Association between subjective rating and behaviour coding and the role of experience in making video assessments on the personality of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Mirkó, Erika; Dóka, Antal; Miklósi, Ádám

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2013.10.003

Cited by 39 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The fear part of this questionnaire was previously shown to have good validity and both the fear and noise sensitivity sections had good test-retest reliability 54 . A questionnaire can be a good method for collecting data, since the reliability of questionnaires has been good in behavioural science and the answers are strongly linked to the behaviour of the animals 54,[63][64][65][66][67][68] . Furthermore, as the owners have a long history with the dogs, it is possible to study traits that would be difficult to study using other methods (for example, behaviour test batteries), including compulsive behaviour 69 . Subjects.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs

Salonen

Sulkama

Mikkola

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

107

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Behaviour problems and anxieties in dogs decrease their quality of life and may lead to relinquishment or euthanasia. Considering the large number of pet dogs and the commonness of these problematic behaviours, a better understanding of the epidemiology and related molecular and environmental factors is needed. We have here studied the prevalence, comorbidity, and breed specificity of seven canine anxiety-like traits: noise sensitivity, fearfulness, fear of surfaces and heights, inattention/ impulsivity, compulsion, separation related behaviour and aggression with an online behaviour questionnaire answered by dog owners. Our results show that noise sensitivity is the most common anxiety-related trait with a prevalence of 32% in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs. Due to the high prevalence of noise sensitivity and fear, they were the most common comorbidities. However, when comparing the relative risk, the largest risk ratios were seen between hyperactivity/inattention, separation related behaviour and compulsion, and between fear and aggression. Furthermore, dog breeds showed large differences in prevalence of all anxiety-related traits, suggesting a strong genetic contribution. As a result, selective breeding focusing on behaviour may reduce the prevalence of canine anxieties. Anxious animals may suffer from chronic stress and thus, modified breeding policies could improve the welfare of our companion dogs.Problematic behaviours can be a threat to dog welfare. Anxious dogs may be more vulnerable to diseases and show decreased lifespan 1 . Satisfaction with the dog's behaviour may increase attachment to the dog 2 and problematic behaviours, especially aggressiveness, destructiveness, fearfulness and hyperactivity are a common reason for relinquishment to shelters 3,4 . Problematic behaviours can even lead to euthanasia at a young age 5,6 . Behaviour problems, especially aggressiveness, may be public health concerns 7 . Some of these behaviour problems have been suggested to be analogous, or possibly even homologous to human anxiety disorders 8 , and the study of these spontaneous behaviour problems arising in a shared environment with people may reveal important biological factors underlying many psychiatric conditions. For example, canine compulsive disorder resembles human OCD on both phenotypic and neurochemical level 8 .Behaviour problems are common in our companion canines 9 . The most common reported behaviour problems include excessive barking, inappropriate elimination, destructiveness, aggression and fearfulness 6,10-13 . The prevalence of noise sensitivity in previous studies has varied between 20% and 50% [14][15][16][17][18] . Around 20-25% of dogs show fearfulness of strangers, dogs or situations 15,16 and separation anxiety occurs in 14-20% of dogs 15,16,19 . Furthermore, comorbidity between noise sensitivity and separation anxiety has also been observed 15,20 .Behaviour has a major genetic component [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] and many traits are both phenotypically and genetically correlated 22 . For examp...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs

Salonen

Sulkama

Mikkola

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

107

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“…The test battery is presented in Mirkó et al (29), here we describe the subtests briefly. In the cases of the kenneled dogs and the family dogs where Experimenter 2 played the role of the owner, a short (∼10 min) familiarization with Experimenter 2 preceded the behavioral test itself.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Altogether six female experimenters carried out the behavioral tests, assigned randomly to the individuals. The test battery [FIDO Personality test, (29)] took ∼30 min to complete, and comprised of 13 subtests. The order of the subtests was the same for all dogs, however, the location of the test and the involvement of the experimenters varied both among and between the dog groups.…”

