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Aspects of juvenile and adolescent environment predict aggression and fear in 12-month-old guide dogs
| Contributor(s):: Serpell, J. A., Duffy, D. L.
Maturational changes in behavior, and the possible influence of the puppy-raising environment on behavioral development, were investigated in a total sample of 978 prospective guide dogs belonging to four different breeds/crosses. All dogs belonged to the same guide dog organization, and had...
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Protein expression and genetic variability of canine Can f 1 in golden and Labrador retriever service dogs
| Contributor(s):: Breitenbuecher, C., Belanger, J. M., Levy, K., Mundell, P., Fates, V., Gershony, L., Famula, T. R., Oberbauer, A. M.
Background: Valued for trainability in diverse tasks, dogs are the primary service animal used to assist individuals with disabilities. Despite their utility, many people in need of service dogs are sensitive to the primary dog allergen, Can f 1, encoded by the Lipocalin 1 gene (LCN1). Several...
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Behavioural response of pure Ankole and crossbred (Ankole * Holstein) cows to seasonal pasture variations in south-western Uganda
| Contributor(s):: Idibu, J., Kabi, F., Mpairwe, D.
This study evaluated the effects of season and pasture species on variations in sward composition, pasture quantity (plant-height and biomass) and quality [crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD)]. Behavioural responses of a group of 10...
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Agonistic behaviour, skin lesions and activity pattern of entire male, female and castrated male finishing pigs
| Contributor(s):: Bunger, B., Schrader, L., Schrade, H., Zacharias, B.
Fattening of intact boars is the least invasive alternative to the detrimental welfare effects of surgical castration of piglets. However, beside problems such as boar taint the divergent agonistic and sexual behaviour of boars may impair the pigs' welfare during fattening. To evaluate the...
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Conformation analysis of horses used in equine-assisted activities at Polish hippotherapeutic centers
| Contributor(s):: Lojek, J., Pluta, M., Ciesla, A., Domachowska, A., Przybylowicz, N., Lojek, A.
The objective of the research was to determine the basic conformation traits of horses of different breeds performing hippotherapeutic service at chosen equine therapy centers. The research material included a total of 47 horses from 9 centers: Warsaw (7 horses), Bydgoszcz (6), Lublin and the...
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Breed characteristics of abandoned and lost dogs in the Czech Republic
| Contributor(s):: Voslarova, E., Zak, J., Vecerek, V., Bedanova, I.
Records on sheltered dogs were collected from 3 municipal dog shelters situated in different regions of the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2013. A total of 3,875 dogs were analyzed in this study. Among these, 1,614 dogs were subsequently reclaimed (lost dogs) and 2,261 dogs were abandoned and...
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Acoustic analysis of cattle ( Bos taurus) mother-offspring contact calls from a source-filter theory perspective
| Contributor(s):: Torre, M. P. de la, Briefer, E. F., Reader, T., McElligott, A. G.
Cattle vocalisations have been proposed as potential indicators of animal welfare. However, very few studies have investigated the acoustic structure and information encoded in these vocalisations using advanced analysis techniques. Vocalisations play key roles in a wide range of communication...
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Effects of growth-promoting technology on feedlot cattle behavior in the 21 days before slaughter
| Contributor(s):: Stackhouse-Lawson, K. R., Tucker, C. B., Calvo-Lorenzo, M. S., Mitloehner, F. M.
There is growing interest in the animal welfare implications of growth-promoting technology used in feedlot cattle, namely hormonal implants, ionophores, antibiotics and β 2-adrenergic agonists. Previous studies have focused on the effects of implants on aggression, but little work has...
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Variations in the timing of reinforcement as a training technique for foals ( Equus caballus )
| Contributor(s):: Warren-Smith, A. K., McLean, A. N., Nicol, H. I., McGreevy, P. D.
Horses are used worldwide for a range of activities. Their usefulness and welfare in these pursuits are strongly influenced by their trainability, which may in turn be influenced by learning ability. Handling and riding horses can expose both handler and horse to a considerable risk of injury....
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Differences in open field behavior between heterozygous and homozygous negative gilts for the RYR(1) gene
| Contributor(s):: Fabrega, E., Diestre, A., Font, J., Carrion, D., Velarde, A., Ruiz-de-la-Torre, J. L., Manteca, X.
A test widely used to assess fear and novelty responses in domestic species is the open field. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of RYR(1) genotype on open field behavior in growing pigs. The study subjected 15 heterozygous (Nn) and 15 RYR(1)-free (NN) gilts of 19 weeks of age...
