Presentation Details
| Relationship between Paw Laterality and Physiological Measures of Welfare in Shelter-Living Dogs Rachel C Harris, Lisa M Gunter. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA |
Abstract
Animal shelters are difficult environments with a variety of stressors that can compromise dogs’ welfare. This study examined the relationship between dogs’ paw laterality, paw preference when manipulating objects, and physiological measures of welfare: pulse, respiration, and heart rate variability (HRV). Previous studies found lateralization related to an animal’s responsiveness to stress. Twenty shelter-living dogs wore PetPace health-monitoring collars 24 hours prior to and following a paw laterality session. Dogs were provided a Kong toy and experimenters recorded each paw touch. Paw laterality was categorized as left, right, or ambilateral. A total of 21,689 pulse, respiration, and HRV values were compiled. We found that pulse and respiration did not vary between dogs, but HRV differed. Pairwise comparisons revealed HRV was significantly different between ambilateral and left-pawed dogs (contrast = -0.18, SE = 0.06, z = -3.20, p = 0.004, 95% CI [-0.31, -0.05]), as ambilateral dogs had significantly lower HRV than left-pawed dogs. While preliminary, these results suggest that paw laterality assessments warrant further investigation as a novel welfare tool in an animal shelter.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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