Abstract
Previous research has suggested that owners’ attitude to their family dogs may contribute to a variety of behaviour problems in the dog, and authors assume that dogs with separation-related disorder (SRD) attach differently to the owner than typical dogs do. Our previous research suggested that these dogs may have an insecure attachment style. In the present study we have investigated whether owners’ attachment style, personality traits and the personality of the dog influence the occurrence of SRD in the dog. In an internet-based survey 1508 (1185 German and 323 Hungarian) dog-owners filled in five questionnaires: Demographic questions, Separation Behaviour Questionnaire (to determine SRD), Human and Dog Big Five Inventory and Adult Attachment Scale. We found that with owners’ higher score on attachment avoidance the occurrence of SRD in the dog increases. Dogs scoring higher on the neuroticism scale were more prone to develop SRD. Our results suggest that owners’ attachment avoidance may facilitate the development of SRD in dogs. We assume that avoidant owners are less responsive to the dog’s needs and do not provide a secure base for the dog when needed. As a result dogs form an insecure attachment and may develop SRD. However, there may be alternative explanations of our findings that we also discuss.
Highlights
Dogs and humans have been living together for tens of thousands of years and during this time domestication might have predisposed dogs to form attachment relationships with humans [1]
In a previous study [50] we showed that dogs with separation-related disorder (SRD) do not use the owner as a secure base
In accordance with our hypothesis we found that owners scoring higher on self-reported attachment avoidance are more likely to have dogs with separation-related disorder
Summary
Dogs and humans have been living together for tens of thousands of years and during this time domestication might have predisposed dogs to form attachment relationships with humans [1]. The proximity of the owner serves as a secure base for the dog for exploring the environment [4,5,6,7] and a safe haven in threatening situations [8] as parents’ proximity is for infants. Humans have a disposition to form an attachment relationship with their dogs [9] which might be facilitated by dogs’ paedomorphic morphological and behavioural features [10]. [11] found that 93.3% of the owners considered their dogs as family members. Owners use their dogs as a safe haven (to alleviate stress) [9] more than any other family members or friends, except for romantic partners [14]
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