Factors associated with the presence and prevalence of contagious ovine digital dermatitis: a 2013 study of 1136 random English sheep flocks

In 2013, a questionnaire was used to gather data on risks for introduction, and factors associated with prevalence, of contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD). There were 1136 (28.4%) usable responses from 4000 randomly selected sheep farmers in England. CODD was present in 58% (662) of flocks, with a reported prevalence of CODD lesions of 2.3%. The geometric mean period prevalence of all lameness was 4.2% and 2.8% in CODD positive and negative flocks respectively. Factors associated with a greater risk of presence of CODD were purchasing replacement ewes, not always checking the feet of sheep before purchase, not isolating purchased sheep, foot bathing returning ewes, foot trimming the flock more than twice in the year all compared with not doing these activities and increasing log10 flock size. Farmers who vaccinated sheep with Footvax™ were less likely to report presence of CODD. Factors associated with increasing prevalence of CODD lesions were not always checking the feet of purchased sheep, flocks that mixed with other flocks and sheep that left the farm for summer grazing and later returned. In addition, flocks where farmers followed the current recommended managements for control of footrot, had a lower prevalence of CODD whilst those who used foot bathing and where feet bled during routine foot trimming had a higher prevalence of CODD. The prevalence of CODD decreased with each log10 increase in flock size. We conclude that CODD is an infectious cause of lameness in sheep of increasing importance in GB. Introduction is linked to poor biosecurity with one likely source of the pathogen being introduction of or mixing with infected sheep. As with footrot, prevalence of CODD was lower in flocks where farmers focused on individual treatment to manage lameness and avoided foot bathing and trimming feet. We conclude that most of the currently recommended biosecurity and treatment approaches to control footrot in GB are also effective for control of CODD

Minimising fear and anxiety in working dogs:a review

The causes of fear and anxiety in working dogs are multifactorial and may include inherited characteristics that differ between individuals (e.g. Goddard and Beilharz, 1982; 1984a,b ), influences of the environment ( Lefebvre et al., 2007 ), and learned experiences during particular sensitive periods ( Appleby et al., 2002 ) and throughout life. Fear-related behavior compromises performance, leads to significant numbers of dogs failing to complete training (e.g., Murphy, 1995; Batt et al., 2008 ), early withdrawals from working roles ( Caron-Lormier et al., 2016 ), and can jeopardize dog and handler safety. Hence, amelioration of fear and anxiety is critical to maintain dogs in working roles and to ensure their well-being. Although current methods of selection and training are seemingly effective at producing many dogs which work in a remarkable array of environments, some dogs do not make the grade, and longevity of service is not always maximized. Programs should strive for optimal efficiency and they need to continually analyze the value of each component of their program, seek evidence for its value and explore potential evidence-based improvements. Here we discuss scientific evidence for methods and strategies which may be of value in reducing the risk of fear behaviors developing in the working dog population and suggest potentially valuable techniques and future research to explore the benefit of these approaches. The importance of environmental influences, learning opportunities, and effects of underlying temperament on the outward expression of fear and anxiety should not be underestimated. Identification of characteristics which predict resilience to stress are valuable, both to enable careful breeding for these traits and to develop predictive tests for puppies and procured animals. It is vitally important to rear animals in optimal environments and introduce them to a range of stimuli in a positive, controlled, and gradual way, as these can all help minimize the number of dogs which develop work-inhibiting fears. Future research should explore innovative methods to best measure the relative resilience of dogs to stressful events. This could include developing optimal exposure protocols to minimize the development of fear and anxiety, and exploring the influence of social learning and the most effective elements of stimulus presentation

Age over experience: Consistency of aggression and mounting behaviour in male and female pigs

Abstract Excessive aggression between pigs at mixing is a welfare and production issue resulting in stress, injuries and economic losses. If it can be demonstrated that aggression is a consistent behaviour trait, it might provide a means to reduce these losses. To test for consistency of aggressiveness, 163 male and female damline pigs, mixed at weaning (mean ± SD day = 33.7 ± 3.4), were given resident-intruder tests (RITs) on successive days (test pairs a and b) on up to three occasions: day 60 (test 1); day 95 (test 2); and day 130 (test 3). Pigs tested at all three time points (T123 n = 90) showed consistency in occurrence of attacking within (a vs. b) and between tests (1 vs. 2, 2 vs. 3 and 1 vs. 3), suggesting that aggressiveness is a moderately stable temperament trait. Compared to previous studies of this kind there were clear differences between male and female pigs, with a higher than expected rate of mounting in male pigs. Mounting also appeared to be a consistent trait, beginning from a surprisingly early age (day 60). Latency to attack decreased in the female pigs (n = 53) after test 1a, but did not change after this, although a further unexpected finding, was an effect of boar line on the occurrence of attacking in female pigs. In the male pigs (n = 37) aggression reduced over time, which we propose was primarily as a result of increased mounting. Sex differences in aggression and mounting were also seen when the behaviour of pigs naive to the RIT were first tested (test 1, treatments T123, n = 90 and T13, n = 22; test 2 T23, n = 24; test 3, T3, n = 27), suggesting they result from age rather than experience. The effect of prior RIT experience on aggression in the final test (test 3) was examined in terms of: (1) the amount of experience, by comparing pigs with no (T3), one (T23 and T13) or two (T123) previous experiences of the RIT; and (2) the age at first experience, by comparing pigs first tested in test 1 (T13) or test 2 (T23). Prior RIT experience made little difference to the level of aggression (attack latency), although more experienced pigs were more likely to attack than to mount. In conclusion, pigs showed stable individual differences in both aggression and mounting, which were affected more by sex and age than by prior test experience