%0 Journal Article
%T Reliability of a new bite force measure and biomechanics of modified long attack in police dogs
%J Animals (Basel)
%D 2021
%A Hyytiäinen, Heli K.
%A Blomvall, Laura
%A Hautala, Mikko
%A Lappalainen, Anu K.
%V 11
%N 3
%P -
%X Information on the biomechanics of police dogs' tasks is important in understanding their work-related injuries and dysfunctions. This study aimed to develop and test a measurement tool for dogs' functional bite force and to report modified long attack-related kinetic and kinematic values. Twenty Finnish male police dogs, 7 German Shepherd Dogs (GSDs) and 13 Belgian Shepherd Dogs, Malinois (BSDMs), were included. Dogs accelerated 25 m and bit the helper's sleeve, fitted with three force sensors. Dogs were wearing a 3D accelerometer and were videotaped with a high-speed camera. The sleeve's reliability for measuring the dog's bite force was evaluated via intraclass correlation and Cronbach's alpha. Otherwise, a Mann-Whitney U-test was used, with significance set at p = 0.05. The sleeve's test-retest reliability was moderate to good (intraclass correlation of 0.75), and internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha 0.75). The GSDs' median bite force was 360.4 N (interquartile range (IQR) 628.6 N) and BSDMs' 247.0 N (IQR 289.8 N). Median acceleration maximum was 7.1 gravitational force equivalent (g) and median deceleration maximum was 11.6 g, with highest recorded forces being 9.2 g and 13.1 g, respectively. The measurement sleeve was a reliable tool for measuring functional bite force in GSDs and BSDMs. Forces related to bite, approach and impact in the two breeds were reported.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Molecular Diversity Preservation International
%@ 2076-2615
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11030874