RESUMO
Breeding for phenotype in herding dogs (HDs) mainly relies on their performance in national field trial competitions, which has been shown to be inadequate for identifying HDs suited for real livestock farming conditions. In this study, a different field trial with a new scoring system consisting of 28 items to consider was designed to assess young HDs, the results of which culminated in a statement of adequate phenotype (AP) or non-adequate phenotype (NAP). An AP HD was defined as being able: to control the direction of a flock, to keep it grouped close to a handler when needed, to confront animals it is dealing with in a respectful manner, and able to create movement of the flock without excessive disturbance, threatening or attacking it through chasing, or uncontrolled biting. This innovative trial is composed of a pre-test (PT) and a test (T) phase. To evaluate its efficiency in detecting AP/NAP, 460 French Border Collies aged between 8 and 24 mo, underwent the trial. Its average duration (PT + T) was 3 min and 16 s (SD = 26 s). According to experts' assessments (Gold Standard), 16.5% of tested HD reached an AP score, and the Idele scoring system correctly identified 93.3% of them (sensitivity). Specificity and accuracy values were of 96.1% and 95.7%, respectively (P value < 0.0004). Recursive feature elimination identified 25 of the 118 features (categories of items) from the scoring system as significant predictors of AP/NAP. An AP HD was statistically defined as a dog who completed the PT and T phases, showed keenness, correct position in relation to the handler, and absence of prey drive. Four environmental effects significantly influenced AP/NAP: the field trial session, the owner's experience with HDs, the conditions of the HD's first contact with livestock, and the type of livestock with which the HD is accustomed to working (P-values <0.0005, <0.05, <0.05, and <0.007, respectively). Inter-evaluator agreement was substantial (0.70). The field trial proved to be a short, easily implemented, standardized, reproducible method for detecting AP/NAP. Hence, the field trial and its scoring system could provide a basis for a breeding program based on phenotype pending additional testing of HDs and genetic analyses.
Herding dogs are extremely useful in handling all types of livestock. They are selectively bred for success in herding dog competitions, but the abilities which that to success in these are not always the same as those needed on a farm. To produce efficient herding dogs, other abilities therefore needed to be tested, via new trials. So, a new field trial, with a specific scoring system, was set up and tried out using 460 young French Border Collies, with the aim of correctly assessing herding dogs that would be fully adapted to French farmers' needs. This corresponded to an "Adequate Phenotype". A herding dog with an adequate phenotype was defined as being able: to control the direction of a flock, to keep it grouped close to the handler when needed, to confront the animals it is dealing with in a respectful manner, and able to create movement of the flock without excessive disturbance, threatening or attacking through chasing or uncontrolled biting. The new protocol was found efficient in detecting such herding dogs. Moreover, it was easy to set up, short, standardized, and reproducible.
