Owner-reported aggressive behavior towards familiar people may be a more prominent occurrence in pet shop-traded dogs

Pirrone, Federica; Pierantoni, Ludovica; Pastorino, Giovanni Quintavalle; Albertini, M.

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2015.11.007

Cited by 31 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Research has identified additional factors, which can affect the presence of UBs. For example rearing environment, dogs sourced from pet shops exhibit increased aggression towards familiar people (Pirrone et al, 2016) and dogs that are from more stressful environments such as the breeding stock from puppy farms have been reported to have more problems with training and show more anxiety and fear related behaviours (McMillan et al 2011). Dogs whose owners had previous dog owning experience and spent more time with their dog and attended training classes were more likely to respond to verbal cues (Kobelt et al, 2003).…”

Section: Implications For the Dog Owning Publicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality resulting from undesirable behaviours in dogs aged under three years attending primary-care veterinary practices in England

et al. 2018

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Undesirable behaviours (UBs) are common in dogs and can jeopardise animal and human health, leading to dog abandonment and euthanasia. Dogs exhibiting UBs may have compromised welfare from underlying emotional motivations for the behaviour (e.g. anxiety) or from how owners might seek resolution (e.g. aversive techniques). The objective of this study was to estimate proportional mortality due to UBs and risk factors for death due to UBs, including death from road traffic accidents, in dogs under three years of age attending primary-care veterinary practices in England from 2009-2014. Cases were identified by searching de-identified electronic patient records from primary-care veterinary practices participating in the VetCompass Programme. The findings highlight that dogs under three years of age are at a proportionately high risk of death due to UBs (33.7%) compared with other specific causes of death (e.g. Gastrointestinal issues:14.5%). Male dogs had 1.40 times the odds of death from UB compared with females. The proportional mortality from UB for male dogs where information on the cause of death was available was 0.41. Neutered dogs had 1.94 times the odds of death due to an UB compared with entire dogs. Aggression was the most prevalent UB overall. Veterinarians had recommended referral in 10.3% of cases where dogs died due to exhibiting an UB and had dispensed nutraceutical, pheromone or pharmacological treatment to 3.0% of the UB cases that died. This study shows that undesirable behaviours require better preventive measures and treatment, 3 through further research and education of veterinarians, other professionals within the dog industry and owners.

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Section: Implications For the Dog Owning Publicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality resulting from undesirable behaviours in dogs aged under three years attending primary-care veterinary practices in England

et al. 2018

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“…Dog breeds of moderate cost are also more readily acquired than the more expensive ones (McMillan et al, 2013;Pirrone et al, 2016). A search for 'ideal dogs' in some climes has advanced some dog choice criteria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dog breeds acquisition and owners awareness of associated surgical conditions in Nigeria

Eyarefe¹,

Adetunji²

2018

J. Vet. Med. Anim. Health

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The study evaluated dog owners' awareness of breed-associated surgical conditions in Nigeria as indices for breed choice with structured pre-tested questionnaires administered to dog owners in 17 states of Nigeria. Alsatians (36.8%) and Rottweiler (13%) breeds were mostly possessed by owners. The majority of the respondents were females (60.4%) owners. Lagos (53.4%) and Oyo (52.1%) states had the highest number of respondents while Kaduna (1.25%), Enugu (1.25%), Ekiti (1.25%), and Plateau (1.25%) states had the lowest. Most of the respondents (84.8%) are within the age bracket of 16 to 30 years, while 46.6% were University graduates and 90.8% had kept dogs previously. Factors that influenced dogs' breed choices included: Body size (66.6%), coat colour (78.6%), natural intelligence (96.4%), information on the internet about the breed (54.6%), breed type possession by a close relative (53.4%), information regarding animal care from the Veterinarian (39. 2%), and recommendation by friends (42.6%). Respondents routinely visited the veterinary health centre for a general checkup and disease prevention (79.6%), vaccination and routine worming (79.2%), and treatment of diseases (79.8%). Respondents had varying knowledge of common surgical diseases: Cruciate ligament rupture (13.6%), gastric dilation/volvulus (13.6%), portosystemic shunt (15.0%), entropion (17.7%), ectropion (17.7%), osteochondrosis dessicans (17.7%), tracheal collapse (17.7%) etc. Only 10.9% of the respondents were aware of persistent health challenges in their dogs, while 84.4% of the respondents were uninformed of their dog breed predisposition to certain health challenges, and 82.3% of respondents were not aware of their dogs' predisposition to any surgical disease. These findings imply a need for veterinarians' input in dog choices, for recommendation of legislation mandating potential owners to seek out information about health care conditions of prospective dog breeds from authorized sources before possession to forestall frustrations, and avoidance of ultimate pet abandonment associated with management cost and social adjustment following surgical diseases.

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“…It may occur within or between species (intra- and interspecific aggression), and according to a number of different authors, aggressive behaviour is usually categorized into several different types, as for example: possessive, defensive, dominance and sexual aggression [ 3 , 13 – 15 ]. Although the precise definition of each category is often disputed, some authors found that owner-directed aggressive behaviour was associated with fear, impulse control or possessive aggression [ 3 , 16 – 19 ]. The accurate assessment of aggressive behaviour is important to improve the quality of the dog–human companionship and to address important animal welfare and community health issues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of owner-directed aggressive behavioural tendencies of dogs in situations of possession and manipulation

et al. 2017

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Excessive aggression is a common behaviour problem in dogs that can have various destructive effects on the affected people and the implicated dog. Aggressive behaviour directed towards the owner or other family members is one of the most frequently occurring aggressive phenotypes. Here, we examine the reliability of a short questionnaire assessing aggressive behaviours by two, contextually different behavioural tests: ‘take away bone’ and ‘roll over’. Based on dogs' behaviour in the tests, we sorted dogs (N = 93) in two groups for each test, namely a less and a more disobedient/resistant group. The two principal components obtained in our questionnaire—‘obedient’ and ‘aggressive towards owner’—showed significant differences between the behaviour groups. While dogs in the less disobedient/resistant groups had significantly higher ‘obedient’ and significantly lower ‘aggressive towards owner’ scores, dogs in the more disobedient/resistant groups had significantly higher ‘aggressive towards owner’ and significantly lower ‘obedient’ scores. Dogs' age, sex and neuter/spay status expressed their effect through interactions. Males, young dogs and intact dogs were less ‘obedient’ than older ones, while resistant spayed/neutered dogs were more aggressive towards the owner. The questionnaire used is a safe, easy to deploy and time-efficient tool to reliably assess certain owner-directed aggressive tendencies of family dogs.

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Owner-reported aggressive behavior towards familiar people may be a more prominent occurrence in pet shop-traded dogs

Cited by 31 publications

References 19 publications

Mortality resulting from undesirable behaviours in dogs aged under three years attending primary-care veterinary practices in England

Mortality resulting from undesirable behaviours in dogs aged under three years attending primary-care veterinary practices in England

Dog breeds acquisition and owners awareness of associated surgical conditions in Nigeria

Assessment of owner-directed aggressive behavioural tendencies of dogs in situations of possession and manipulation

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