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THE number and severity of inherited disorders with no apparent link to conformation were examined in pedigree dogs in the second part of a study that reviewed the impact of breeding for particular characteristics on the welfare of a... more
THE number and severity of inherited disorders with no apparent link to conformation were examined in pedigree dogs in the second part of a study that reviewed the impact of breeding for particular characteristics on the welfare of a breed (part one studied conformation-linked disorders related to
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The issue of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs is not a recent phenomenon and reports of suspected genetic defects associated with breeding practices date back to Charles... more
The issue of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs is not a recent phenomenon and reports of suspected genetic defects associated with breeding practices date back to Charles Darwin's time. In recent years, much information on the array of inherited defects has been assimilated and the true extent of the problem has come to light. Historically, the direction of research funding in the field of canine genetic disease has been largely influenced by the potential transferability of findings to human medicine, economic benefit and importance of dogs for working purposes. More recently, the argument for a more canine welfare-orientated approach has been made, targeting research efforts at the alleviation of the most suffering in the greatest number of animals. A method of welfare risk assessment was initially developed as a means of objectively comparing, and thus setting priorities for, different welfare problems. The method has been applied to inherited disorders in pedigree dogs to investigate which disorders have the greatest welfare impact and which breeds are most affected. Work in this field has identified 396 inherited disorders in the top 50 most popular breeds in the UK. This article discusses how the results of welfare risk assessment for inherited disorders can be used to develop strategies for improving the health and welfare of dogs in the long term. A new risk assessment criterion, the Breed-Disorder Welfare Impact Score (BDWIS), which takes into account the proportion of life affected by a disorder, is introduced. A set of health and welfare goals is proposed and strategies for achieving these goals are highlighted, along with potential rate-determining factors at each step.
Research Interests: Genetics, Decision Making, Breeding, Animal Welfare, Risk assessment, and 15 moreMedicine, Veterinary, Research Funding, Biological Sciences, Dogs, Welfare, Animals, Pedigree, Great Britain, Development Strategy, Risk Assessment, Breed, Economic Benefit, guidelines as topic, and Genetic predisposition to disease
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Psychology, Science Policy, Personality, Mental Health, and 12 moreMedicine, Multidisciplinary, Species, HSP, Neuroticism, Pca, SPS, PLoS one, Dimension, Score, Breed, and Factor
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ATTENTION has been drawn to certain conformational characteristics of dog breeds, stipulated in the UK Kennel Club (KC) breed standards, due to the detrimental effect they may have on welfare. This article, which is the first of a... more
ATTENTION has been drawn to certain conformational characteristics of dog breeds, stipulated in the UK Kennel Club (KC) breed standards, due to the detrimental effect they may have on welfare. This article, which is the first of a two-part study, examines the number, prevalence and impact of
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Behavioural synchrony has been a popular topic of research in group living animals, but has so far lacked a standard approach. Previous studies have varied greatly in the number of behavioural states they have considered and the size of... more
Behavioural synchrony has been a popular topic of research in group living animals, but has so far lacked a standard approach. Previous studies have varied greatly in the number of behavioural states they have considered and the size of groups investigated. Here, a model of behavioural synchrony was used to test four measures of synchrony commonly used (proportion observations 100% conforming, mean proportion of conforming individuals, Ruckstuhl's group mean and the kappa coefficient). The model used scan samples of the behaviour of laying hens, originally categorised in 10 different behavioural states, as a basis for determining the agents’ probability of performing behaviour states. We systematically varied the group size and the number of behavioural states in the model. The measures calculated from the behaviour of the model agents were compared against a synchrony factor that determined the ‘motivation’ of agents in the model to conform to the behaviour of other agents, for model runs with different group sizes and behavioural categories. The results of the model suggest that, of the measures considered, the kappa coefficient is the most suitable measure of synchrony. The kappa coefficient was the only measure of the four tested to control for expected levels of synchrony. Expected levels of synchrony are sensitive to both the number of behaviour states being examined and the size of the group, therefore observed levels of synchrony should be compared against expected levels to provide meaningful standardised measures.
