Lateralised behaviour as a predictor of welfare risk in the domestic dog, Canis familiaris

偏侧行为作为家犬福利风险的预测因子，Canisamilis

• 批准号: BB/J021385/1
• 负责人: Deborah Wells
• 金额: $ 41.86万
• 依托单位: Queen's University Belfast
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2014 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FJ021385%2F1
• 关键词: Lateralised; behaviour; predictor; welfare; risk

The ability to predict an animal's susceptibility to suffer from poor welfare would enable interventions to be undertaken before the individual's well-being is compromised. Many studies have focused on the detection of poor animal welfare and then undertaken ameliorative action. Far fewer studies, however, have attempted to design measures that can detect welfare risk, i.e., how the animal may respond in particular circumstances or situations. It is the aim of this research to evaluate whether it is possible to predict the welfare risk of an animal through the use of the novel measure of motor laterality or bias, often termed 'handedness' in humans. Handedness, the predominant use of one hand, has been studied as an observable measure of brain functioning for numerous years. Until recently, it was assumed that handedness was unique to humans. It is now known, however, that many animals show a significant preference to use one side of their body more than the other. Indeed, behavioural asymmetries in the form of paw preferences, swimming direction and breaching, have been recorded in a wide variety of species. Recently, it has been suggested that there may be association between motor bias and animal welfare, with left-limb preferent animals being more vulnerable to stress and reduced well-being than animals showing a right-sided motor preference. If this association were to be proven, then it would enable behavioural asymmetry to be used as a simple, inexpensive and, importantly, non-invasive, measure of welfare risk. This project will examine, for the first time, the relationship between behavioural lateralisation and welfare risk, focusing specifically on the domestic dog. Thousands of dogs around the globe are exposed on a regular basis to stressful situations (e.g. kennel housing, obedience training, transportation), in many cases resulting in compromised welfare. Finding a reliable, harmless and consistent measure that can predict which animals are likely to cope poorly with such stressors would be immensely valuable, enabling preventive measures to be put into practice that allow the animal to cope better with its surroundings at a very early stage, or not to be placed in situations that may compromise its welfare. The dog has been shown to display behavioural asymmetry in the form of paw preferences. However, the association between this motor bias and susceptibility to stress has been virtually overlooked. This project will evaluate the potential of motor asymmetry in the form of paw preferences, to assess welfare risk, investigating the association between motor bias and measures of physical and psychological well-being and tests that measure emotional vulnerability. We will examine the relationship between paw preferences and measures of canine welfare during exposure to a known stressor (in this case kennel housing) and examine the correlation between 'pawedness' and the exhibition of behaviour problems. The research will determine whether behavioural lateralisation in the form of paw preferences can be used as a reliable, harmless and independent predictor of welfare risk in animals, offering a viable tool for the early targeting of vulnerable individuals. The fact that motor biases are seen in virtually all vertebrates means that we will be able to develop guidelines for the use of motor bias as an examination of welfare risk for many different animal species.

预测动物对福利不良的易感性的能力将使人们能够在个人的福祉受到损害之前采取干预措施。许多研究的重点是检测不良动物福利，然后采取改善作用。然而，研究更少的研究试图设计可以检测福利风险的措施，即动物在特定情况或情况下如何反应。这项研究的目的是评估是否有可能通过使用新颖的运动横向或偏见的量度来预测动物的福利风险，这通常被称为人类中的“手”。一只手的主要用途，已经研究了多年来的脑功能量。直到最近，人们都认为惯性是人类独有的。然而，众所周知，许多动物比另一种动物更偏爱使用身体的一侧。实际上，在各种各样的物种中都记录了以爪子偏好，游泳方向和破坏形式的行为不对称。最近，有人提出，与表现出右侧运动偏好的动物相比，左LIMB偏好的动物之间可能存在关联，而左LIMB偏好的动物更容易受到压力和福祉。如果要证明这种关联，那么它将使行为不对称能够用作简单，廉价且重要的是无创，福利风险的衡量标准。该项目将首次研究行为横向化与福利风险之间的关系，专门针对家犬。在许多情况下，全球成千上万的狗会定期暴露在压力大的情况下（例如狗窝住房，服从训练，运输），导致福利受到损害。找到一个可靠，无害和一致的措施，可以预测哪些动物可能与此类压力源相抵触很差，这将是非常有价值的，从而实现预防措施，使动物可以在很早的阶段更好地应对周围的环境，或者不要将其放置在可能损害其福利的情况下。该狗已被证明以PAW偏好的形式显示出行为不对称性。但是，这种运动偏见与压力敏感性之间的关联几乎被忽略了。该项目将以PAW偏好的形式评估运动不对称的潜力，评估福利风险，研究运动偏见与身体和心理健康的度量之间的关联，并测试衡量情绪脆弱性的测试。我们将检查暴露于已知压力源（在本例中为狗窝外壳）期间爪子偏好与犬福利量度之间的关系，并检查“ Pawedness”与行为问题展示之间的相关性。该研究将确定以PAW偏好形式的行为横向化是否可以用作动物中福利风险的可靠，无害和独立的预测指标，为早期靶向脆弱的人提供可行的工具。在几乎所有脊椎动物中都可以看到运动偏见的事实意味着，我们将能够制定用于使用运动偏见作为许多不同动物物种福利风险的指南。

项目成果

Using judgment bias test in pet and shelter dogs (Canis familiaris): Methodological and statistical caveats.

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241344
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: PloS one
• 影响因子: 3.7
• 作者: Burani C;Barnard S;Wells D;Pelosi A;Valsecchi P
• 通讯作者: Valsecchi P

Personality traits affecting judgement bias task performance in dogs (Canis familiaris)

• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25224-y
• 发表时间: 2018-04-27
• 期刊: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: Barnard, Shanis;Wells, Deborah L.;Hepper, Peter G.
• 通讯作者: Hepper, Peter G.

Comparing lateral bias in dogs and humans using the Kong™ ball test

使用 Kong™ 球测试比较狗和人类的横向偏差

• DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2016.01.010
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: Applied Animal Behaviour Science
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: Wells D

Laterality as a Predictor of Coping Strategies in Dogs Entering a Rescue Shelter

• DOI: 10.3390/sym10110538
• 发表时间: 2018-11-01
• 期刊: SYMMETRY-BASEL
• 影响因子: 2.7
• 作者: Barnard, Shanis;Wells, Deborah L.;Hepper, Peter G.
• 通讯作者: Hepper, Peter G.

Paw preference as a tool for assessing emotional functioning and welfare in dogs and cats: A review

爪子偏好作为评估狗和猫情绪功能和福利的工具：综述

• DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105148
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Applied Animal Behaviour Science
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: Wells D