Testing and characterization of herding dogs' behaviors

Abstract

Breeding for phenotype in herding dogs (HDs) mainly relies on their performance in national field trial competitions, which has been shown to be inadequate for identifying HDs suited for real livestock farming conditions. In this study, a different field trial with a new scoring system consisting of 28 items to consider was designed to assess young HDs, the results of which culminated in a statement of adequate phenotype (AP) or non-adequate phenotype (NAP). An AP HD was defined as being able: to control the direction of a flock, to keep it grouped close to a handler when needed, to confront animals it is dealing with in a respectful manner, and able to create movement of the flock without excessive disturbance, threatening or attacking it through chasing, or uncontrolled biting. This innovative trial is composed of a pre-test (PT) and a test (T) phase. To evaluate its efficiency in detecting AP/NAP, 460 French Border Collies aged between 8 and 24 mo, underwent the trial. Its average duration (PT + T) was 3 min and 16 s (SD = 26 s). According to experts' assessments (Gold Standard), 16.5% of tested HD reached an AP score, and the Idele scoring system correctly identified 93.3% of them (sensitivity). Specificity and accuracy values were of 96.1% and 95.7%, respectively (P value < 0.0004). Recursive feature elimination identified 25 of the 118 features (categories of items) from the scoring system as significant predictors of AP/NAP. An AP HD was statistically defined as a dog who completed the PT and T phases, showed keenness, correct position in relation to the handler, and absence of prey drive. Four environmental effects significantly influenced AP/NAP: the field trial session, the owner's experience with HDs, the conditions of the HD's first contact with livestock, and the type of livestock with which the HD is accustomed to working (P-values <0.0005, <0.05, <0.05, and <0.007, respectively). Inter-evaluator agreement was substantial (0.70). The field trial proved to be a short, easily implemented, standardized, reproducible method for detecting AP/NAP. Hence, the field trial and its scoring system could provide a basis for a breeding program based on phenotype pending additional testing of HDs and genetic analyses.

Keywords: adequate phenotype; breeding selection; field trial; herding dog; herding traits; scoring system.

Figure 1.

Simplified illustration of the PT phase from field trial protocol. The TL and the HD positioned themselves at a starting point (blue circle), which was 35m away from an endpoint (red circle). The TL approached the flock and unleashed the HD when the HD noticed the flock (step A). The TL then started a timer and kept walking toward the endpoint (step B) and encouraged the flock to move until 1 min had passed (step C). At the end of the PT phase, the TL put the HD back on the leash and returned (step D) to the starting point (blue circle).

Figure 2.

Simplified illustration of the test (T) phase from field trial protocol. The TL unleashed the HD at the starting point (blue circle) and started a timer (step E). Then, the TL walked to (step F) the endpoint (red circle) and stood still for 15 s (step G) at this point. Following that, the TL performed the following steps: walked around the flock clockwise for 360 °C: “first rotation” (step H); stood still for 15 s at the endpoint (step G); walked around the flock anti-clockwise for 360 °C: “second rotation” (step I); stood still for 15 s at the endpoint (step G); walked 30 steps away from the flock, to the center of the test area, with the flock behind the TL: “power” (step J).