Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression
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 do...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/315 |
| _version_ | 1819096445337206784 |
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| author | Elena Gobbo Manja Zupan |
| author_facet | Elena Gobbo Manja Zupan |
| author_sort | Elena Gobbo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:59:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb766c1c19604998b76a7c9e355fe010 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:59:18Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb766c1c19604998b76a7c9e355fe0102022-12-21T18:45:44ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-02-0110231510.3390/ani10020315ani10020315Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog AggressionElena Gobbo0Manja Zupan1Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, SloveniaDepartment of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Groblje 3, 1230 Domžale, SloveniaA 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/315dogsdog ownersaggressionpersonality traitsattachment |
| spellingShingle | Elena Gobbo Manja Zupan Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression Animals dogs dog owners aggression personality traits attachment |
| title | Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression |
| title_full | Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression |
| title_fullStr | Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression |
| title_short | Dogs’ Sociability, Owners’ Neuroticism and Attachment Style to Pets as Predictors of Dog Aggression |
| title_sort | dogs sociability owners neuroticism and attachment style to pets as predictors of dog aggression |
| topic | dogs dog owners aggression personality traits attachment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/315 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elenagobbo dogssociabilityownersneuroticismandattachmentstyletopetsaspredictorsofdogaggression AT manjazupan dogssociabilityownersneuroticismandattachmentstyletopetsaspredictorsofdogaggression |