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Cognitive characteristics of 8- to 10-week-old assistance dog puppies
Contributor(s):: Bray, E. E., Gruen, M. E., Gnanadesikan, G. E., Horschler, D. J., Levy, K. M., Kennedy, B. S., Hare, B. A., MacLean, E. L.
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Puppy Temperament Assessments Predict Breed and American Kennel Club Group but Not Adult Temperament
Contributor(s):: Robinson, Lauren M., Thompson, Rebekah Skiver, Ha, James C.
Puppy assessments for companion dogs have shown mixed long-term reliability. Temperament is cited among the reasons for surrendering dogs to shelters. A puppy temperament test that reliably predicts adult behavior is one potential way to lower the number of dogs given to shelters. This study used...
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Temperamental turkeys: Reliability of behavioural responses to four tests of fear
Contributor(s):: Erasmus, Marisa, Swanson, Janice
Open field (OF), tonic immobility (TI), voluntary approach (VA) and novel object (NO) tests are used to assess fear responses, activity levels and coping styles of poultry. Fear tests are also used as part of welfare assessment programmes. Little is known about fear responses of turkeys....
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Personality in felids: A review
Contributor(s):: Gartner, Marieke Cassia, Weiss, Alexander
Although there has been an increase in felid personality research, much more work is needed, with only 20 published studies, 17 of which focused on the domestic cat. Most studies show important implications for this type of research, but there is no consensus on terminology, method, or...
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Personality assessment in African elephants (Loxodonta africana): Comparing the temporal stability of ethological coding versus trait rating
Contributor(s):: Horback, Kristina M., Miller, Lance J., Kuczaj, Stan A.
The consistency of personality assessment was addressed in this study of 12 zoological African elephants living at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, CA, USA during the 2010 and 2011 summer seasons. Using 480h of observational behavior data, three personality traits were determined based...
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A novel approach to systematically compare behavioural patterns between and within groups of horses
Contributor(s):: Ellis, Andrea D., Stephenson, Melissa, Preece, Michaela, Harris, Pat
This study piloted a multiple aspect approach to assess differences or changes in equine behaviour, using physiological (heart rates – HR, salivary cortisol – SC) and behavioural measures in various routine (feed-time, riding, turning out) and test situations (novel situation tests NS: 2×...
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Behavioural and physiological responses of heifer calves to acute stressors: Long-term consistency and relationship with adult reactivity to milking
Contributor(s):: Van Reenen, Cornelis G., Van der Werf, Jozef T. N., O’Connell, Niamh E., Heutinck, Leonie F. M., Spoolder, Hans A. M., Jones, R. Bryan, Koolhaas, Jaap M., Blokhuis, Harry J.
The present study investigated the long-term consistency of individual differences in dairy cattles’ responses in tests of behavioural and hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis reactivity, as well as the relationship between responsiveness in behavioural tests and the reaction to first...
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Behavioral differences among breeds of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris): Current status of the science
Contributor(s):: Mehrkam, Lindsay R., Wynne, Clive D. L.
In both popular media and scientific literature, it is commonly stated that breeds of dogs differ behaviorally in substantial, consistent and predictable ways. Since the mid-twentieth century, scientists have asked whether meaningful behavioral differences exist between breeds of dogs. Today,...
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Age over experience: Consistency of aggression and mounting behaviour in male and female pigs
Contributor(s):: Clark, Corinna C. A., D’Eath, Richard B.
Excessive aggression between pigs at mixing is a welfare and production issue resulting in stress, injuries and economic losses. If it can be demonstrated that aggression is a consistent behaviour trait, it might provide a means to reduce these losses. To test for consistency of aggressiveness,...
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Who's afraid of the big bad glove? Testing for fear and its correlates in mink
Contributor(s):: Meagher, Rebecca K., Duncan, Ian, Bechard, Allison, Mason, Georgia J.
Fear in farm animals is a welfare and economic concern. For Scandinavian mink, the “stick test” is common for assessing fearfulness: a spatula is inserted into the cage and minks’ immediate responses are noted. However, on Ontario farms, fearfulness in the stick test was very rare and aggressive...
