Comparing lateral bias in dogs and humans using the KongTM ball test

The KongTM ball test has been used extensively to assess lateral bias in the domestic dog. Implicit in this challenge is the assumption that dogs use their dominant paw to stabilise the ball. This study examined whether or not this is the case. A comparative approach was adopted, exploring limb use in dogs and humans. In Experiment 1, the paw preference of 48 dogs was assessed on the KongTM ball test. Analysis revealed an equal distribution of paw use, although significantly more dogs were paw-preferent than ambilateral. Significantly more male dogs were classified as right-pawed, while more females were ambilateral. There was no significant effect of canine sex or castration status on the dogs’ paw preferences. In Experiment 2, 94 adult humans were assessed on their ability to remove a piece of paper from a KongTM ball with their mouth, using their left, right or both hands to stabilise the ball. 76% of the right-handed people used their left hand, and 82% of the left-handed participants used their right hand, to hold the KongTM steady. It is concluded that dogs, like humans, are most likely using their non-dominant limb to stabilise the KongTM ball and their dominant side for postural support. This has potential applied implications from an animal welfare perspective.

Assessment of fighting ability in animal contests

Selection should favour accurate information gathering regarding the likely costs and benefits of continued conflict. Here we consider how variation in the abilities of contestants to assess resource-holding potential (RHP) influences fights. This has been examined in various game theory models. However, discriminating between assessment strategies has proven difficult and has resulted in confusion. To add clarity, we group existing models into three main types that differ in the information about RHP that contestants are presumed to gather: (1) pure self-assessment, (2) cumulative assessment and (3) mutual assessment. Within this framework we outline methods advocated to discriminate successfully between the three main assessment models. We discuss support for each model, before highlighting a number of conflicting and inconclusive studies, leading us to consider alternative approaches to investigate assessment. Furthermore, we examine support for newly emerging concepts such as 'varying degrees of assessment', 'switching assessment' strategies and the possibility of contestants adopting different assessment strategies within a fight involving distinctive roles. We suggest future studies will benefit by judicious use of a battery of techniques to determine how animals settle contests. Finally, we highlight difficulties with current game theory models, and raise concerns regarding the use of certain behavioural criteria to accept or reject a model, particularly since this may conflict with evidence for a given assessment strategy. Furthermore, the failure of existing models to account for newly emerging concepts points to limitations of their use and leads us to challenge game theoreticians to develop upon them. (C) 2009 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Getting priorities straight: Risk assessment and decision-making in the improvement of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs

The issue of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs is not a recent phenomenon and reports of suspected genetic defects associated with breeding practices date back to Charles Darwin's time. In recent years, much information on the array of inherited defects has been assimilated and the true extent of the problem has come to light. Historically, the direction of research funding in the field of canine genetic disease has been largely influenced by the potential transferability of findings to human medicine, economic benefit and importance of dogs for working purposes. More recently, the argument for a more canine welfare-orientated approach has been made, targeting research efforts at the alleviation of the most suffering in the greatest number of animals.

Decision making in child protection: An international comparative study on maltreatment substantiation, risk assessment and interventions recommendations, and the role of professionals’ child welfare attitudes

Child welfare professionals regularly make crucial decisions that have a significant impact on children and their families. The present study presents the Judgments and Decision Processes in Context model (JUDPIC) and uses it to examine the relationships between three indepndent domains: case characteristic (mother’s wish with regard to removal), practitioner characteristic (child welfare attitudes), and protective system context (four countries: Israel, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Spain); and three dependent factors: substantiation of maltreatment, risk assessment, and intervention recommendation.
The sample consisted of 828 practitioners from four countries. Participants were presented with a vignette of a case of alleged child maltreatment and were asked to determine whether maltreatment was substantiated, assess risk and recommend an intervention using structured instruments. Participants’ child welfare attitudes were assessed.
The case characteristic of mother’s wish with regard to removal had no impact on judgments and decisions. In contrast, practitioners’ child welfare attitudes were associated with substantiation, risk assessments and recommendations. There were significant country differences on most measures.
The findings support most of the predictions derived from the JUDPIC model. The significant differences between practitioners from different countries underscore the importance of context in child protection decision making. Training should enhance practitioners’ awareness of the impact that their attitudes and the context in which they are embedded have on their judgments and decisions.

