Attachment security in companion dogs: adaptation of Ainsworth’s strange situation and classification procedures to dogs and their human caregivers

Abstract

This exploratory study describes the development of a classification system for dogs' attachment security to caregivers that adheres closely to Ainsworth's seminal methodology. Fifty-nine adult dogs and caregivers participated in a mildly threatening laboratory encounter with a stranger (TS) and the Strange Situation (SSP). Dog and attachment experts adapted Ainsworth's classification system for the behavioral repertoire of the dog. Four potentially comparable patterns of attachment were identified. The proportions of secure and insecure classifications (61% and 39%) were similar to those found in human toddlers. Caregivers' sensitivity to their dogs during the TS procedure significantly differentiated dogs with secure vs. insecure classifications Lower scores on the Active/excited personality scale on the Monash Canine Personality Questionnaire-Revised (MCPQ-R) also were related to secure classification. This system now makes it possible to compare directly the effects of human and dog attachment patterns on the health and emotional well-being of humans and dogs.

Teenage dogs? Evidence for adolescent-phase conflict behaviour and an association between attachment to humans and pubertal timing in the domestic dog

“…'Shakes shivers of trembles when left, or about to be left', 'Appears agitated… when separated from you…'). We were able to confirm that these two scales were measuring insecure attachments, as higher scores in both scales were found in dogs categorized as insecurely attached based upon direct behaviour observations and using methods based on [17] (see Methods details in the electronic supplementary material). Since insecure attachments and pubertal timing could both be related to general fearfulness we also considered associations between puberty timing and a scale of general anxiety designed for this population [18].…”

Developing Diagnostic Frameworks in Veterinary Behavioral Medicine: Disambiguating Separation Related Problems in Dogs

“…It might be that the lack of signs of social panic reflect an earlier development stage in which the dog has not learned to anticipate the events following the owner's departure. Unlike cluster A, there is clearly no relationship between redirected frustration and social panic, and the significance of this needs to be noted when considering potential causal relationships between the two, which may be quite different between clusters A and C. In this regard, it is worth noting that Solomon and colleagues (85) have recently found that dogs with a higher score for an "Active/excitable" personality type (which might be analogous to the profile described in cluster C) are at a significantly greater risk of having an insecure attachment toward their caregiver. Thus, it might be that the type of attachment shown by dogs toward their owners is particularly important to the risk of this type of SRP.…”

“…On the other hand, C1 dogs seem to be the opposite of C3 in being reactive both alone and with the owner but seeing their owner as a social support. Accordingly, both sub-clusters C1 and C2 are more likely to present insecure attached dogs, and consequently insecure caregivers (85).…”

Salivary Cortisol Interactions in Search and Rescue Dogs and Their Handlers

“…An effective attempt to assess dog-human behavior relationships was initiated in the 1970s by Ainsworth et al The test they proposed has been successfully used to this day [13,14]. The behavioral and physiological symptoms of dog-human cooperation based on the level of hormonal indicators are described by Payne et al [15].…”