Evaluation of young and adult dogs' reactivity

Sforzini, E.; Michelazzi, M.; Spada, Emanuela Cenami; Ricci, Carol Stanislawski; Carenzi, C.; Milani, Silvano; Luzi, F.; Verga, M.

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2008.09.035

Cited by 32 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Several studies have reported decreases in activity levels with age in dogs within the home environment (84,85). This factor also includes questions regarding sociability (companionability, or time spent interacting with humans), and playfulness, which are also reported to decline with age in dogs (39,84,86). Using the same questionnaire Chopik and Weaver (43) found a similar decline of the factor Activity/Excitability with age.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

2020

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The dog has been suggested as a possible model for personality development over the lifespan, however, we know little about how aging may shape their personality or the magnitude of age-related changes. Previously we established that aging influences multiple dog demographics, which could also affect how personality traits change across different age periods. A demographic questionnaire and the Dog Personality Questionnaire were completed for a cross-sectional sample of 1,207 adult dogs living in Hungary (M age = 7.71, SD = 4.12), split into six different age groups. Results revealed three of the five factors showed significant age effects. Activity/Excitability decreased with age, and whilst Responsiveness to training also decreased, only dogs older than 12 years differed significantly from the other groups. Aggressiveness toward animals showed a quadratic trajectory peaking in dogs aged 6-10 years. The greatest magnitude of age-related change was detected between late senior and geriatric ages, likely caused by compensatory behavioral changes to biological aging and owner attitudes to aging. When the models were re-run including the other explanatory variables, age group was no longer significant for the Responsiveness to training trait. The amount of time spent interacting/playing with the owner partially mediated the relationship between age and this trait, implying that interventions to increase play and training motivation may alleviate the negative effects of aging on dogs' trainability. Fifteen out of 28 explanatory variables were significantly associated with at least one of the five factors [weight, breed (pure/mixed breed), sex, off-leash activity, diet, previous trauma, age of dog when arrived in the household, play, dog training activities, number of known commands and dog obedience tasks]. Similarly to humans, dogs that had previously experienced trauma scored higher in fearfulness and aggression. A higher level of basic obedience was linked to some desirable dog personality traits (lower Fearfulness and Aggression, and higher Activity/Excitability and Responsiveness to training). Regardless of the direction of this relationship, obedience is an important aspect contributing to dog personality questionnaires and the dog-owner relationship. This study is unique in that it considered a wide variety of demographic variables which are influenced by aging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

2020

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“…In order to resolve these issues, it is important to establish a system for classifying and naming behavioral traits in dogs. Researchers in the United States and Europe have developed some behavioral tests to evaluate the behavioral traits of dogs [14,21,28,30]; however, it is not easy to conduct these behavioral tests, and the possibility exits that the emergence of particular behaviors may be dependent on experimental circumstances during the test. On the other hand, observer ratings can be convenient and useful tools through careful experimental designs [18].…”

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confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Factorial Structures of the C-BARQ in Japan

