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Livestock herding dogs contribute greatly to the rural economy of Australia. However, their selection currently lacks a cohesive or methodical approach. For example, there is no accessible tool for assessing Australian livestock herding dogs’ suitability for work. The purpose of the current study was to devise a herding dog assessment form, the Herding Dog Assessment Form–Personality (HDAF-P), to facilitate collection of data on relevant behavioural phenotypes of large numbers of working Kelpies and to apply the HDAF-P to identify personality traits needed for herding dog performance. The focus was on creating a succinct form that was salient and accessible to livestock herding dog owners. Wherever practical, terms and methods from published personality questionnaires were integrated. Seventeen terms were included as behavioural descriptors in the HDAF-P which was then used by 95 owners to assess a sample of 228 of their working Kelpies. Owners were also asked to rate the overall ability of their dog(s). Of these dogs, 210 (all twelve months or older) were fully described and their data were used in the analysis. Thus, the study was designed to reveal which personality traits are most critical to the overall ability of the herding dogs and to undertake an exploratory analysis of the patterns of dog behaviour revealed by the HDAF-P in non-juvenile dogs. The traits that showed the strongest correlations (using Kendall’s Tau correlation analysis) with overall ability were initiative (T = 0.41, p < 0.001), persistence (T = 0.36, p < 0.001), intelligence (T = 0.32, p < 0.001), confidence (T = 0.36, p < 0.001) and nervousness (T = -0.30, p < 0.001). An exploratory principal component analysis of trait scores revealed that 64.5% of the variance could be explained by four components that share several similarities with those reported by previous dog personality studies. These findings confirm that the HDAF-P has potential for the practical assessment of livestock herding dog personality and can elucidate traits that should be considered for prioritisation in training and breeding to optimise herding dog ability.

Accurate phenotyping is a critical component of any behavioral research. We compared owner responses to the Canine Behavior and Research Questionnaire section on separation-related behaviors with video footage of their dogs (n = 31). A focal animal continuous recording method was used to describe the behavior of dogs during the first 25 minutes after owners' departure. Nine dogs were recorded in the presence of 1 or 2 conspecifics, whereas 23 other dogs were alone. There was a significant moderate positive correlation between the separation-related behavior questionnaire score and the percentage of time exhibiting behaviors suggestive of anxiety ( r s = 0.438; P = 0.003). There was a similar moderate positive correlation between the questionnaire score and the first principal component score of recorded behaviors ( r s = 0.385; P = 0.008). Correlations between the questionnaire responses for individual behaviors and the occurrence of those behaviors on video were higher for the more apparent behaviors such as destruction. Although the significant positive correlation between owner responses and the dog's behavior in the initial 25 minutes of being left alone is suggestive that owners may have an indicative knowledge of their dog's behavior during their absence, further work with more participants and repeated recordings is required.

Livestock herding dogs are crucial contributors to Australian agriculture. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies of the behavioural interactions between dog and livestock during herding. A statistical approach that may reveal cause and effect in such interactions is lag sequential analysis. Using 48 video recordings of livestock herding dogs and sheep in a yard trial competition, event-based (time between behaviours is irrelevant) and time-based (time between behaviours is defined) lag sequential analyses identified several significant behavioural interactions (adjusted residuals greater than 2.58, the maximum likelihood-ratio chi-squared statistic for all eight contingency tables identified all sequences as highly significant (p &lt, 0.001)). These sequences were: The dog ceasing all movement followed by the sheep also ceasing movement, the dog chasing the sheep and a group of sheep escaping the main flock, a single sheep escaping the flock and the dog chasing, sheep initiating movement followed by the dog following, foot-stamping followed by the dog ceasing all movement, and, foot-stamping by the sheep and the dog lip-licking in response. Log linear regression identified significant relationships among undesirable behaviours in sheep and both observed trial duration (p = 0.001) and trial score (p = 0.009). No differences in the herding styles of dogs were identified between sex of dog and frequency of sheep escape behaviours (p = 0.355) nor the sex of dog and competition level (p = 0.116). The identification of trial score as a predictor of efficient performance confirms the benefits of incorporating extant objective measures to assess livestock herding dogs.

