Investigating the bio-detection dog: cognition, behaviour and applications to human stress

The bio-detection paradigm allows for exploration into these areas by testing the scope of dogs’ abilities to discriminate between human odours. Results of this thesis provide evidence supporting the premise that the human stress response produces a change in odour that is detectable by dogs, with each study chapter highlighting areas of consideration, including the nature of this relationship outside of the laboratory setting, the practical limitations of bio-detection paradigms, and whether a popular protocol used to measure affective state in dogs should be used in repeated measure designs.

The final chapter provides a general discussion, which considers the implications of these study findings, discusses future directions of this work, and establishes how the methodologies developed and critiqued in this thesis may inform future research in this field.<br>