Canine Behavioral Assessment And Research Questionnaire Research Articles

The effects of social defeat experience on anxiety-like behavior and social memory in male hamster

Behavioural testing allows to exclude dogs that are fearful and aggressive from the breeding population, but relatively little is known about the effectiveness of such strategies in practice. From 2001 till 2009 parent purebred Dutch Rottweilers had to pass the Socially Acceptable Behaviour (SAB)-test for their offspring to obtain a pedigree certificate. We evaluated if this breeding policy of excluding fearful and aggressive Rottweilers, as diagnosed by the SAB-test, indeed reduced the prevalence of fear and aggression in the Dutch Rottweiler population. Owner-reported assessments of their dogs’ behaviour were compared between groups of Rottweilers with or without pedigree certificates, assuming the Rottweiler look-a-likes to represent the control condition of no breeding policy regarding fear and aggression. A total of 822 Rottweiler owners filled out the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) on problem behaviour, including 7 behavioural categories related to fear and aggression. Problem behaviour prevalence and explanatory factors were investigated by multivariable logistic regression.The prevalence of Stranger-directed fear (P < 0.05) and Non-social fear (P < 0.01) was lower in the group of pedigrees than in the group of look-a-likes, with a same tendency for Stranger-directed aggression (P = 0.056). Analysing the combined C-BARQ scores for the behaviour categories that are assessed with the SAB-test, namely Stranger-directed aggression, Dog-directed fear/aggression, Stranger-directed fear and Non-social fear, revealed that one sixth of the pedigree Rottweilers showed these behaviours compared to one third of the look-a-likes (P < 0.0001). Strong associations were found between Stranger-directed aggression and Dog-directed fear/aggression (P < 0.001) or Social Fear (P < 0.001), indicating the role of fear in aggression towards unfamiliars. The association between Stranger-directed aggression and chase proneness (P < 0.01) seems to illustrate how different motivations may underlie a same manifestation of aggression. Familiar dog aggression associated with Owner-directed aggression (P < 0.001), implicating that such aggressions may have do with conflicts over status. Found associations between types of fear/aggression will have in part reflected shared underlying causes, and reflect the known comorbidity of problem behaviours. Their associations with dog and/or owner characteristics indicated several possible risk factors for fear/aggression. However, associations with common risk factors like sex and reproductive status were not found.Taking into account behaviour test outcomes in Rottweiler pedigree certification was associated with a reduced prevalence of fear and aggression. The exclusion of fear/aggressive individuals from the breeding population on the basis of SAB-test outcomes may have had favourable effects on population genetics or incited preventive actions by breeders like not putting a dog forward for pedigree certification. In our view, validated behaviour tests like the SAB-test can help to reduce unwanted behaviours in dog populations by breeding policies.

A preliminary study on the use of the Socially Acceptable Behavior test as a test for shyness/confidence in the temperament of dogs

In this study, the possibility to use an already existing behavioral test, the Socially Acceptable Behavior (SAB) test, to define a part of a dog's temperament related to the behavioral characteristics shyness/confidence was tested. The height of the dog's posture was scored combined with the position of the tail, corners of the mouth, and the ears (as a posture score), and also the presence of signals of stress, fear, and aggression. The presence or absence of the owner seemed to be the most important factor responsible for changes in the posture score during the test and not its duration. Two distinct groups of dogs with significantly differences in posture scores were identified. Female dogs were significantly (P = 0.007) more represented in the group with a more crouched posture. A significant association was found between the posture score of the dogs in 2 subtests and the behavioral elements, aggressive biting, and attempts to flee. Test results of the SAB test were compared with the results of the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research (CBAR) questionnaire. The posture score of the dogs in the subtests related to contact with strangers was significantly correlated with the score related to “fear for strangers” in the CBAR questionnaire. For the subtests where the dogs were confronted with unfamiliar visual or acoustic stimuli, no correlation with the factor “nonsocial fear” was found. Based on this experiment, the SAB test could be used to classify a population of dogs with regard to shyness or confidence and can provide interesting information on the behavior of the tested dog in particular. Additional research on a larger number of dogs is necessary to confirm these preliminary findings, the validity, and the reliability of the test.

Breed differences in canine aggression

Canine aggression poses serious public health and animal welfare concerns. Most of what is understood about breed differences in aggression comes from reports based on bite statistics, behavior clinic caseloads, and experts’ opinions. Information on breed-specific aggressiveness derived from such sources may be misleading due to biases attributable to a disproportionate risk of injury associated with larger and/or more physically powerful breeds and the existence of breed stereotypes. The present study surveyed the owners of more than 30 breeds of dogs using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a validated and reliable instrument for assessing dogs’ typical and recent responses to a variety of common stimuli and situations. Two independent data samples (a random sample of breed club members and an online sample) yielded significant differences among breeds in aggression directed toward strangers, owners and dogs (Kruskal–Wallis tests, P < 0.0001). Eight breeds common to both datasets (Dachshund, English Springer Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Poodle, Rottweiler, Shetland Sheepdog and Siberian Husky) ranked similarly, r s = 0.723, P < 0.05; r s = 0.929, P < 0.001; r s = 0.592, P = 0.123, for aggression directed toward strangers, dogs and owners, respectively. Some breeds scored higher than average for aggression directed toward both humans and dogs (e.g., Chihuahuas and Dachshunds) while other breeds scored high only for specific targets (e.g., dog-directed aggression among Akitas and Pit Bull Terriers). In general, aggression was most severe when directed toward other dogs followed by unfamiliar people and household members. Breeds with the greatest percentage of dogs exhibiting serious aggression (bites or bite attempts) toward humans included Dachshunds, Chihuahuas and Jack Russell Terriers (toward strangers and owners); Australian Cattle Dogs (toward strangers); and American Cocker Spaniels and Beagles (toward owners). More than 20% of Akitas, Jack Russell Terriers and Pit Bull Terriers were reported as displaying serious aggression toward unfamiliar dogs. Golden Retrievers, Labradors Retrievers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Brittany Spaniels, Greyhounds and Whippets were the least aggressive toward both humans and dogs. Among English Springer Spaniels, conformation-bred dogs were more aggressive to humans and dogs than field-bred dogs (stranger aggression: Mann–Whitney U test, z = 3.880, P < 0.0001; owner aggression: z = 2.110, P < 0.05; dog-directed aggression: z = 1.93, P = 0.054), suggesting a genetic influence on the behavior. The opposite pattern was observed for owner-directed aggression among Labrador Retrievers, ( z = 2.18, P < 0.05) indicating that higher levels of aggression are not attributable to breeding for show per se.

Genetic variation in aggression-related traits in Golden Retriever dogs

In this study, heritabilities of several measures of aggression were estimated in a group of 325 Golden Retrievers, using the Restricted Maximum Likelihood method. The studied measures were obtained either through owner opinions or by using the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (CBARQ). The aim of the study was to determine which of the aggression measures showed sufficient genetic variation to be useful as phenotypes for future molecular genetic studies on aggression in this population. The most reliable heritability estimates seemed to be those for simple dog owner impressions of human- and dog-directed aggression, with heritability estimates of 0.77 (S.E. 0.09) and 0.81 (S.E. 0.09), respectively. In addition, several CBARQ-derived measures related to human-directed aggression showed clear genetic differences between the dogs. The correlation between the estimated breeding values for owner impressions on human- and dog-directed aggression was relatively low. The low correlation suggests that these two traits have a partially different genetic background. They will therefore have to be treated as separate traits in further genetic studies.