Owner attitudes and dog behaviour problems

Abstract

In the treatment of dog behaviour problems, assessment of the owner's attitude is usually an essential part of the diagnostic process. Questionnaire studies of groups of owners reveal wide variation in both degree and kind of owner attachment. Individual-centred methods such as the Kelly Repertory Grid demonstrate the complexity of such attachments. It is suggested that the psychoanalytic concept of projection can often best explain their irrational aspects: experimental evidence is adduced and clinical examples discussed. With regard to particular types of behaviour problems, there is evidence of an association between dominance aggression in the dog and the anthropomorphic involvement of the owner; also between over-excitement and displacement activities in the dog and anxiety in the owner. Owner anxiety is not associated with a higher incidence of phobias in the dog; a dog's phobia, however, does tend to cause greater distress to a more anxious owner.