Old dog, new tricks: Age differences in dog personality traits, associations with human personality traits, and links to important outcomes

Chopik, William J.; Weaver, Jonathan

doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2019.01.005

Cited by 27 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 105 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Additionally, as the owners were contacted through social media the sample may have been subject to selection bias, and as such it is not possible to determine whether the results are generalisable to the population. However, the age related results are similar to Chopik and Weaver's (43) study that used the same questionnaire in populations in the US, the questionnaire showed good reliability, and the questionnaire method has previously been proven to be reliable and valid (22) and (17). Many of the associations found can be used to generate new hypotheses and tests that will help to validate the results.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…Sex effects have been reported in 38% of studies [reviewed in Gartner (13)], however, reports are often conflicting. In general, results show that males have higher aggression (31,34,43,44) and boldness (35,36) and lower sociability (36) than females. Conversely, female dogs have higher fearfulness (40,45), and lower dominance over dogs than males (14).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…So far, personality differences have also been described with regards to coat color (34), body size [dog height is negatively associated with neuroticism, and positively with amicability (shorter dogs are considered more fearful and less sociable (21,47))], training history [the most calm, trainable and sociable dogs were found to be those that have participated in three or more types of professional training (36)], and owner experience [experienced owners tend to have calmer and more trainable dogs (39)]. Several studies have even found correlations between the owner's and their dog's questionnaire-assessed personality traits (43,48,49).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The dog has been suggested as a possible model for personality development over the lifespan, however, we know little about how aging may shape their personality or the magnitude of age-related changes. Previously we established that aging influences multiple dog demographics, which could also affect how personality traits change across different age periods. A demographic questionnaire and the Dog Personality Questionnaire were completed for a cross-sectional sample of 1,207 adult dogs living in Hungary (M age = 7.71, SD = 4.12), split into six different age groups. Results revealed three of the five factors showed significant age effects. Activity/Excitability decreased with age, and whilst Responsiveness to training also decreased, only dogs older than 12 years differed significantly from the other groups. Aggressiveness toward animals showed a quadratic trajectory peaking in dogs aged 6-10 years. The greatest magnitude of age-related change was detected between late senior and geriatric ages, likely caused by compensatory behavioral changes to biological aging and owner attitudes to aging. When the models were re-run including the other explanatory variables, age group was no longer significant for the Responsiveness to training trait. The amount of time spent interacting/playing with the owner partially mediated the relationship between age and this trait, implying that interventions to increase play and training motivation may alleviate the negative effects of aging on dogs' trainability. Fifteen out of 28 explanatory variables were significantly associated with at least one of the five factors [weight, breed (pure/mixed breed), sex, off-leash activity, diet, previous trauma, age of dog when arrived in the household, play, dog training activities, number of known commands and dog obedience tasks]. Similarly to humans, dogs that had previously experienced trauma scored higher in fearfulness and aggression. A higher level of basic obedience was linked to some desirable dog personality traits (lower Fearfulness and Aggression, and higher Activity/Excitability and Responsiveness to training). Regardless of the direction of this relationship, obedience is an important aspect contributing to dog personality questionnaires and the dog-owner relationship. This study is unique in that it considered a wide variety of demographic variables which are influenced by aging.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Questionnaires are known to be a less reliable, less objective method of assessment, although they are less time consuming to administer [19]. It may thus not be surprising to see differences between our results and those in literature, because all previous studies were done using questionnaires only [25,54,55], or even the same Big Five factor taxonomy in both dog and owner assessments [25], just to be able to easily compare dyad scores.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 58%

Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression

Gobbo

Zupan

2020

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A dog’s aggressive behavior is influenced by external and internal factors, including its psychological profile. In this study, dogs’ and owners’ personalities and the owners’ attachment style to their dogs were identified and associated with owner-reported dog aggression towards humans and animals. Forty Slovenian owners participated with their dogs, of different breeds and aggression history, sorted into three groups (non-aggressive dogs, dogs aggressive towards humans, and dogs aggressive towards animals). The owners filled out three separate questionnaires that assessed dog aggression history towards different targets, owner’s personality and degree of insecure attachment styles to dogs; namely anxious and avoidant attachment. Dog personality was characterized using a standardized dog mentality assessment test, during which the dog was exposed to nine tasks, performed outside, and dogs were scored based on behaviors they exhibited. The results indicated that dogs which were aggressive towards humans were less sociable than non-aggressive dogs and this was associated with the higher neuroticism scores of their owners. We also found that dogs which were aggressive towards strangers had owners with lower scores for anxious attachment and that dogs which were aggressive towards owners had owners with higher scores for avoidant attachment. These results imply that the psychological profiles of both a dog and its owner influence dog aggression towards humans.

show abstract

“…In line with our results, Starling et al [ 25 ] also observed a decrease in boldness with increased age, however, their boldness factor was created from an owner questionnaire, and was comprised of more variables than our factor. One explanation for the reduction in boldness in older dogs could be that as dogs’ age and accumulate experiences, they engage less with their surroundings and show a reduction in excitement and/or curiosity, which may lead to behaviour that appears shier [ 24 ]. As such, they become less inclined to approach strangers or explore a new environment [ 25 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural and cognitive changes in aged pet dogs: No effects of an enriched diet and lifelong training

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dogs demonstrate behavioural changes and cognitive decline during aging. Compared to laboratory dogs, little is known about aging in pet dogs exposed to different environments and nutrition. In this study, we examined the effects of age, an enriched diet and lifelong training on different behavioural and cognitive measures in 119 pet dogs (>6yrs). Dogs were maintained on either an enriched diet or a control diet for one year. Lifelong training was calculated using a questionnaire where owners filled in their dog’s training experiences to date. Before commencing the diet and after one year of dietary treatment, they were tested in the Modified Vienna Canine Cognitive Battery (MVCCB) consisting of 11 subtests to examine correlated individual differences in a set of tasks measuring general, social and physical cognition and related behaviours. Fourty two behavioural variables were coded and were subjected to principle component analyses for variable reduction. Twelve subtest level components and two Z-transformed variables were subjected to exploratory factor analysis which resulted in six final factors: Problem solving, Trainability, Sociability, Boldness, Activity-independence and Dependency. Problem solving, Sociability, Boldness, and Dependency showed a linear decline with age, suggesting that the MVCCB can be used as a tool to measure behavioural and cognitive decline in aged pet dogs. An enriched diet and lifelong training had no effect on these factors, calling attention to the fact that the real world impact of nutritional and other interventions in possibly counteracting the effects of aging, should be further investigated in pet dogs living under diverse conditions, in order to understand their ultimate effects.

show abstract

Old dog, new tricks: Age differences in dog personality traits, associations with human personality traits, and links to important outcomes

Cited by 27 publications

References 105 publications

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

Cross-Sectional Age Differences in Canine Personality Traits; Influence of Breed, Sex, Previous Trauma, and Dog Obedience Tasks

Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression

Behavioural and cognitive changes in aged pet dogs: No effects of an enriched diet and lifelong training

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About