Section: Phenotypingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Behavior and Genetic Structure in Populations of Family and Kenneled Beagles

et al. 2020

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In dogs, the social and spatial restriction associated with living in a kennel environment could lead to chronic stress and the development of abnormal behaviors ("kennel-dog syndrome"). However, little is known about how kenneled dogs differ from their conspecifics living as pets in human families. In the current study, using a test battery exposing the dogs to novel stimuli, we compared the behavior of three groups of beagles: (1) kenneled dogs living in a restricted environment with limited human contact (N = 78), (2) family dogs living in human families as pets (N = 37), and (3) adopted dogs born in the kenneled population but raised in human families (N = 13). We found one factor comprising most of the test behaviors, labeled as Responsiveness. Family dogs and adopted dogs scored higher in Responsiveness than kenneled dogs. However, 23% of the kenneled dogs were comparable to family and adopted dogs based on a cluster analysis, indicating a similar (positive) reaction to novel stimuli, while 77% of the kenneled dogs were unresponsive (mostly immobile) in at least part of the test. To assess if the behavioral difference between the family and kenneled dogs could be due to genetic divergence of these two populations and/or to lower genetic diversity of the kenneled dogs, we analyzed their genetic structure using 11 microsatellite markers. We found no significant difference between the populations in their genetic diversity (i.e., heterozygosity, level of inbreeding), nor any evidence that the family and kenneled populations originated from different genetic pools. Thus, the behavior difference between the groups more likely reflects a G × E interaction, that is, the influence of specific genetic variants manifesting under specific environmental conditions (kennel life). Nevertheless, some kenneled individuals were (genetically) more resistant to social and environmental deprivation. Selecting for such animals could strongly improve the welfare of kenneled dog populations. Moreover, exploring the genetic background of their higher resilience could also help to better understand the genetics behind stress-and fear-related behaviors.

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“…The owners' knowledge about their dogs can reduce behavioral noise due to daily or seasonal variations, which cannot be accounted for in a single behavioral test. Although questionnaires are to some extent subjective, they are still regarded valuable complements to behavioral studies (Svartberg, 2005;Mirkó et al, 2013;Meyer and Forkman, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing companion dog behavior in a social setting

Roth

Jensen

2015

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

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1There is a growing and important need for large-scale characterisation of dog 2 behaviour, for example to conduct genetic analyses or to assess welfare. An extensive 3 number of standardised tests and questionnaires are used for this, but few focus on the 4 normal behaviour in situations which are frequently encountered in the everyday life 5 of companion dogs. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a fast, but 6 standardised method to characterise behavioural variation in pet dogs, based on a brief 7 observation in a situation often encountered by many dogs, namely during training 8classes. The spontaneous behaviour of dogs was video-recorded during 3 minutes in a 9 standardised setting, while their owners were occupied filling in a short questionnaire, 10 and during 30 seconds of walking on leash. Behaviours, including contact seeking 11 behaviour with both the owner, a stranger and other dogs, together with general 12 activity and interaction with a novel object were later analysed and further processed 13 in two separate Principal Component Analyses (PCA). The PCs from the two test 14 parts correlated significantly with each other and aspects of both home and test 15 environment influenced several components in both PCAs. Age and sex also showed 16 significant effects on test outcome, e.g. age affected how social and explorative the 17 dog was and females jumped more on their owner, whilst males pulled the leash more. 18In addition, dogs that were perceived as cooperative by their owner, looked more at 19 their owner and pulled the leash less. In conclusion, this simple test captures essential 20 parts of the normal, everyday behaviour profile of dogs, such as owner-and dog-21 directed social behaviour, which are not usually measured in the commonly used test 22 batteries for dogs. 23 24

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Association between subjective rating and behaviour coding and the role of experience in making video assessments on the personality of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Cited by 39 publications

References 44 publications

Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs

Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs

Comparison of Behavior and Genetic Structure in Populations of Family and Kenneled Beagles

Assessing companion dog behavior in a social setting

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