Nagasawa

Tsujimura

Tateishi

et al. 2011

The Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

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ABSTRACT. In order to introduce the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), which is a standardized system for evaluating the behavioral traits of dogs, to Japan, where the environment with respect to dog ownership is thought to differ from those of the United States and Europe, we compared demographic information on dogs in the United States and Japan and examined whether similar factors could be extracted from both countries using questionnaire items of the C-BARQ. The C-BARQ was completed by 11,410, and 734 dog owners respectively in the United States and Japan, and some demographic differences were found, such as breed and neuter status. Data from completed questionnaires were subjected to factor analysis, and the resulting factors were tested for reliability. In the United States, factor analysis yielded 11 factors from 63 items that accounted for 52.9% of the common variance. In Japan, 15 factors were extracted, and these accounted for 57.0% of the common variance. The present factors for the United States were almost identical to the factors identified in a previous study, and similar factors were extracted in both countries. Therefore, the C-BARQ can function effectively as a fundamental behavioral evaluation system for dogs in Japan.KEY WORDS: behavior, canine, C-BARQ, factor analysis, questionnaire.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 73 (7): [869][870][871][872][873][874][875] 2011 In the United States and Europe, behavior problems of dogs account for 17-20% of reasons that owners relinquish their pet dogs to animal shelters, and substantial numbers of these dogs are eventually euthanized [2,5,19,23,25]. In addition, many dogs suffer unnecessarily from inappropriate punishments and aversive training methods as a consequence of behavior problems [8]. These inappropriate treatments for dogs often worsen the problems and create a vicious cycle. In Japan, there were an estimated 13,101,000 pet dogs in 2008 [13]. Of these, 105,195 adult dogs and 24,742 puppies were relinquished to animal shelters [20]. Additional estimates suggest that 29,942 of these dogs were either returned to their owners or adopted by new owners, while 98,556 dogs were eventually euthanized. Because official research has not been conducted yet, it is not known exactly why these dogs were relinquished [20]. In order to resolve these issues, it is important to establish a system for classifying and naming behavioral traits in dogs. Researchers in the United States and Europe have developed some behavioral tests to evaluate the behavioral traits of dogs [14,21,28,30]; however, it is not easy to conduct these behavioral tests, and the possibility exits that the emergence of particular behaviors may be dependent on experimental circumstances during the test. On the other hand, observer ratings can be convenient and useful tools through careful experimental designs [18]. However, observation by third parties has the practical difficulty of observing pet dogs in their natural and home environment. Therefore, in order to understand ...

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“…The REF consisted of 2 parts: the first part considered the dogs' reactions to investigators while they were outside the pen and the second one while they were inside ( Frank, 2007;Overall et al, 2009;Sforzini et al, 2009).…”

Section: Data Collection Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of a diet containing caseinate hydrolysate on signs of stress in dogs

Palestrini

Minero

Cannas

et al. 2010

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

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The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy of a diet containing caseinate hydrolysate (CH) on signs of stress in 2 groups of dogs (defined as Anxious and Nonanxious), using physiological (serum cortisol and lysozyme, N:L ratios and heart rate) and behavioral parameters.From an initial group of 40 female Beagle dogs, ranging in age from 10 months to 4 years (mean 5 1.47 years; SD 5 0.53) belonging to a dog colony, 32 were selected for this study according to their level of anxiety. A group of 16 Anxious dogs and a group of 16 Nonanxious dogs were identified.A baseline period, aimed to obtain reference values of investigated parameters, preceded the experimental phase. Both groups (Anxious and Nonanxious) were divided into a treatment group, which received the diet containing CH, and a control group which received a placebo diet (PD). Anxious CH and PD groups were balanced for anxiety level. Each dog was evaluated 3 times a day at 4 weeks intervals (T1-T2-T3). Each evaluation lasted 2 days and involved a Reactivity Evaluation Form, a blood sampling, heart rate recording, and a 10-minute behavioral video recording. Results from Reactivity Evaluation Form scores showed that although at T1 Anxious dogs had significantly higher scores (Mann-Whitney test, P , 0.001) compared with Nonanxious dogs, no difference was found between Anxious dogs fed with CH diet and Nonanxious fed with PD or CH diet at T3. Behavioral observations evidenced some signs of improvement in Anxious dog fed with CH diet. Cortisol level significantly decreased in Anxious dogs fed with CH diet (Friedman test, P , 0.05). Individual differences in physiological measures of stress responses may have contributed to the large variability, making interpretation of these measures difficult. These results suggest that CH may be used as a functional ingredient alleviating stress in dogs.

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Evaluation of young and adult dogs' reactivity

Cited by 32 publications

References 11 publications

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

Assessment of the Factorial Structures of the C-BARQ in Japan

Efficacy of a diet containing caseinate hydrolysate on signs of stress in dogs

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