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Validation of an algorithm for real-time measurement of sheep activity in confinement by recording movement within a commercial weighing crate
Contributor(s):: Horton, Brian J., Miller, Dale R.
This study reports a method of measuring sheep activity in confinement based on recording movement of sheep during weighing. The aim was to show that an algorithm to analyse continuous weight records could be used to measure activity quickly and efficiently using commercial weighing equipment and...
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Selection for temperament in sheep: Domain-general and context-specific traits
Contributor(s):: Beausoleil, Ngaio J., Blache, Dominique, Stafford, Kevin J., Mellor, David J., Noble, Alasdair D. L.
Sheep at the University of Western Australia have been selectively bred for behavioral responses to isolation and human presence in an arena test, resulting in the creation of two divergent lines: More Active (MA) and Less Active (LA). The aim of this study was to determine whether selection was...
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Reducing the incidence of net cage biting and the expression of escape-related behaviors in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) with feeding and cage enrichment
Contributor(s):: Zimmermann, Emily W., Purchase, Craig F., Fleming, Ian A.
The escape of fish from aquaculture is a persistent economic problem for farmers as well as an environmental problem that threatens wild fish population as a consequence of potential negative ecological and genetic interactions. Farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) cause significant damage by...
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Reactivity to humans and fearfulness tests: Field validation in Polish Cold Blood Horses
Contributor(s):: Górecka-Bruzda, Aleksandra, Jastrzębska, Ewa, Sosnowska, Zofia, Jaworski, Zbigniew, Jezierski, Tadeusz, Chruszczewski, Michał H.
The aim of the present paper was to examine in field conditions the feasibility of the experimentally developed behavioural tests for assessment of two temperamental traits of cold blood horses: fearfulness and reactivity to humans. The predictive, convergent and discriminant validity of the...
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Predictive validity of a method for evaluating temperament in young guide and service dogs
Contributor(s):: Duffy, Deborah L., Serpell, James A.
As part of a collaborative project involving five guide and service dog organizations in the USA (Canine Companions for Independence, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Leader Dogs for the Blind and The Seeing Eye), volunteer puppy raisers provided information about the...
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Measures of behavioural reactivity and their relationships with production traits in sheep: A review
Contributor(s):: Dodd, Cathy L., Pitchford, Wayne S., Hocking Edwards, Janelle E., Hazel, Susan J.
This paper defines the concept of temperament and discusses the use of behavioural reactivity testing in sheep. The range of behavioural tests used in sheep are categorised and the aspects of behaviour reflected by each type of test discussed. The activation of nervous and endocrine pathways is...
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Individual differences in calf defence patterns in Red Angus beef cows
Contributor(s):: Flörcke, Cornelia, Engle, Terry E., Grandin, Temple, Deesing, Mark J.
The objective of this study was to evaluate differences in individual calf defence behaviour patterns and maternal protective behaviour of beef cows 24h after calving. A single herd was observed on an extensive ranch in Colorado, USA. A total of 341 cow–calf pairs (95% Red Angus and 5%...
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The genetics of temperament in Merino sheep and relationships with lamb survival
Contributor(s):: Plush, Kate J., Hebart, Michelle L., Brien, Forbes D., Hynd, Philip I.
Investigations were made into the genetics of several temperament traits in Merino ewes, with particular emphasis on those aspects which might be associated with maternal behaviour at lambing and consequently, the postnatal survival of lambs. If a beneficial relationship between ewe temperament...
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Early rearing interacts with temperament and housing to influence the risk for motor stereotypy in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)
Contributor(s):: Vandeleest, Jessica J., McCowan, Brenda, Capitanio, John P.
Laboratory and zoo housed non-human primates sometimes exhibit abnormal behaviors that are thought to reflect reduced well-being. Previous research attempted to identify risk factors to aid in the prevention and treatment of these behaviors, and focused on demographic (e.g. sex or age) and...
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Consistency of flight speed and response to restraint in a crush in dairy cattle
Contributor(s):: Gibbons, Jenny M., Lawrence, Alistair B., Haskell, Marie J.
Flight speed (FS) is an objective measure of the behavioural response to handling procedures in beef cattle but to date there is no published work on dairy cattle. It is useful to determine whether there is consistency in FS in dairy cattle, and assess the relationship between FS and other...