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Human interaction as environmental enrichment for pair-housed wolves and wolf-dog crosses
| Contributor(s):: Mehrkam, L. R., Verdi, N. T., Wynne, C. D. L.
Private nonhuman animal sanctuaries are often financially limited in their ability to implement traditional environmental enrichment strategies. One possible solution may be to provide socialized animals with human interaction sessions. However, the merit of human interaction as enrichment has...
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Effects of stocking rate on measures of efficacy and welfare during carbon dioxide gas euthanasia of young pigs
| Contributor(s):: Fiedler, K. J., Parsons, R. L., Sadler, L. J., Millman, S. T.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of chamber stocking rate on facets of animal welfare and efficacy during gas euthanasia of young pigs ( Sus scrofa domesticus). Crossbred pigs (390 neonatal and 270 weaned) designated for euthanasia at production farms were randomly assigned...
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The effect of breed on age-related changes in behavior and disease prevalence in cognitively normal older community dogs, Canis lupus familiaris
| Contributor(s):: Salvin, H. E., McGreevy, P. D., Sachdev, P. S., Valenzuela, M. J.
Variation in breed longevity in the dog has led to the inference that large dogs age at a faster rate than small dogs, possibly because of an increased oxidative load. Potential differences in behavioral aging (the rate of age-related decline in cognito-behavioral performance) across breeds...
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Suitability for field service in 4 breeds of guide dogs
| Contributor(s):: Ennik, I., Liinamo, A. E., Leighton, E., Arendonk, J. van
This study examines the relative importance of a longer than normal 4-month training period, or being "passed back" from the original training class to join a class in which dogs are at an earlier stage of their training, on the overall probability that a dog entering guide dog training...
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Applied animal behaviour science. (Special issue: Suckling)
| Contributor(s):: Lidfors, L., Svennersten-Sjaunja, K., Redbo, I.
This supplement contains articles that focus on behavioural and physiological aspects of suckling and/or sucking in ruminants. Abnormal sucking behaviour, particularly cross-sucking and non-nutritive sucking, in calves are presented; and the effects of milk flow and milk volume, the presence of a...
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Breed and sex differences in the behavioural attributes of specialist search dogs - a questionnaire survey of trainers and handlers
| Contributor(s):: Rooney, N. J., Bradshaw, J. W. S.
The behavioural characteristics of specialist search dogs were examined using a survey of 244 dog handlers and trainers. The English Springer Spaniel was the most common breed, followed by the Labrador Retriever, cross breeds and the Border Collie. Individuals of these four breeds varied...
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Comparison of methods to assess fear of humans in sows
| Contributor(s):: Scott, K., Laws, D. M., Courboulay, V., Meunier-Salaun, M. C., Edwards, S. A.
The aims of this study were to compare three different methods to assess fear of humans in sows, and identify the most practical and reliable method for on-farm welfare assessment. Fifty-five crossbred sows (Landrace x Large White x Duroc) of different parities and stages of pregnancy were each...
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Dimensions of maternal behaviour characteristics in domestic and wild x domestic crossbred sows
| Contributor(s):: Spinka, M., Illmann, G., Jonge, F. de, Andersson, M., Schuurman, T., Jensen, P.
We examined the maternal behaviour of seven domestic and seven wildxdomestic primiparous sows during 10 days post partum at the Wageningen Agricultural University, Neatherlands during April-June 1997 to investigate two questions: (1) Did maternal behaviour change during domestication? (2) Can the...
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Episodic-like memory in crossbred Yucatan minipigs (Sus scrofa)
| Contributor(s):: Kouwenberg, A. L., Walsh, C. J., Morgan, B. E., Martin, G. M.
Episodic-like memory, involving simultaneous recall of what, where and when aspects of a past event, has been demonstrated in some non-human species and is hippocampal-dependent. Our study explored episodic-like memory in pigs, a previously un-studied species that has shown evidence of highly...
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Evidence of a limited role for prolactin in the preparturient activity of confined gilts
| Contributor(s):: Rushen, J., Robert, S., Farmer, C.
To investigate the role of peripheral prolactin in stimulating the preparturient activity of pigs, 12 cross-bred gilts housed in standard farrowing crates either received orally 10 mg of bromocriptine three times per day from day 110 of gestation or served as controls. Jugular blood samples were...
