School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Vetlife, 28 Sophia Street, Timaru, New Zealand.
BMC Vet Res. 2020 Feb 17;16(1):59. doi: 10.1186/s12917-020-2273-2.
Working farm dogs are invaluable on New Zealand sheep and beef farms. To date no study describing farm dog population and health has included information about incidence of illness and injury, or risk factors affecting health and career duration. This paper describes the methodology and initial results from TeamMate, a longitudinal study that was designed to address this gap. We describe the study population, husbandry practices, and prevalence of clinical abnormalities on enrolment.
Data about the farms, owners, husbandry practices and dogs were collected on farm at approximately 6-month intervals. All dogs over 18 months old and in full work were enrolled. Dogs were given physical examinations by veterinarians. On examination all abnormalities were noted, regardless of clinical significance.
Six hundred forty-one working farm dogs and 126 owners were enrolled from the South Island of New Zealand. Forty-nine percent of dogs were Heading dogs (314 of 641) and 48% Huntaways (308 of 641). Median age of dogs was 4 years (range 1.5-14) and median body condition score (BCS) was four on a 9-point scale (interquartile range (IQR) 3-5). Fifty-four percent of dogs were male (345 of 641), and 6% (41 of 641) were neutered. Eighty-one percent of owners (102 of 126) fed dogs commercial biscuits and meat sourced on farm. Forty-four percent of dogs (279 of 641) had bedding in their kennel, 14% (55 of 393) had insulated kennels, 69% (442 of 641) had been vaccinated and 33% (213 of 641) were insured. Clinical abnormalities were found in 74% of dogs (475 of 641). Common abnormalities involved the musculoskeletal system (43%, 273 of 641), skin (including scars and callouses; 42%, 272 of 641), and oral cavity (including worn and broken teeth; 35%, 227 of 641).
Our results expand on those from previous surveys and indicate that musculoskeletal illness and injury, and skin trauma are the most commonly seen clinical abnormalities in working farm dogs. These results will provide a baseline for investigation of incidence and risk factors for illness, injury, retirement and death in New Zealand working farm dogs.
在新西兰的绵羊和牛肉农场中，工作犬是非常有价值的。迄今为止，尚无研究描述农场犬的种群和健康状况，包括疾病和伤害的发病率，或影响健康和职业寿命的风险因素。本文描述了 TeamMate 的研究方法和初步结果，该研究旨在填补这一空白。我们描述了研究人群、饲养管理以及入组时的临床异常发生率。
每隔大约 6 个月在农场收集有关农场、所有者、饲养管理和犬只的信息。所有 18 个月以上且全职工作的犬只均被纳入研究。兽医对犬只进行体格检查。在检查时，无论是否有临床意义，都记录所有异常情况。
从新西兰南岛共招募了 641 只工作犬和 126 名犬主。49%的犬只属于牧羊犬（314/641），48%属于猎犬（308/641）。犬只的平均年龄为 4 岁（范围 1.5-14 岁），平均体况评分为 4 分（9 分制，四分位距 3-5）。54%的犬只为雄性（345/641），6%（41/641）已绝育。81%的犬主（102/126）用农场来源的商业饼干和肉喂食犬只。44%的犬只（279/641）在犬舍中有垫料，14%（55/393）的犬舍有隔热设施，69%（442/641）已接种疫苗，33%（213/641）有保险。74%的犬只（475/641）存在临床异常。常见的异常包括肌肉骨骼系统（43%，273/641）、皮肤（包括疤痕和老茧；42%，272/641）和口腔（包括磨损和断裂的牙齿；35%，227/641）。
我们的研究结果扩展了之前的研究结果，表明肌肉骨骼疾病和损伤以及皮肤创伤是工作犬中最常见的临床异常。这些结果将为新西兰工作犬的疾病、伤害、退休和死亡的发病率和风险因素研究提供基线数据。
