Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.
Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 23;12(1):6680. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-10707-w.
For dog breeders, parturition is a critical stage in the reproductive cycle of the dam. Evidence in other mammals suggests that a difficult labour can influence maternal behaviour and offspring viability during the first hours postpartum. However, the effect of whelping difficulty on the onset of maternal behaviour has not yet been investigated in domestic dogs. Here we developed an ease of whelping (EoW) index in dams maintained within a Commercial dog Breeding Establishment (CBE) environment and investigated the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic factors (breed group according to size/weight, litter size, parity, whelping season and origin of the dam), EoW, early maternal behaviour and puppy perinatal mortality. The behaviour of 30 dams was observed throughout the whelping process, starting 24 h before delivery of the first puppy until birth of the last puppy. Parturition duration, birth interval, and behaviours indicative of distress, restlessness, and general activity were scored and included in a Principal Component Analysis to construct the EoW index. Subsequently, mother-pup interactions and puppy perinatal mortality were recorded during the first 24 and 72 h postpartum respectively. Results showed that EoW was significantly affected by whelping season, litter size and origin of the dam (whether she was born and raised within the CBE or brought in). Furthermore, mothers that experienced more difficult parturitions (higher EoW score) spent more time lying in contact with their puppies during the first 24 h postpartum. Time in contact with puppies was also significantly affected by breed group. Nursing duration was significantly affected by breed group and origin of the dam. Additionally, medium-size breed (10-20 kg) puppies were significantly less likely to experience perinatal mortality than large breeds (> 20 kg). These findings are particularly relevant for the welfare of breeding dams maintained in large-scale CBEs where the staff-to-dog ratio might be insufficient to adequately manage multiple simultaneous parturitions.
对于犬类繁殖者来说，分娩是母犬繁殖周期中的一个关键阶段。其他哺乳动物的证据表明，分娩困难会影响产后最初几小时内的母性行为和后代的生存能力。然而，在犬类中，分娩困难对母性行为开始的影响尚未得到研究。在这里，我们在商业犬繁殖机构（CBE）环境中饲养的母犬中开发了一种分娩容易度（EoW）指数，并研究了内在和外在因素（根据大小/体重划分的品种组、窝仔数、胎次、分娩季节和母犬来源）、EoW、早期母性行为和幼犬围产期死亡率之间的关系。在分娩过程中，观察了 30 只母犬的行为，从第一只幼犬出生前 24 小时开始，直到最后一只幼犬出生。记录了分娩持续时间、出生间隔以及表示痛苦、不安和一般活动的行为，并将其纳入主成分分析，以构建 EoW 指数。随后，分别在产后第 24 和 72 小时记录了母子互动和幼犬围产期死亡率。结果表明，EoW 显著受分娩季节、窝仔数和母犬来源（是否在 CBE 中出生和长大或带入）的影响。此外，分娩较困难（EoW 得分较高）的母犬在产后第 24 小时内与幼犬接触的时间更长。与幼犬接触的时间也受到品种组的显著影响。哺乳时间受到品种组和母犬来源的显著影响。此外，中型品种（10-20 公斤）的幼犬比大型品种（>20 公斤）发生围产期死亡的可能性显著降低。这些发现对于在大型 CBE 中饲养的繁殖母犬的福利尤其重要，在大型 CBE 中，员工与犬的比例可能不足以充分管理多个同时分娩。
