Evaluation of the C-BARQ as a measure of stranger-directed aggression in three common dog breeds

Berg, Stéphanie Martine van den; Heuven, H.C.M.; Berg, Linda van den; Duffy, Deborah L.; Serpell, James A.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2010.02.005

Cited by 62 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The former finding is in line with other studies suggesting that barking is often related to aggressive inner state (Netto and Planta, 1997;Horváth et al, 2007;Tami and Gallagher, 2009;van den Berg et al, 2010). When taking the DNA sample, the experimenter puts her hand into the mouth of the dog to wipe the lower molars and the dogs try to divert their heads from the experimenter's hand.…”

Section: Association Between Owners' Subjective Rating and Behaviour supporting

confidence: 74%

Association between subjective rating and behaviour coding and the role of experience in making video assessments on the personality of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Mirkó

Dóka

Miklósi

2013

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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In this paper our first aim was to investigate association between behaviour coding based on a test battery called the FIDO Personality test for dogs (Canis familiaris) and a subjective rating given by dog owners. For the latter we asked dog owners to fill in the Dog Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) which established four personality traits for dogs: Strangerdirected Sociability, Activity, Aggressiveness and Trainability. The FIDO Personality test consists of a series of subtests in which we utilised an ethogram and measured different aspects of dog behaviour. Prior to this study we established a set of possible associations between the behavioural and the questionnaire variables.With regard to Trainability no correlation could be detected between any of the questionnaire variables and the hypothetically corresponding test battery variables. In the case of Stranger-directed Sociability, we revealed correlation between owners' reports and the dogs' behaviour during the test stuation. Those dogs which were reported 'initiative' and 'not mistrustful with unfamiliar humans' approached the experimenter with shorter latency (r = -0.25, p < 0.01; r = 0.24, p < 0.01) and played more with her than those who were scored lower on these questionnaire items (r = -0.27, p < 0.01). For the factor Activity, no correlation was found between the owners' report and the behaviour of dogs displayed in the Spontaneous activity phase of the test battery. Association was revealed between the owners' report regarding the dogs' preference for ball games and playing and their behaviour in the corresponding subtest. Those dogs which were reported to like ball games and like playing with the owner played with the ball as well as with a tug more in the test situation than those which were scored lower on the questionnaire variable 'likes fetching balls'(r = 0.47, p < 0.001; r = 0.25, p < 0.01). As regards the factor Aggressiveness, the questionnaire variable 'shows a tendency to bark' correlated with the dogs' aggressive reactions (growl, bite, attack) (r = 0.25, p < 0.01) in the Bone take-away subtest and with the 'latency of getting the DNA sample' (r = 0.30, p < 0.001) in the Getting DNA sample subtest. The results show that despite of the investigated associations there is a need for more effort to refine both questionnaire-based and behaviour-based assessment of dog personality.The second aim of our experiments was to reveal whether owner ratings on the above personality factors converged with the ratings of independent groups of observers based on the video recordings of the FIDO Personality test. First, in the case of each factor, we compared the degrees of ratings given by the owners and by the three rater groups with different levels of hands-on experience with dogs. We found no difference in the case of Stranger-directed Sociability, Activity and Trainability (F(3,128)=1.17, p=0.17; F(3,128)=0.99, p=0.4; F(3,128)=1.6, p=0.18 respectively) but there was a significant variability in judging Aggressiveness (F(3,128)=2.86, p=0...

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Section: Association Between Owners' Subjective Rating and Behaviour supporting

confidence: 74%

Association between subjective rating and behaviour coding and the role of experience in making video assessments on the personality of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Mirkó

Dóka

Miklósi

2013

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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“…There is a large interest in dog behavioral genetics, which would reveal the human psychological trait mechanisms [4]. In addition, analyzing the data obtained from C-BARQ revealed clear breed differences regarding behavior [6,10,27,32]. Therefore, although a sufficient sample size and further research in Japan are necessary to clarify whether the results of the C-BARQ can show the biologically based behavioral traits in dogs, use of the C-BARQ is advantageous to understand the genetic influences on behavioral traits and to possibly assist in identifying the genes responsible for behavioral disorders.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Hsu and Serpell developed a questionnaire (Canine behavioral assessment and research questionnaire: C-BARQ) for measuring behavioral traits in pet dogs by using data of 2,054 dogs in the United States [11], and this has been used as the behavioral index in gene studies about behavioral traits of dogs [15,31]. C-BARQ, which evaluates a dog's behavior objectively, can be a powerful tool for screening dogs for behavior problems and in evaluating the clinical effects of various treatments for behaviors [10,29,32]. Use of the C-BARQ will lead to early detection and understanding of behavioral traits that are responsible for behavior problems, and thereby, dogs can be offered appropriate treatments.…”

