Effect of preceding activity and multiple testing of Belgian police horses on behavior during personality tests
Operational police horses must perform under challenging circumstances, so the selection of suitable equine training candidates should include an evaluation of their personalities. We describe the developmental phase of a project aimed at customizing selection tests for mounts at the Belgian Federal Police. The experiment evaluated the influence of preceding activity and multiple testing on […]
Pets: Behavior and Welfare Assessment
The current comprehensive view is that the welfare of pets can be accessed on the basis of three distinct but overlapping domains: health and physiological functioning (body), affective state (mind), and social functioning including normal development, behavior, and temperament (nature). Behavioral assessment is used to assess each of these domains. Behavior provides information about pets’ […]
Assessment of animal welfare through behavioural parameters in Iberian pigs in intensive and extensive conditions
Behaviour is a significant component of well-being and should be properly considered in a pig welfare assessment. However, interpretation of variations in behaviour is usually not straightforward, especially when dealing with animals housed and managed in a variety of systems. The fourth principle of the Welfare Quality® project, labelled “Appropriate behaviour”, was assessed on 21 […]
Development and validation of a novel method of evaluating behavior and temperament in guide dogs
Most guide and service dog organizations would benefit from the development of accurate methods for the early evaluation of canine temperament traits. This paper describes the development and validation of a novel questionnaire method for assessing behavior and temperament in 1-year-old guide dogs. Volunteer puppy-raisers scored a total of 1097 prospective guide dogs on a […]
A Review of Behavioral Assessment Protocols Used by Australian Animal Shelters to Determine the Adoption Suitability of Dogs
Shelter dogs typically undergo preadoption assessment for suitability as companions. Dogs who pass are available for adoption. Available resources determine whether dogs who fail are euthanized or rehabilitated. Accurate assessment of shelter-dog behavior is imperative to protect community welfare and dogs in the shelter system and to ensure potentially dangerous dogs are not rehomed and […]