The behaviour and welfare of pet dogs in suburban backyards

Most pet dogs in Australia are confined to their owners' property in a suburban backyard. Despite the literature on the effect of captive environments on both farm and zoo animals, there is little information on the effects of confining pet dogs. The prevalence of behavioural problem in pet dogs may be an indication that dogs are not well adapted to some backyard environments. The aim of the research in this thesis was to examine the effect of being confined in backyards on dog behaviour and welfare. The research was in four parts. Firstly, a survey of 203 households with dogs across suburban Melbourne provided an overview of how dogs are housed in suburban Melbourne and owners' reports of the behaviours observed in their dogs. It also provided an insight into some of the relationships between factors that make up the backyard environment and reported dog behaviour. Factors that were related to the occurrence of problem behaviours included being a first time dog owner, the amount of time spent with the dog and how well the dog obeyed commands. Secondly, an observational study was carried out on 55 Labrador Retrievers in various backyard settings. The behaviour of the dogs was recorded for 48 hours and the social and physical environment of the dogs quantified. Time budgets of dog behaviour were developed and relationships between behaviour and environmental factors examined. Factors positively related to dog activity included the amount of foliage in the yard, the number of transitions the dog made between locations and the dog being housed indoors at night but with provision of a kennel. Factors positively related to problem behaviours in the dogs included; gold colouring with no formal training, activity of the dog being and the number of transitions by the dog between locations in the backyard. Thirdly, validation of non-invasive measurements of stress physiology and immunology was carried out. The measures tested were saliva cortisol concentrations, saliva IgA concentrations and blood pressure. These measures were validated using groups of Kelpies and Labrador Retrievers housed in kennels. Both saliva cortisol and saliva IgA were found to be practical measures to use in a backyard situation but blood pressure measurement was impractical. Fourthly, saliva samples were collected from half of the Labrador Retriever dogs studied in the backyards. The relationships between stress physiology (cortisol), immunology (IgA), behaviour and environmental factors were then examined. No relationship was found between saliva cortisol and saliva IgA concentrations and no relationships were found between saliva cortisol concentration and any behaviours or environmental variables. However, there was a negative relationship between saliva IgA concentration and the amount of time dogs showed problem behaviour and also between saliva IgA concentrations and whether the dogs had training. These relationships, between the occurrence of problem behaviours and lower IgA concentrations, suggest that the immunocompetence of these dogs may have been compromised. Using the homeostasis definition of welfare, this reduction in immunocompetence suggests there may be a welfare risk to dogs showing these problem behaviours. Using the data from the second and fourth studies, a model was developed to illustrate the interrelationships between factors in the backyard, dog behaviour and immunological response. The factors that increased dog activity were having more than 1% of the yard covered with foliage, the dog being kept inside at night and also having a kennel outside, the owner thinking that the dog obeyed commands and the number of transitions (changes of location) that a dog made. This activity in turn was related to the time dogs spent on problem behaviours such as digging and chewing. It is suggested that it is the type of relationship with the owner that affects dog behaviour rather than factors such as size of the yard, having another dog present or time spent with the dog.

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