What makes a working dog excellent?

The School of Veterinary Science has funded a PhD project to investigate what makes a working dog excellent. Describing good performance is not merely an academic exercise. A description of the key factors that make up working dog performance is necessary if we are to evaluate an action or intervention (.e.g. neutering or changing diet) and determine the impact of disease and injuries. The need to better understand performance was also raised as a key research area by participants at Massey University Working Dog Centre Research Colloquium in December 2014.

The proposed PhD project aims to answer the question what makes a working farm dog excellent? The proposed project will be embedded within the TeamMate study which is five-year observational study of New Zealand working dog health, well-being and longevity. TeamMate is a collaboration between Massey University and Vetlife, a 17 clinic veterinary practise in the South Island. The study was initiated by Vetlife and builds on previous research that has been conducted by Massey University.

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Last updated on Friday 13 December 2019