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.

预测动物对较差福利的易感性的能力将使得能够在个体的福祉受到损害之前采取干预措施。许多研究的重点是发现动物福利状况不佳，然后采取改善措施。然而，很少有研究尝试设计可以检测福利风险的措施，即动物在特定环境或情况下如何反应。这项研究的目的是评估是否可以通过使用运动偏侧或偏差（在人类中通常被称为“惯用手”）的新测量方法来预测动物的福利风险。利手习惯（主要使用一只手）多年来一直作为大脑功能的可观察指标进行研究。直到最近，人们还认为惯用手是人类所独有的。然而，现在已知许多动物表现出明显偏好更多地使用身体的一侧而不是另一侧。事实上，在多种物种中都记录到了爪子偏好、游泳方向和突破等行为不对称现象。最近，有人提出，运动偏好与动物福利之间可能存在关联，与偏好右侧运动的动物相比，偏好左肢的动物更容易受到压力，幸福感也会降低。如果这种关联得到证实，那么行为不对称就可以被用作一种简单、廉价且重要的是非侵入性的福利风险衡量标准。该项目将首次研究行为偏侧化与福利风险之间的关系，特别关注家养狗。全球有数以千计的狗经常处于压力环境中（例如狗舍、服从训练、交通），在许多情况下会导致福利受损。找到一种可靠、无害且一致的方法来预测哪些动物可能无法应对此类压力源将是非常有价值的，从而能够将预防措施付诸实践，使动物能够在很早的阶段更好地应对周围的环境，或者不被置于可能损害其福利的境地。狗已被证明以爪子偏好的形式表现出行为不对称。然而，这种运动偏差和对压力的敏感性之间的关联实际上被忽视了。该项目将以爪子偏好的形式评估运动不对称的潜力，以评估福利风险，调查运动偏差与身体和心理健康测量以及测量情绪脆弱性的测试之间的关联。我们将研究在暴露于已知压力源（在本例中为狗舍）时，爪子偏好与犬类福利措施之间的关系，并研究“爪子偏好”与行为问题表现之间的相关性。该研究将确定爪子偏好形式的行为偏侧化是否可以用作动物福利风险的可靠、无害和独立的预测因子，为早期针对弱势个体提供可行的工具。事实上，几乎所有脊椎动物都存在运动偏差，这意味着我们将能够制定使用运动偏差作为许多不同动物物种福利风险检查的指南。

项目成果

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

使用宠物和庇护犬（Canis familis）中的判断偏见测试：方法论和统计警告。

• 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

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

Lack of association between paw preference and behaviour problems in the domestic dog, Canis familiaris

家犬的爪子偏好与行为问题之间缺乏关联

• DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.10.008
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Applied Animal Behaviour Science
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: Wells D