Using Canine Olfaction to Detect Bovine Respiratory Disease: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Animal Science
• Olfactory Detection

Background:

• Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a significant cause of illness and death in feedlot cattle, posing economic and welfare challenges.
• Current methods for identifying BRD-affected cattle are often limited by accuracy, speed, and cost.
• Canine olfaction offers a potential avenue for disease detection, as dogs can differentiate scent profiles of diseased and healthy individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of trained dogs in detecting bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in cattle using nasal swabs.
• To assess the accuracy of canine scent detection as a potential diagnostic tool for BRD in feedlot settings.

Main Methods:

• Two dogs were trained for seven months to discriminate between nasal swabs from BRD-affected and healthy cattle.
• Dogs were trained using positive reinforcement, identifying positive samples from sets of one positive and two negative swabs.
• A double-blind detection test was conducted on 123 unique nasal swab samples, with handlers and data recorders blinded to sample status.

Main Results:

• During training, dogs achieved accuracies of 0.817 (Runnels) and 0.647 (Cheaps), exceeding chance (0.333).
• In the double-blind test, overall accuracy was 0.421, with slightly better-than-chance results for one dog (Cheaps: 0.451).
• When using a consensus response from both dogs, accuracy improved to 0.537, though detection varied by sample lot.

Conclusions:

• Dogs demonstrated some ability to discriminate between BRD-affected and healthy cattle via nasal swab scent.
• The complexity of the task and variable accuracy suggest that further research is required.
• Canine scent detection may require additional refinement before it can be considered a reliable screening method for BRD in feedlots.