The effect of arousal during and post-training on memory consolidation in detection dogs

Memory consolidation is influenced by the environment. In companion dogs, treadmill exercise and social play are examples of post-learning arousal which improve retention performance. In humans, post-learning arousal is only beneficial when arousal is also experienced during learning. In dogs, the effect of arousal on performance during learning is dependent on dogs' arousal level, with low arousal dogs benefiting from arousal during learning and high arousal dogs' performance being negatively impacted by arousal during learning. This study investigated the effect of post-learning activities (social interaction, nonsocial toy access, control) on memory consolidation in candidate detection dogs learning an odor detection task. Physiological measures of arousal (cortisol and heart rate) were collected, and reward arousal scores from a pre-training temperament assessment were used as measures of steady state arousal. There was a three-way interaction between post-learning activity, training heart rate, and reward arousal on 24-hour hit rate (the number of correct alerts divided by number of target exposures). Dogs with low reward arousal in the social interaction group performed better with higher training heart rates, but dogs in the social interaction group with high reward arousal performed worse with higher training heart rates. Results of this study emphasize the importance of selecting training methods to meet the needs of individual dogs.