Effects of scalding and dehairing of pig carcasses at abattoirs on the visibility of welfare-related lesions

There is increasing interest in developing abattoir-based welfare measures for pigs.The primary aim of this study was to determine the most appropriate place on theslaughter line to conduct assessments of welfare-related lesions, namely apparentaggression-related skin lesions (hereafter referred to as 'skin lesions'), loin bruising andapparent tail biting damage. The study also lent itself to an assessment of theprevalence of these lesions, and the extent to which they were linked with productionparameters. Finishing pigs processed at two abattoirs on the Island of Ireland (n =1950 in abattoir A, and n = 1939 in abattoir B) were used. Data were collected over 6days in each abattoir in July 2014. Lesion scoring took place at two points on theslaughter line: (1) at exsanguination (Slaughter Stage 1 [SS1]), and (2) followingscalding and dehairing of carcasses (Slaughter Stage 2 [SS2]). At both points, eachcarcass was assigned a skin and tail lesion score ranging from 0 (lesion absent) to 3 or4 (severe lesions), respectively. Loin bruising was recorded as present or absent.Differences in the percentage of pigs with observable lesions of each type werecompared between SS1 and SS2 using McNemar/McNemar-Bowker tests. Theassociations between each lesion type, and both cold carcass weight andcondemnations, were examined at batch level using Pearson's correlations. Batch wasdefined as the group of animals with a particular farm identification code on a givenday. The overall percentage of pigs with a visible skin lesion (i.e. score > 0) decreasedbetween SS1 and SS2 (P<0.001). However, the percentage of pigs with a severe skinlesion increased numerically from SS1 to SS2. The percentage of pigs with a visible taillesion and with loin bruising also increased between SS1 and SS2 (P<0.001). Therewas a positive correlation between the percentage of carcasses that were partiallycondemned, and the percentage of pigs with skin lesions, tail lesions and loin bruising(P<0.05). Additionally, as the batch-level frequency of each lesion type increased,average cold carcass weight decreased (P<0.001). These findings suggest that severeskin lesions, tail lesions and loin bruising are more visible on pig carcasses after theyhave been scalded and dehaired, and that this is when abattoir-based lesion scoringshould take place. The high prevalence of all three lesion types, and the links witheconomically important production parameters, suggests more research into identifying key risk factors is warranted.

Mis-measure of animal contests.

Contests between rivals placing similar value on the resource at stake are commonly won by the rival having greater 'resource holding potential' (RHP). Mutual assessment of RHP difference between rivals is usually expected as an economical means of resolution; weaker rivals can retreat when they detect their relative inferiority, thereby avoiding costly, futile persistence. Models of contest resolution that entail retreat decisions based on estimates of RHP difference predict that contest duration diminishes as RHP difference between rivals increases because the asymmetry is more readily detected. This prediction appears to have been fulfilled in contests of diverse taxa, generating widespread support for assessment of RHP differences in contests. But few studies have considered alternatives in which each rival simply persists in accord with its own RHP ('own RHP-dependent persistence'). In contests decided by own RHP-dependent persistence, in which costs accrue only through each rival's own actions, weaker rivals retreat first because they are inherently less persistent, and contest duration depends primarily on the weaker (losing) rival's RHP rather than RHP difference between the rivals. We show here that the analyses most commonly used to detect effects of RHP difference cannot discriminate between these alternatives. Because RHP difference between rivals tends to be correlated with RHP of the weaker rival in a pair, a negative relation between RHP difference and contest duration may be generated even when decisions of retreat are not based on estimated RHP difference. Many studies purporting to show a negative relation between RHP difference and contest duration may actually reflect an incidental association between weaker rival RHP and RHP difference. We suggest statistical and experimental approaches that may help to discriminate between effects of weaker rival RHP and true effects of RHP difference. We also discuss whether 'true' negative effects of RHP difference on contest duration always reflect retreat decisions based on estimated RHP differences. Copyright 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Self-assessment by males during energetically costly contests over precopula females in amphipods

In animal contests, individuals can either engage in mutual assessment of both their own and their opponent's resource-holding potential (RHP) and adjust their behaviour according to estimated differences, or instead persist in accordance with thresholds determined by assessment of just their own RHP. We examined the predictions of alternative mutual assessment and self-assessment models for decision rules in contest resolution during struggles between males over females in precopula in the amphipod Gammarus pulex. Contest duration was positively related to the weight of the loser but not the weight of the winner. Our results support the hypothesis that males rely on information about their own RHP in determining contest behaviour and do not use information about their opponent. Fighting was energetically costly, and energy reserves were depleted during contests. Contest duration was associated with the physiological state of the loser (but not the winner) at the end of the contest, and to a lesser extent his size, further supporting self-assessment. (c) 2006 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.