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confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Factorial Structures of the C-BARQ in Japan

Nagasawa

Tsujimura

Tateishi

et al. 2011

The Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

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ABSTRACT. In order to introduce the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), which is a standardized system for evaluating the behavioral traits of dogs, to Japan, where the environment with respect to dog ownership is thought to differ from those of the United States and Europe, we compared demographic information on dogs in the United States and Japan and examined whether similar factors could be extracted from both countries using questionnaire items of the C-BARQ. The C-BARQ was completed by 11,410, and 734 dog owners respectively in the United States and Japan, and some demographic differences were found, such as breed and neuter status. Data from completed questionnaires were subjected to factor analysis, and the resulting factors were tested for reliability. In the United States, factor analysis yielded 11 factors from 63 items that accounted for 52.9% of the common variance. In Japan, 15 factors were extracted, and these accounted for 57.0% of the common variance. The present factors for the United States were almost identical to the factors identified in a previous study, and similar factors were extracted in both countries. Therefore, the C-BARQ can function effectively as a fundamental behavioral evaluation system for dogs in Japan.KEY WORDS: behavior, canine, C-BARQ, factor analysis, questionnaire.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 73 (7): [869][870][871][872][873][874][875] 2011 In the United States and Europe, behavior problems of dogs account for 17-20% of reasons that owners relinquish their pet dogs to animal shelters, and substantial numbers of these dogs are eventually euthanized [2,5,19,23,25]. In addition, many dogs suffer unnecessarily from inappropriate punishments and aversive training methods as a consequence of behavior problems [8]. These inappropriate treatments for dogs often worsen the problems and create a vicious cycle. In Japan, there were an estimated 13,101,000 pet dogs in 2008 [13]. Of these, 105,195 adult dogs and 24,742 puppies were relinquished to animal shelters [20]. Additional estimates suggest that 29,942 of these dogs were either returned to their owners or adopted by new owners, while 98,556 dogs were eventually euthanized. Because official research has not been conducted yet, it is not known exactly why these dogs were relinquished [20]. In order to resolve these issues, it is important to establish a system for classifying and naming behavioral traits in dogs. Researchers in the United States and Europe have developed some behavioral tests to evaluate the behavioral traits of dogs [14,21,28,30]; however, it is not easy to conduct these behavioral tests, and the possibility exits that the emergence of particular behaviors may be dependent on experimental circumstances during the test. On the other hand, observer ratings can be convenient and useful tools through careful experimental designs [18]. However, observation by third parties has the practical difficulty of observing pet dogs in their natural and home environment. Therefore, in order to understand ...

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“…This is probably the main motivation behind the development of behavioural tests that could prevent the re-homing of aggressive dogs. Several complex behavioural tests (eg, Netto and Planta 1997, Wilsson and Sundgren 1997, Planta and De Meester 2007, van der Borg and others 2010) and questionnaires (eg, van den Berg and others 2010) developed to measure aggression had already been validated on the pet dog population, and some of them were applied to shelter dogs as well (eg, van der Borg and others 1991, De Palma and others 2005, Segurson and others 2005). However, these behaviour tests had a relatively low predictive value in the case of shelter dogs, mainly due to the many false negative results (Christensen and others 2007); a large proportion of dogs that had not showed aggression during the test behaved aggressively after adoption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timing and presence of an attachment person affect sensitivity of aggression tests in shelter dogs

et al. 2014

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Different test series have been developed and used to measure behaviour in shelter dogs in order to reveal individuals not suitable for re-homing due to their aggressive tendencies. However, behavioural tests previously validated on pet dogs seem to have relatively low predictability in the case of shelter dogs. Here, we investigate the potential effects of (1) timing of the behaviour testing and (2) presence of a human companion on dogs' aggressive behaviour. In Study I, shelter dogs (n=25) showed more aggression when tested in a short test series two weeks after they had been placed in the shelter compared to their responses in the same test performed 1-2 days after arrival. In Study II, the occurrence of aggressive behaviour was more probable in pet dogs (n=50) in the presence than in the absence of their passive owner. We conclude that the sensitivity of aggression tests for shelter dogs can be increased by running the test in the presence of a caretaker, and after some period of acclimatisation to the new environment. This methodology could also provide better chances for successful adoption.

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Evaluation of the C-BARQ as a measure of stranger-directed aggression in three common dog breeds

Cited by 62 publications

References 17 publications

Association between subjective rating and behaviour coding and the role of experience in making video assessments on the personality of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Association between subjective rating and behaviour coding and the role of experience in making video assessments on the personality of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Assessment of the Factorial Structures of the C-BARQ in Japan

Timing and presence of an attachment person affect sensitivity of aggression tests in shelter dogs

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