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SummaryObjectives: To investigate the incidence of bilateral cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) rupture and determine any associated risk factors.Methods: The patient information system and surgical database at the Queen Mother Hospital for... more
SummaryObjectives: To investigate the incidence of bilateral cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) rupture and determine any associated risk factors.Methods: The patient information system and surgical database at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, Royal Veterinary College, were searched from March 1998 to March 2007. Patient files were reviewed and data recorded. The risk factors considered included: gender, neuter status, breed, body mass, age and concurrent orthopaedic disease.Results: In total, 511 dogs were identified as having cruciate rupture and included for analysis. Bilateral rupture of the CrCl was present in 38.7% (198/511) of the dogs. The mean (±SD) time that passed until the contra-lateral CrCL ruptured was 57.9 weeks (±54.1 range 3 to 260 weeks). Dogs with bilateral cruciate rupture were younger (mean ± SD 4.3 ± 2.7 years) than dogs with unilateral cruciate rupture (mean ± SD 5.3 ± 2.8 years). In dogs with CrCL rupture, male dogs were more likely to have bilateral rupture than female dogs, overweight dogs were more likely to have bilateral rupture, Golden Retrievers were less likely to have bilateral rupture, and Rottweilers had the highest odds of bilateral rupture.Clinical significance: In dogs with CrCL rupture, this study suggests possible relationships towards the incidence of a bilateral rupture also occurring as more likely in male dogs, young dogs with a mean age of four years (4.3 ± 2.7 years), Rottweiler dogs, and with an average elapsed time between ruptures of 57.9 weeks.
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Research Interests: Zoology, Mathematics, Social Behaviour, Social Groups, Animal Production, and 14 moreApplied Animal Behavior, Resource use, Social cohesion, Cluster Analysis, Spatial Distribution, Social dynamic, Environmental Conditions, Spatial Clustering, Veterinary Sciences, Music Information Dynamics, Perch, Poisson Distribution, Laying hen, and Video Recording
The United Kingdom pedigree-dog industry has faced criticism because certain aspects of dog conformation stipulated in the UK Kennel Club breed standards have a detrimental impact on dog welfare. A review of conformation-related disorders... more
The United Kingdom pedigree-dog industry has faced criticism because certain aspects of dog conformation stipulated in the UK Kennel Club breed standards have a detrimental impact on dog welfare. A review of conformation-related disorders was carried out in the top 50 UK Kennel Club registered breeds using systematic searches of existing information. A novel index to score severity of disorders along a single scale was also developed and used to conduct statistical analyses to determine the factors affecting reported breed predisposition to defects. According to the literature searched, each of the top 50 breeds was found to have at least one aspect of its conformation predisposing it to a disorder; and 84 disorders were either directly or indirectly associated with conformation. The Miniature poodle, Bulldog, Pug and Basset hound had most associations with conformation-related disorders. Further research on prevalence and severity is required to assess the impact of different disorders on the welfare of affected breeds.
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Abstract Two thousand one hundred twenty-seven potential guide dog puppies of 2 breeds and their crosses underwent a standardized applied-stimulus behavioral test at 6 weeks of age. The responses of the puppies were scored on a 7-point... more
Abstract Two thousand one hundred twenty-seven potential guide dog puppies of 2 breeds and their crosses underwent a standardized applied-stimulus behavioral test at 6 weeks of age. The responses of the puppies were scored on a 7-point scale according to either responsiveness (reaction to human assessor) or confidence (reaction to environmental stimuli) on stimuli comprising: following when called, retrieve, gentle restraint, noise, stroking, a toy squirrel, encouragement to go through a tunnel, and encouragement to go over a ramp. It has been shown previously that some of these stimuli showed association with success in guide dog training. The results of each component of the test were analyzed using restricted maximum likelihood univariate animal models, and 8 of the 11 estimated heritabilities were significantly different from zero. Most of the crossbreeding parameter estimates were not detectably larger than zero, likely reflecting the small size of the dataset and the relatively close relationship between the 2 pure breeds. These results suggest that the behavioral test results (and the estimated breeding values produced from them) could be useful in identifying which puppies to use as breeding stock.
