Working dogs are an essential part of a sheep and beef farming operation. Vetlife partnered with Massey University to conduct a working dog study in New Zealand which collected data on: feeding, housing, general health practices, training and condition, disease and injury, career duration and risk factors for disease, injury and end of career. No other study to date has included this information, and it is hoped that the findings will help to improve the health and wellbeing of working dogs.
The TeamMate study ran for just over four years, and it involved 641 working farm dogs (based in Otago and Canterbury) and 126 owners. All working dogs aged over 18 months and in full work were enrolled. The average age at enrolment was 4 years, with the makeup of dogs approximately 50% heading dogs and 50% Huntaways, with the gender split being approximately 50/50 as well. Veterinarians gave the enrolled dogs physical examinations at approximately 6-monthly intervals. The examinations would note any abnormalities, regardless of clinical significance.
Clinical abnormalities were found in 74% of dogs enrolled. As working dogs are athletic and lean, they appear to be prone to injuries due to the nature of their work. The most common abnormalities involved the musculoskeletal system (43%), skin, including scars and callouses (42%), and oral cavity, including worn and broken teeth, (35%).
Other interesting findings that came out of the study were that approximately 30% of the TeamMate dogs were allocated a body condition score (BCS) of 3 or less which classes them as ‘under the ideal range’ for a pet dog. More work is required to understand the ideal BCS for a working dog, but this highlights that owners should remain vigilant about the quality of food their dogs receive, as they are constantly exercising and require energy-dense nutrition.