A comparison of uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers for the assessment of physical activity in dogs

作者:Cheung Kitty W*; Starling Melissa J; McGreevy Paul D
来源:Journal of Veterinary Behavior-Clinical Applications and Research, 2014, 9(2): 66-71.
DOI:10.1016/j.jveb.2013.11.003

摘要

The present study compares the outputs of uniaxial accelerometer (UA) and triaxial accelerometer (TA) to determine whether UAs can be used instead of TAs in estimating physical activity (PA) in domestic dogs (N = 79). The PA of the dogs was measured simultaneously by a UA and a TA attached to regular collars under 3 different conditions: unstructured activity in the kennels (kennel activity); and 2 structured on-lead activities of different intensities on a designated pathway (walking and trotting). The study finds that UA consistently detected significantly more steps. Kennel activity showed the largest differences between the accelerometers, and trotting showed the least. Dogs in the heaviest body weight category showed the best correlation between the devices and the least differences between the accelerometers across the 3 activities. The limits of agreement were wide in all activities. Significantly higher agreements were associated with lower step counts in kennel activity and higher step counts in walking and trotting. The results show that these 2 types of accelerometers cannot be used interchangeably. Confounding factors, such as body weight, must be considered in future analysis of accelerometer outputs and selection of devices for different contexts: Optimal interpretation of objectively measured PA is paramount in supporting future dog fitness, health, and welfare studies.

  • 出版日期2014-4