A standardised approach to quantifying activity in domestic dogs

Abstract

Objective assessment of activity via accelerometry can provide valuable insights into dog health and welfare. Common activity metrics involve using acceleration cut-points to group data into intensity categories and reporting the time spent in each category. Lack of consistency and transparency in cut-point derivation makes it difficult to compare findings between studies. We present an alternative metric for use in dogs: the acceleration threshold (as a fraction of standard gravity, 1 g = 9.81 m/s 2 ) above which the animal's X most active minutes are accumulated (MX ACC ) over a 24-hour period. We report M2 ACC, M30 ACC and M60 ACC data from a colony of healthy beagles ( n = 6) aged 3–13 months. To ensure that reference values are applicable across a wider dog population, we incorporated labelled data from beagles and volunteer pet dogs ( n = 16) of a variety of ages and breeds. The dogs' normal activity patterns were recorded at 200 Hz for 24 hours using collar-based Axivity-AX3 accelerometers. We calculated acceleration vector magnitude and MX ACC metrics. Using labelled data from both beagles and pet dogs, we characterize the range of acceleration outputs exhibited enabling meaningful interpretation of MX ACC . These metrics will help standardize measurement of canine activity and serve as outcome measures for veterinary and translational research.