This study investigated the value that handlers and breeders assign to various behavioural traits in Australian livestock herding dogs. Data were obtained from 811 handlers and breeders through the &lsquo, Australian Farm Dog Survey&rsquo, Respondents were asked to consider dogs within four contexts: utility (livestock herding in both paddocks and yards), mustering (livestock herding in paddocks and along livestock routes), yards (in and around sheds, sale-yards and transport vehicles), and trial (specifically a standard 3-sheep trial), and to rate the value of 16 working manoeuvres (movement sequences used in herding), 11 working attributes (skills or attributes used in herding) and five general attributes (personality traits ascribed to an individual dog). The most valued working manoeuvres were cast, force and gather. Bite, bark and backing were considered of little value in certain contexts, notably the trial context. Across all four contexts, the general attributes most valued in dogs were being trainable, motivated, confident and friendly, while control and trainability were the working attribute traits considered to be of most value. Excitability was revealed to be a &lsquo, Goldilocks&rsquo, trait in that respondents preferred not too much or too little but a &lsquo, just right&rsquo, amount in their preferred dog. Analysis indicated a handler preference for either specialised dogs for the utility context or dogs who are easy to work with because of a broad range of traits favoured in the yard context. These results reveal both generalities across and the need for specialisation within these four herding contexts. Further investigation may help to reveal how well handlers distinguish between innate and learnt behaviours when selecting and training livestock herding dogs. Identifying which group handlers fit into optimally may assist in selecting suitable dog&ndash, human dyads.

The depletion in genetic diversity of closed-pedigree dog breeds can be a contentious topic and can lead to calls for open-registry. However, strong evidence in support of proposed open-registry solutions is lacking, with the reproductive isolation of these breeds unlikely to be the sole cause of elevated inbreeding levels. Human-induced limitations, such as popular sire effects, are unlikely to be confined to closed-registry breeds and conceivably play an important role in maintaining genetic diversity within all breeds. Consequently, the aim of the current study was to explore inbreeding levels in an open-registry breed and determine the impact open-registry has on genetic diversity. Complete pedigree records on all Australian working kelpies (AWKs) were provided by the Working Kelpie Council with the cleaned pedigree consisting of 86,671 individuals with a median pedigree depth of 6.6 generations. The average inbreeding coefficient in the AWK population was 0.049 with an increase in inbreeding coefficient of 0.0016/year. This demonstrates that opening a breed registry can have a beneficial impact on the level of inbreeding within a population over the longer-term. However, allowing for a generation length of 5.1 years yielded an effective population size of 61 for AWKs and demonstrated a pattern consistent with closed-registry dog populations of comparable size.

Evidence from other species justifies the hypotheses that useful hybrid vigour occurs in dogs and that it can be exploited for improved health, welfare and fitness for purpose. Unfortunately, most of the relevant published canine studies do not provide estimates of actual hybrid vigour because of inadequate specification of the parentage of mixed-bred dogs. To our knowledge, only three published studies have shed any light on actual hybrid vigour in dogs. There are two reports of actual hybrid vigour between Labrador and Golden retrievers, the first ranging from +2.5% to -6.0% for components of a standardised applied-stimulus behavioural test, and the second being at least +12.4% for chance of graduating as a guide dog. The third study provides a minimum estimate of negative actual hybrid vigour: crossbreds between Labrador retrievers and poodles had a higher prevalence of multifocal retinal dysplasia than the average prevalence in their purebred parent breeds. The lack of estimates of actual hybrid vigour can be overcome by including the exact nature of the cross (e.g. F1, F2 or backcross) and their purebred parental breeds in the specification of mixed-bred dogs. Even if only F1 crossbreds can be categorised, this change would enable researchers to conduct substantial investigations to determine whether hybrid vigour has any utility for dog breeding.

The skilled movement of livestock by dogs is highly valued among livestock handlers in the harsh farming environment of Australia. However, their workload has not been studied empirically. This pilot study aimed to measure the distance, speed, and heart rate of a group of sheep dogs (n = 6) working during an 11-day period of peak activity (shearing). In addition, it sought to determine the technological capabilities and limits of a modern Global Positioning System (GPS) device for monitoring working dogs during peak work. Distances recorded ranged from 1.7 km up to 68.3 km in a day. The furthest cumulative distance covered by a dog during the study period was 279.2 km. The maximum speed recorded in the yard area was 37.01 km/h. Because of the limitations of the equipment and the nature of the work, we were unable to measure heart rate reliably. The GPS units used in the study were effective at measuring the considerable variation in movement and speed of the dogs while working. However, battery life limitations prevented recording of the dogs' full activity over each day. Characterizing elite and peak performance in these working dogs may assist in comparisons with other sporting and working breeds and in identifying phenotypic traits of value in herding and related working contexts.

