pego, J. M., Correia-Pinto, J. 2017. Animal facility videoendoscopic intubation station: Tips and tricks from mice to rabbits. Laboratory Animals 51(2), 204-207.

Endotracheal intubation of laboratory animals is a common procedure shared by several research fields for different purposes, such as mechanical ventilation of anaesthetized animals, instillation of cytotoxic nanoparticles, infectious agents or tumour cells for induction...

Kluge, K., Larenza Menzies, M. P., Kloeppel, H. et al. 2017. Femoral and sciatic nerve blockades and incision site infiltration in rabbits undergoing stifle joint arthrotomy. Laboratory Animals 51(1), 54-64.

This study was designed to determine whether perineural injections of local anaesthetics decreases intraoperative nociception and improves postoperative analgesia in New Zealand White rabbits undergoing experimental stifle arthrotomy. All animals were anaesthetized using isoflurane and...

Martin-Flores, M., Singh, B., Walsh, C. A. 2017. Effects of buprenorphine, methylnaltrexone, and their combination on gastrointestinal transit in healthy New Zealand White rabbits. JAALAS 56(2), 155-159.

Among the many analgesic agents available, buprenorphine appears to be the analgesic used most often in rabbits. Unfortunately, deleterious side effects of opioids, such as gastrointestinal stasis and anorexia, may discourage the use of these...

Fernandes, J. G., Olsson, I. A. S., Vieira de Castro, A. C. 2017. Do aversive-based training methods actually compromise dog welfare?: A literature review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 196, 1-12.

The methods by which dogs are trained vary between methods involving mainly negative reinforcement and positive punishment (aversive-based methods) and methods based essentially in positive reinforcement and negative punishment (reward-based methods). However, the use of...

Carter, C. L, Adams, J. K., Czarra, J. A. et al. 2016. An incidence of pseudopregnancy associated with the social enrichment of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculi). JAALAS 55(1), 98-99.

Here we describe a case of pseudopregnancy in a New Zealand White rabbit as a result of pair housing with an aggressive conspecific. Clinical signs included fur pulling and nest building that developed shortly after...

Scullion Hall, L. E. M., Robinson, S. 2016. Implementing a successful positive reinforcement training protocol in laboratory-housed dogs. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(2), 83-88.

Training is recognised as important for laboratory animals, both to improve welfare and increase the efficiency of conducting husbandry and regulated procedures. Despite the acknowledged need for such training in the laboratory-housed dog and the...

Chiandetti, C., Avella, S., Fongaro, E. et al. 2016. Can clicker training facilitate conditioning in dogs? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 109-116.

In the attempt to verify clicker training efficacy in shaping dogs’ novel behaviours, we studied 51 domestic dogs. Learning was evaluated in three different conditions: when the primary reinforcer (food) was presented in association with...

Quadarella, M. A., Kundu, M. C., Alderfer, T. K. et al. 2016. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 4(4) (December), 47-49.

Our goal was to improve dog socialization by increasing novel human interactions, while also providing non-animal care staff opportunity to interact with the dogs. Our volunteer dog socialization program was developed to explore the possibility...

Horowitz, A., Hecht, J. 2016. Examining dog–human play: The characteristics, affect, and vocalizations of a unique interspecific interaction. Animal Cognition 19(4), 779–788.

Despite the growing interest in research on the interaction between humans and dogs, only a very few research projects focus on the routines between dogs and their owners. In this study, we investigated one such...

Kiddie, J., Collins, L. 2015. Identifying environmental and management factors that may be associated with the quality of life of kenneled dogs (Canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 167, 43-55.

This paper describes the use of a validated quality of life assessment tool (described elsewhere) to identify environmental and management factors that may affect quality of life in dogs kennelled in rehoming centres. Dogs were...

Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for...

Zenithson, Y. G., Pierce, B. J., Otto, C. M. et al. 2014. The effect of dog-human interaction on cortisol and behavior in registered animal-assisted activity dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 159, 69-81.

The effect of animal-assisted activities (AAA) on the animal participants has been minimally investigated, and the welfare of these animals has been questioned. To enhance our understanding of these animals’ welfare, we measured cortisol collected...

Nicholson, G., Sheldon, E. L., Hamilton, J. et al. 2014. Sand pools as a novel enrichment for rabbits. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 571. (Abstract #P83).

For anyone who has housed rabbits in an artificial plastic environment, what to provide as a nonfood enrichment can be an issue. Nonfood enrichment, or environmental enrichment, can be any toy, engaging sights or sounds...

McGowan, R. T. S., Rehn, T., Norling, Y. et al. 2014. Positive affect and learning: Exploring the “Eureka Effect” in dogs. Animal Cognition 17(3), 577–587.

Animals may experience positive affective states in response to their own achievements. We investigated emotional responses to problem-solving in dogs, separating these from reactions to rewards per se using a yoked control design. We also...

Piccione, G., Arfuso, F., Giannetto, C. et al. 2013. Effect of housing conditions and owner's schedule on daily total locomotor activity in dogs (Canis familiaris). Biological Rhythm Research 44, 778-786.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of housing conditions on daily rhythm of total locomotor activity in dogs. Seven clinically healthy dogs (Canis familiaris) were used and divided into two groups...

Shiverdecker, M. D., Schiml, P. A., Hennessy, M. B. 2013. Human interaction moderates plasma cortisol and behavioral responses of dogs to shelter housing. Physiology & Behavior 109, 75-79.

Housing in an animal shelter is a stressful experience for dogs. This study examined the effects of different forms of human interaction on concentrations of circulating cortisol and stress-related behaviors of dogs within 40 h...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...

Savastano, G. M. 2013. Operant conditioning with laboratory beagles. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 619 (Abstract #PS57).

There is increased regulatory emphasis on positive reinforcement training for husbandry, research procedures, and restraint devices. We practice acclimation, association, and positive reinforcement training with our beagle colony with goals to reduce stress for dogs...

Andrist, C. A., Bigler, L. M., Wurbel, H. W. et al. 2012. Effects of group stability on aggression, stress and injuries in breeding rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 142(3-4), 182-188.

On Swiss rabbit breeding farms, group-housed does are usually kept singly for 12 days around parturition to avoid pseudogravidity, double litters and deleterious fighting for nests. After this isolation phase there is usually an integration...

Watts, N., Crimes, S. 2012. Novel canine housing in the United Kingdom: A welfare perspective. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 17(3), 3.

Since opening in 2008, a consistent observation has been that the dogs are significantly quieter and easier to handle in their new surroundings in comparison to the old facility. This may be due to specific...