TeamMate: a longitudinal study of New Zealand working farm dogs. I. Methods, population characteristics and health on enrolment

Abstract

Background: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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).

Conclusions: 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.

Keywords: Clinical examination; Heading dog; Health survey; Huntaway; Population survey; Prevalence; TeamMate; Working dog; Working farm dog.

Fig. 1

Flow chart showing the start dates of each data collection round as well as the number of farms, dog owners and dogs enrolled in TeamMate up to and including the fifth round of farm visits. Additionally, 14 properties, 16 dog owners and 68 dogs missed at least one round of data collection. Note that data for the sixth data collection round was not yet available at the time of writing

Fig. 2

Map of New Zealand with the regions of Canterbury and Otago expanded. Shaded blue areas show the study area, with a darker shade indicating more farming properties. The study area is located between approximately − 46 and − 43 degrees longitude. The files used to generate this map were sourced from Stats NZ [18] and licensed by Stats NZ for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence

Fig. 3

Left: Bar chart showing the number of dog owners stratified by age range (n = 117). Right: Bar chart showing the number of dog owners stratified by years of experience working with farm dogs (n = 116). Data were collected from working farm dog owners who participated in TeamMate

Fig. 4

Boxplots showing the recorded body weights of 298 Heading dogs, 299 Huntaways and 19 dogs of other types. Data were collected from working farm dogs that were enrolled in TeamMate

Fig. 5

Violin plot, with the mean indicated, showing the purchase price of 200 working farm dogs stratified by level of training. Dogs that were acquired at no cost or had unknown purchase price were not included. Data were collected from working farm dogs that were enrolled in TeamMate