Associations between owner personality and psychological status and the prevalence of canine behavior problems.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral problems are a major source of poor welfare and premature mortality in companion dogs. Previous studies have demonstrated associations between owners' personality and psychological status and the prevalence and/or severity of their dogs' behavior problems. However, the mechanisms responsible for these associations are currently unknown. Other studies have detected links between the tendency of dogs to display behavior problems and their owners' use of aversive or confrontational training methods. This raises the possibility that the effects of owner personality and psychological status on dog behavior are mediated via their influence on the owner's choice of training methods. We investigated this hypothesis in a self-selected, convenience sample of 1564 current dog owners using

SUBMITTER: Dodman NH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5812720 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature