While some dog breeds have an unfortunate reputation for being more aggressive than others, vets and other animal experts was skeptical about this for a long time.
A new study of 665 domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in Brazil also indicates that factors other than race have a stronger influence on this “problematic” behavior.
“The results highlight something we’ve been studying for some time: behavior emerges from the interaction between the animal and its context,” explained Ethologist Briseida de Resende from the University of São Paulo.
“The environment and owner-pet relationship and morphology are all factors that affect how pets interact with us and how we interact with them.”
Previous research defined Canine aggression “as a dog’s tendency to act both threateningly, with hackles and tail raised, teeth bared, posture raised, growling, and to act aggressively by attacking or biting”.
Through a series of owner questionnaires, University of São Paulo ethologist Flavio Ayrosa and colleagues found several strong associations.
The good news is that dogs with owners who play with them and walk them regularly are likely to be less aggressive towards owners and strangers. Training level was also a strong indicator.
But the lack of aggression toward strangers was 73 percent more likely when the dog’s owner was female. The gender of the dog also appears to play a role, with female dogs being 40 percent less likely to engage in aggression towards owners than male dogs.
Some physical traits also showed associations, which could explain why many point fingers at certain breeds. dogs with unhealthy short snoutknown as brachycephalic breedswere 79 percent more likely to show aggression toward their owners.
In addition, undesirable behaviors also increased with decreasing height and weight, including nonsocial anxiety, attention-seeking behaviors, and hyperactivity seen in previous studies.
But a combination of these different factors was the best predictor, and not just a body trait or an environmental trait alone.
“We’ve found connections, but it’s impossible to say which comes first. For example, with the ‘walk the dog’ factor, people may walk their dog less because the animal was aggressive or the dog became “aggressive because the owner didn’t push it enough.” says Ayrosa.
“Traits such as weight, size, skull morphology, sex, and age affect how dogs interact with their environment. For example, they may spend more time indoors as a result.”
Regardless, it’s important to remember Aggression is a natural form of communication for all animals and like all behaviors it is complex.
Although no one wants their pets to rely on aggression as the first reaction when they feel worried, stressed, or threatened, sometimes there is a valid reason for instances of aggression that can be resolved. like pain.
“Rather than pinpointing aggression toward a single factor common to the species or specific breed, our findings reinforce how individual behavior combined with dogs’ unique genetics, physiology, life experience and environmental context work together throughout development to to generate observed patterns of expression. ” The team concludes in her contribution.
This study was published in Applied Animal Behavior Science.