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Chicks (<i>Gallus domesticus</i>) make a repetitive, high energy 'distress' call when stressed. Distress calls are a catch-all response to a range of environmental stressors, and elicit food calling and brooding from... more
Chicks (<i>Gallus domesticus</i>) make a repetitive, high energy 'distress' call when stressed. Distress calls are a catch-all response to a range of environmental stressors, and elicit food calling and brooding from hens. Pharmacological and behavioural laboratory studies link expression of this call with negative affective state. As such, there is an <i>a priori</i> expectation that distress calls on farms indicate not only physical, but emotional welfare. Using whole-house recordings on 12 commercial broiler flocks (<i>n</i> = 25 090–26 510/flock), we show that early life (day 1–4 of placement) distress call rate can be simply and linearly estimated using a single acoustic parameter: spectral entropy. After filtering to remove low-frequency machinery noise, spectral entropy per minute of recording had a correlation of −0.88 with a manual distress call count. In videos collected on days 1–3, age-specific behavioural correlates of distres...
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Laying hens are subject to many potential stressors which may impact egg production and hen welfare. This study will provide us with data on the impacts of stress (facilitated by social isolation) and heat change on salivary... more
Laying hens are subject to many potential stressors which may impact egg production and hen welfare. This study will provide us with data on the impacts of stress (facilitated by social isolation) and heat change on salivary corticosterone. Should we see enough variation in egg quality, we will assess the impacts of stress on parameters of egg quality. This study will allow us to validate the stress protocols for future use, in which a larger scale study can allow us to assess the use of egg quality as a proxy measure of stress in laying hens.
The relationship between parent and child changes around adolescence, with children believed to have: (i) an earlier puberty if they have less secure attachments to their carer; (ii) a phase of increased conflict behaviour toward their... more
The relationship between parent and child changes around adolescence, with children believed to have: (i) an earlier puberty if they have less secure attachments to their carer; (ii) a phase of increased conflict behaviour toward their carer; and (iii) heightened conflict behaviour when carer attachments are less secure. We find support for analogous associations in adolescent dogs based on behaviour and reproductive timing of potential guide dogs. Bitches with behaviour indicative of insecure attachments pre-adolescence became reproductively capable earlier. Providing the first empirical evidence in support of adolescent-phase behaviour in dogs, we found a passing phase of carer specific conflict-like behaviour during adolescence (reduced trainability and responsiveness to commands). An effect that was more pronounced in dogs with behaviour indicative of less secure attachments. These results indicate a possibility for cross-species influence on reproductive development and highlig...
Dataset analysed to identify acoustic correlates of distress calling
We reviewed the use of captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in scientific research published between 2000 and 2004. We estimated the numbers of birds used and documented their origin and the range of husbandry regimes employed... more
We reviewed the use of captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in scientific research published between 2000 and 2004. We estimated the numbers of birds used and documented their origin and the range of husbandry regimes employed with the aim of comparing current practice with the new European guidelines for husbandry of laboratory animals. Over the five-year period, 106 primary articles report the use of an estimated total of 2490 captive starlings. The majority of birds were caught from the wild either as adults or fledglings, and only 3% were hand-reared from chicks. There was considerable variation in husbandry. In the majority of cases, standards fell below those currently recommended as best practice in the UK and cited in new European guidelines. The median volume of home cages employed was 0.42 m3 (0.13–5.1 m3, interquartile range), whereas current recommendations suggest a minimum of 1.0 m3 for a singly-housed bird. The median volume of space allowed per bird was 0.13...
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Complete R code for the analysis
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Extended methods section
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26 Negative affect in humans and animals is known to cause individuals to interpret 27 ambiguous stimuli pessimistically, a phenomenon termed ‘cognitive bias’. Here, 28 we used captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to test the... more
26 Negative affect in humans and animals is known to cause individuals to interpret 27 ambiguous stimuli pessimistically, a phenomenon termed ‘cognitive bias’. Here, 28 we used captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to test the hypothesis that 29 a reduction in environmental conditions, from enriched to non-enriched cages, 30 would engender negative affect, and hence ‘pessimistic’ biases. We also explored 31 whether individual differences in stereotypic behaviour (repetitive somersaulting) 32 predicted ‘pessimism’. Eight birds were trained on a novel conditional 33 discrimination task with differential rewards, in which background shade (light or 34 dark) determined which of two covered dishes contained a food reward. The 35 reward was small when the background was light, but large when the background 36 was dark. We then presented background shades intermediate between those 37 trained to assess the birds’ bias to choose the dish associated with the smaller 38 food reward (a...