Personality consistency analysis in cloned quarantine dog candidates

Abstract

In recent research, personality consistency has become an important characteristic. Diverse traits and human-animal interactions, in particular, are studied in the field of personality consistency in dogs. Here, we investigated the consistency of dominant behaviours in cloned and control groups followed by the modified Puppy Aptitude Test, which consists of ten subtests to ascertain the influence of genetic identity. In this test, puppies are exposed to stranger, restraint, prey-like object, noise, startling object, etc. Six cloned and four control puppies participated and the consistency of responses at ages 7-10 and 16 weeks in the two groups was compared. The two groups showed different consistencies in the subtests. While the average scores of the cloned group were consistent (P = 0.7991), those of the control group were not (P = 0.0089). Scores of Pack Drive and Fight or Flight Drive were consistent in the cloned group, however, those of the control group were not. Scores of Prey Drive were not consistent in either the cloned or the control group. Therefore, it is suggested that consistency of dominant behaviour is affected by genetic identity and some behaviours can be influenced more than others. Our results suggest that cloned dogs could show more consistent traits than non-cloned. This study implies that personality consistency could be one of the ways to analyse traits of puppies. Canine behaviour, cloned dog, puppy aptitude testMuch effort has been made to assess the personalities of dogs to predict the temperaments of companion animals and to select working dogs more efficiently. Potential dog owners likely want to know their family member's expected characteristics. Bartlett (1979) explained how to select a family dog using the Puppy Aptitude Test. Adopting suitable animals could be the beginning of a happy life for both owners and the dogs. Breeders need to check the puppies' temperaments for similar reasons for their future dog owners. Training institutions that produce excellent working dogs focused on selecting candidates at an early age to save money and time. Svartberg et al. (2005) investigated the consistency of dogs' behaviours using a standardized behavioural test and could deduce stable traits such as playfulness, chase-proneness and sociability. Substantial consistency of dogs' personalities was reported by Fratkin et al. (2013), who determined the factors that influence consistency as the age, interaction between temperament and age, and length of time interval between tests. These authors did not, however, estimate the influence of the genetic background on consistency (Fratkin et al. 2013). Bartlett (1979) used 10 subtests to analyse puppies' behaviours, including social attraction, dominant or submissive tendency under stress, willingness to work with humans and sensitivities. Volhard and Volhard (2001) divided the subtests into three drives,

Health and temperaments of cloned working dogs

“…In 2001, Volhard and Volhard [ 54 ] divided the subtests into three categories, namely the pack drive (social attraction, following, and social dominance), fight-or-flight drive (restraint, elevation dominance, and stability), and prey drive (retrieving, sound sensitivity, and sight sensitivity), which are related to the dog's abilities to live in a group, run away, and hunt, respectively. The six drug-sniffing clones (excluding the one among seven that was hurt during training) and the four control dogs in the Korea Customs Detector Dog Training Center were subjected to PAT at ages 7 to 10 weeks and again at 16 weeks [ 6 ]. The tests revealed that the clones produced dominant behavior results in their average scores at 16 weeks that were consistent with those obtained at 7 to 10 weeks, whereas the control dogs did not produce consistent results [ 6 ].…”

“…The six drug-sniffing clones (excluding the one among seven that was hurt during training) and the four control dogs in the Korea Customs Detector Dog Training Center were subjected to PAT at ages 7 to 10 weeks and again at 16 weeks [ 6 ]. The tests revealed that the clones produced dominant behavior results in their average scores at 16 weeks that were consistent with those obtained at 7 to 10 weeks, whereas the control dogs did not produce consistent results [ 6 ]. In addition, the results of the final selection tests for drug detection dogs, which include five evaluation items (boldness, concentration, detecting process, response of detection and possessiveness), also showed that all of the clones passed the selection test and were subsequently selected as drug detection dogs, whereas only one of the control dogs passed and was selected [ 7 ].…”