Grigg Emma K, Nibblett Belle Marie, Robinson James Q, Smits Judit E
Clinical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, West Farm, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Vet Rec Open. 2017 Jun 26;4(1):e000193. doi: 10.1136/vetreco-2016-000193. eCollection 2017.
Numerous studies conducted to assess welfare of domestic dogs housed in kennel facilities have reported that these dogs experience suboptimal living conditions. One important goal of improving welfare of kennelled dogs is to reduce their stress levels, and one recommended approach for improving welfare of kennelled dogs is group or social housing. The beneficial effects of management changes designed to achieve this goal should be measurable in individual animals. Stress is evident through behaviours exhibited, as well as via the concentration of cortisol, a key hormone reflecting stress. Using behavioural and hair cortisol measures, we conducted a pilot study to measure the impact of switching dogs housed in a long-term kennels facility from solitary to pair housing, using both within-subjects and between-groups comparisons. Considerable individual variation in dog responses was noted, with only two of eight pair-housed dogs showing significant declines in multiple stress-related behaviours once in pair housing. The most sensitive behaviours were active vigilance and repetitive movements (such as jumping and pacing). Barking was reduced overall in the facility following the housing change, even among dogs still in solitary housing. The long-term stress as reflected in hormone deposition in hair also provided encouraging indications that the dogs experienced lower stress levels when in paired housing; dogs showed a significant decline in hair cortisol levels from the first (prehousing change) to second (postintervention) samples. Domestic dogs are social animals, and numerous indications of potential benefit were recorded with no negative impacts seen. Based on our findings, we recommend pair or group housing of compatible dogs as a promising addition to the strategies available to those seeking to improve welfare of kennelled dogs. Future studies using higher numbers of animals and that include tracking of hair cortisol, vigilance behaviour, repetitive movements and barking would be desirable.
许多旨在评估犬舍设施中家养犬福利状况的研究报告称，这些犬的生活条件并不理想。改善犬舍犬福利的一个重要目标是降低它们的应激水平，而改善犬舍犬福利的一种推荐方法是群居或社交性饲养。为实现这一目标而进行的管理变革所产生的有益效果，应该在个体动物身上能够得到衡量。应激通过所表现出的行为以及反映应激的关键激素皮质醇的浓度体现出来。我们利用行为和毛发皮质醇测量方法，进行了一项初步研究，通过个体内比较和组间比较，来测量将长期犬舍设施中单独饲养的犬改为成对饲养所产生的影响。我们注意到犬的反应存在相当大的个体差异，在八只成对饲养的犬中，只有两只在成对饲养后多种与应激相关的行为出现了显著下降。最敏感的行为是主动警觉和重复动作（如跳跃和踱步）。在住房变更后，整个设施内的犬吠声总体上有所减少，即使是仍单独饲养的犬也是如此。毛发中激素沉积所反映的长期应激也提供了令人鼓舞的迹象，表明犬在成对饲养时应激水平较低；从第一个（住房变更前）到第二个（干预后）样本，犬的毛发皮质醇水平显著下降。家养犬是群居动物，记录到了许多潜在益处的迹象，且未见负面影响。基于我们的研究结果，我们建议将性情相容的犬成对或成群饲养，这是寻求改善犬舍犬福利的人可采用的策略中一个有前景的补充措施。未来使用更多动物数量并包括跟踪毛发皮质醇、警觉行为、重复动作和犬吠声的研究将是可取的。
