Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs

Abstract

Behaviour problems and anxieties in dogs decrease their quality of life and may lead to relinquishment or euthanasia. Considering the large number of pet dogs and the commonness of these problematic behaviours, a better understanding of the epidemiology and related molecular and environmental factors is needed. We have here studied the prevalence, comorbidity, and breed specificity of seven canine anxiety-like traits: noise sensitivity, fearfulness, fear of surfaces and heights, inattention/ impulsivity, compulsion, separation related behaviour and aggression with an online behaviour questionnaire answered by dog owners. Our results show that noise sensitivity is the most common anxiety-related trait with a prevalence of 32% in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs. Due to the high prevalence of noise sensitivity and fear, they were the most common comorbidities. However, when comparing the relative risk, the largest risk ratios were seen between hyperactivity/inattention, separation related behaviour and compulsion, and between fear and aggression. Furthermore, dog breeds showed large differences in prevalence of all anxiety-related traits, suggesting a strong genetic contribution. As a result, selective breeding focusing on behaviour may reduce the prevalence of canine anxieties. Anxious animals may suffer from chronic stress and thus, modified breeding policies could improve the welfare of our companion dogs.Problematic behaviours can be a threat to dog welfare. Anxious dogs may be more vulnerable to diseases and show decreased lifespan 1 . Satisfaction with the dog's behaviour may increase attachment to the dog 2 and problematic behaviours, especially aggressiveness, destructiveness, fearfulness and hyperactivity are a common reason for relinquishment to shelters 3,4 . Problematic behaviours can even lead to euthanasia at a young age 5,6 . Behaviour problems, especially aggressiveness, may be public health concerns 7 . Some of these behaviour problems have been suggested to be analogous, or possibly even homologous to human anxiety disorders 8 , and the study of these spontaneous behaviour problems arising in a shared environment with people may reveal important biological factors underlying many psychiatric conditions. For example, canine compulsive disorder resembles human OCD on both phenotypic and neurochemical level 8 .Behaviour problems are common in our companion canines 9 . The most common reported behaviour problems include excessive barking, inappropriate elimination, destructiveness, aggression and fearfulness 6,10-13 . The prevalence of noise sensitivity in previous studies has varied between 20% and 50% [14][15][16][17][18] . Around 20-25% of dogs show fearfulness of strangers, dogs or situations 15,16 and separation anxiety occurs in 14-20% of dogs 15,16,19 . Furthermore, comorbidity between noise sensitivity and separation anxiety has also been observed 15,20 .Behaviour has a major genetic component [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] and many traits are both phenotypically and genetically correlated 22 . For examp...

Inadequate socialisation, inactivity, and urban living environment are associated with social fearfulness in pet dogs

“…A similar trend was also observed in fear of strangers, but the association was not significant. These results are supported by our previous studies: Tiira and Lohi (2015) 22 discovered that younger dogs were generally more fearful, and Salonen et al 17 found that dogs 4-8 years old were most fearful of both dogs and strangers. However, opposite results have also been demonstrated 33,52 .…”

“…Data collection. An online owner-filled questionnaire was designed to collect information on canine behaviour in a pet dog population 17 . The questionnaire was divided into seven main sections based on different behavioural traits, including fear of dogs, strangers, and novel situations (labelled as 'fear'); aggression toward human family members and strangers (labelled as 'aggression'); fear of thunder, fireworks, and gunshot (labelled as 'noise sensitivity'); fear of surfaces and heights; inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity; separation anxiety; and compulsive behaviour.…”

“…dog shows, agility, or herding), amount of daily exercise, and the number of other dogs in the family. All the questions included in the behaviour questionnaire can be found as Supplementary material in the paper of Salonen et al 17 .…”

“…Undesirable behaviours, such as excessive fearfulness, are the leading cause for relinquishment or even euthanasia of pet dogs worldwide [10][11][12][13][14] . In the worst case, fearful dogs may resort to aggression and cause public health threats [15][16][17] , highlighting the gravity of canine fearfulness.…”

“…Social fearfulness encompasses fear of conspecifics or unfamiliar people, whereas non-social fearfulness includes fear of different stimuli, such as loud noises, novel situations, or heights and surfaces. Fearfulness is one of the most frequent canine behavioural problems as the prevalence of fearfulness ranges from 26.2% even to 44% [16][17][18][19] , and around 10-19% of dogs show fear of strangers or dogs 17,19,20 .…”