With behavioral causes of failure/dismissal—so-called behavioral wastage—of approximately 50% of dogs in training for the livestock herding dog sector, research into the selection and preparation of dogs with the requisite skills needs to be prioritized for both welfare and economic reasons. This article describes a pilot study of the terminology that characterizes Australian working dog training manuals. Eight key texts were selected for analysis, and a wide range of common terms were counted (n = 73). These terms included descriptors of working maneuvers, skills, and general behavioral attributes in herding dogs. We found little concordance in the use of terms by authors. Among the 8 authors, only 2 showed a positive correlation. This inconsistency demonstrates the varied use of terms by authors in this field but also helps to explain why manuals may create confusion among those seeking to learn how to select and handle dogs optimally.

This study aimed to estimate the value of the typical Australian herding dog in terms of predicted return on investment. This required an assessment of the costs associated with owning herding dogs and estimation of the work they typically perform. Data on a total of 4,027 dogs were acquired through The Farm Dog Survey which gathered information from 812 herding dog owners around Australia. The median cost involved in owning a herding dog was estimated to be a total of AU$7,763 over the period of its working life. The work performed by the dog throughout this time was estimated to have a median value of AU$40,000. So, herding dogs typically provided their owners with a 5.2-fold return on investment. When respondents were asked to nominate the maximal, one-off, veterinary expenditure they would consider to remedy an illness or injury for an especially valued dog, the median response was AU$1,001-2,000 which is not concordant with the dogs’ calculated median lifetime value. The current findings equip working dog owners with useful information to make financially appropriate expenditure decisions related to their working dogs. This is expected to increase farm profitability and improve welfare for farm dogs.

Background Working dog handlers and breeders have strong opinions on characteristics that are desirable in the breeds that they use to handle stock. Most of these characteristics are related to conformation or behaviour. This study explored whether the genetics underlying desirable working behaviour traits might be identified by selective sweep analysis; a method that identifies long regions of strong homozygosity combined with allelic divergence from a comparison group. For this analysis, we compared genomic haplotype architecture in two breeds derived from common founder stock but subjected to divergent selective pressures. The breeds studied were the Australian Kelpie, which is registered with the Australian National Kennel Council, and the Australian Working Kelpie, which is registered with the Working Kelpie Council. Results A selective sweep spanning 3 megabases on chromosome 3 was identified in the Australian Working Kelpie. This region is the location of genes related to fear-memory formation and pain perception. Selective sweep loci of similar magnitude were observed in the Australian Kelpie. On chromosome 8 is a locus which may be related to behavioural excitability and on chromosome 30 is a smaller locus which most likely is related to morphology. Conclusions Active working stock dogs of the Australian Working Kelpie breed have been bred primarily for gene loci influencing pain perception and fear memory formation. By contrast Australian Kelpies are commonly maintained in urban environments where these characteristics are not required and have been affected by selection for conformation and coat colour. The identified loci may aid in the identification of superior working dogs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40575-015-0017-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This study investigated the current management practices associated with stock herding dogs on Australian farms. A parallel goal was to determine whether these practices and the characteristics of the dog handlers were associated with success rates. Success rate refers to the proportion of dogs acquired by the farmer that were retained as working dogs. Data on a total of 4,027 dogs were obtained through The Farm Dog Survey which gathered information from 812 herding dog owners around Australia. Using logistic regression, significant associations were identified between success rate and seven variables: dog breed, housing method, trial participation, age of the dog at acquisition, electric collar use, hypothetical maximum treatment expenditure and the conscientiousness score of the owner's personality. These findings serve as a guide to direct further research into ways of optimising herding dog performance and welfare. They emphasise the importance of not only examining the genetic predispositions of the working dog but also the impact the handler can have on a dog's success in the workplace.

Canine behaviours that are both desirable and undesirable to owners have a demonstrable genetic component. Some behaviours are breed-specific, such as the livestock guarding by maremmas and flank sucking seen in Dobermanns. While the identification of genes responsible for common canine diseases is rapidly advancing, those genes underlying behaviours remain elusive. The challenges of accurately defining and measuring behavioural phenotypes remain an obstacle, and the use of variable phenotyping methods has prevented meta-analysis of behavioural studies. International standardised testing protocols and terminology in canine behavioural evaluations should facilitate selection against behavioural disorders in the modern dog and optimise breeding success and performance in working dogs. This review examines the common hurdles faced by researchers of behavioural genetics and the current state of knowledge.