Normative Data Obtained in Testing the Sense of Hearing in Kangal Shepherd Dogs

Sense of hearing is of crucial importance for dogs to perform their duties. There is no study to determine the reference latency intervals of dogs' sense of hearing. The aim of this study is to identify normative data that can be used as the reference interval for the wave latencies I, III and V at 80 dB with respect to the sense of hearing of Kangal shepherd dogs. The Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response test was applied to 106 Kangal shepherd dogs in Sivas province. The animals have been grouped by age, sex and general.  Normative data were identified for the reference latency intervals for each wave of the right and left ears of the groups and statistical differences between the wave latency intervals were also examined. One-Way ANOVA and post-hoc Duncan test were used in the age group comparison and independent samples t-test was used in the comparison of the other groups. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS v.22 software. When the groups are compared, only statistically significant difference was found in the age group at the wave latency V at 80 dB HL. No statistically significance was found in all other groups. The average values of the wave latencies I, III and V were found to be 1.37-2.36-3.65 ms, 1.37-2.35-3.63 ms, 1.38-2.36-3.68 ms, 1.35-2.37-3.79 ms, 1.30-2.26-3.57 ms and 1.41-2.39-3.59, general, female, male, 20 day -9 month, 10-30 month and 31 months and older, respectively. Since normative data on the sense of hearing of Kangal shepherd dogs have been identified for the first time with this study, it is expected to make a significant contribution to the literature. This normative data can be used as reference interval in clinical examinations and future studies on the sense of hearing of Kangal shepherd dogs.