A Retrospective Analysis of Dog–Dog and Dog–Human Cases of Aggression in Northern Italy

Abstract

In this survey, a caseload of aggressive dogs (n = 170) was analysed to increase the available information about biting dog characteristics, contribute to risk evaluation and improve bite prevention tools. All dog data were collected from questionnaires completed by veterinary behaviourists in Northern Italy. All dogs were referred to them by public authorities to be evaluated and treated due to the incidence of one or more episodes of aggression. Between the two groups of human-directed and dog-directed aggressive dogs, significant associations were found: the dog-directed aggressive group inflicted significantly more severe bites (p < 0.01) and offensive aggression (p < 0.01), whereas defensive aggression was significantly more numerous in the human-directed aggression group (p < 0.01) and more significantly located in private homes (p < 0.01). No significant associations were found between the severity of bites and one or more specific breeds in either group. The prevalence of defensive bites in private homes in human-directed aggression indicate that owners’ understanding of their dogs’ behaviour and communication is fundamental to preventing aggression, and that owner education programmes are fundamental tools to reduce aggression risk factors and prevent aggression.

Changes in Behaviour and Voluntary Physical Activity Exhibited by Sled Dogs throughout Incremental Exercise Conditioning and Intermittent Rest Days

“…There are a multitude of complex underlying causes of agonistic behaviour, including territory guarding, competition for resources and genetics [ 18 ]. Additionally, a survey of dog owners demonstrated that dogs who were never exercised were more likely to exhibit intraspecific aggression [ 1 ]. The participation in the current exercise regimen may have alleviated boredom and restlessness, decreasing the agonistic behaviours.…”

“…Sled dogs regularly perform repetitive bouts of endurance exercise when training for, and throughout, a racing season. Regular exercise may decrease boredom and provide physical and mental stimulation for dogs, potentially leading to beneficial behavioural changes such as a decrease in destructive or aggressive behaviours [ 1 ]. However, excessive repetitive bouts of strenuous aerobic exercise can have deleterious physiological impacts, such as increasing oxidative stress [ 2 , 3 ], muscle damage [ 4 ] and promoting gut dysbiosis [ 5 ].…”

Review on Selected Aggression Causes and the Role of Neurocognitive Science in the Diagnosis

“…The main physiological changes are increases in blood pressure, changes in cortisol levels, body temperature, increases in heart rate and blood glucose levels. In terms of behavioral changes, activation takes place at this time of the sympathetic adrenal medullary axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis [30,[45][46][47].…”

“…Therefore, the issues of risk assessment are important, primarily based on two main aspects: the first is the ability to predict dog bite risk factors in the general canine population, and the second is how to assess and predict future risk to society [51][52][53]. In a study by Notari et al [45], it was suggested that aggressive behavior mainly related to early experience, bad socialization process, origins (genetics factor), and welfare of dogs can have play an important role in both intraspecific and interspecific aggression [20,44,[54][55][56][57][58].…”

Effects of a Nutritional Supplement (DìRelaxTM) on Anxiety in Dogs in a Randomized Control Trial Design

“…A link was proposed between stress and the beginning of anxiety [ 4 ], which is considered an important psychological disorder in dogs [ 5 ]. Anxiety is a condition induced when an environmental stimulus is improperly perceived as dangerous or threatening, and it becomes pathological when it is continued or occurs without environmental conditions justifying it [ 6 ].…”